Indoor Rock Climbing Considered Safe

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 14 Oct 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Indoor rock climbing does not make the list of adrenaline junky sports. No, results from a new study show that it actually has a low injury risk and a very good safety profile. The study is published in the latest issue of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.

The study's researchers chose to look at the injury risk from the 2005 World Championships in Rock Climbing in Munich. There, 500 climbers from 55 countries participated in three separate climbing disciplines that totaled 520 climbing days. Only four of 18 acute medical problems were treated as significant injuries. Most of the problems were skin bruises. Overall, the competition has an injury rate of 3.1 per 1,000 hours.

The risk associated with indoor rock climbing is similar to that of many outdoor activities such as . In competition, male senior national soccer players face an injury rate of 30.3 per 1,000 hours.

Since the first world championships in 1991, indoor rock climbing has grown tremendously in popularity. Last year's championships included climbers from 55 countries. Many international climbing groups are looking to see rock climbing included in the Olympics.

To read the entire study, click here: http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/weme_17_308_187_1901.pdf.

Wilderness and Environmental Medicine is a peer-reviewed quarterly medical journal published by the Wilderness Medical Society. For more information, visit http://www.wms.org.

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