Rock climbing could be bad for the knees if you don’t take proper care of your joints. Climbing-related knee pain and injuries are common but rarely discussed.
They’re common in specialized motions like heel hooking, drop knee, and high steps. Excessive usage can also cause them to repeatedly land while climbing or during climbs and descents with a large pack.
Climbing can put your knee in unfavorable postures, putting strain on the cartilage and ligaments with its complicated movements. The huge thigh bone, the femur, torques inwards towards the shorter lower-leg bone; it might happen in specific movements like drop knees, namely tibia.
Is Rock Climbing Bad for Joints?
Rock climbing could be bad for your joints as rock climbing puts a strain on your joints, causing the 2-4 mm cartilage that function as padding between your bones to deteriorate. Although a little joint pressure is necessary for cartilage stability, excessive joint stress caused by impact, compression, or shearing forces could cause degenerative changes.
Even though the joints are now in good health, persistent inflammation is the main factor of degenerative changes down the street, according to studies like one featured in Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease (2013).
So keep an eye out for swollen fingers (also known as synovitis), a condition known among climbers! Even though science is working hard to find ways to repair cartilage, your best protection is prevention or altering your lifestyle.
How do I Protect my Knees when Climbing?
You can protect your knees when climbing, following the steps below.
- Weight and form balance
Because they carry most of the body’s weight, your hips and knees are more susceptible to damage. Every level step taken puts stress on the knee of 3-6 times the body weight. As a result, simply being 20lbs or wearing an extra 20lbs in your backpack puts 60-120lbs to your knees.
That’s why, for optimum knee wellness, it’s critical to keep healthy body weight and minimize any excessive pack weight. You may modify your posture or pack load if you frequently have knee problems on downhills or are sore after that.
- Wear appropriate shoes
Wearing the proper shoes could make a huge difference in how comfortable your knees are. Make sure you’re putting on well-cushioned shoes so when your heel hits the floor, the shoe absorbs the majority of your body weight instead of your knee joint.
Always put on comfortable shoes. Wearing the incorrect size can cause just as much, if not more, harm to your body. If you desire a more secure fit or greater arch support, gel inserts are an excellent option. Tie the climbing shoes snugly around the feet, which will soften the blow of your feet against the front of the shoe.
- Flexibility and strength for your joints when climbing
Though mountain climbing will assist you in keeping fit, it’s also crucial to keep the muscles stretched and engaged by staying active regularly and stretching frequently. The majority of injuries occur due to people staying inactive for lengthy periods and then leaping into a rigorous sport too quickly. If you keep your leg muscles firm, you’ll be considerably less prone to have knee problems.
Make sure to work out the hamstrings, calves, inner thighs, and quads using weighted workouts. They’ll support your body weight and relieve the strain on the knees when you’re hiking. Incorporating ankle weights into your normal leg exercises, or strolling about the house, is a straightforward way to get to work your legs.
- Consume lubricating foods for your joints
Your diet plays an important role in overall health and could also aid in the maintenance of your knees. Diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, olive oil, and walnuts, assist in keeping the joints lubricated, resulting in much less grinding, friction, and soreness.
Consider this: Injuries usually happen at the poorest link of the chain; injury safety or, more accurately, injury mitigation is effective when all connections in the chain are made as robust as possible.
You must favor rope climbing over bouldering to prevent re-injuring the knee, according to the researchers, because it “avoids accidents and has a direct effect on your knee.” While bouldering, experts also propose that “down climbing,” a safe descent, or “top out,” a simple alternative descent, be preferred over jumping down.
Original Article How to Prevent Knee Pain when Rock Climbing.