Abstract
A postal survey was carried out of the 90 most accessible climbing walls in England, Scotland and Wales to determine the incidence and nature of injuries requiring emergency treatment associated with their use. Over a two year period, representing 1.021 million visits to the 56 walls used by more than 30 climbers per week, 55 significant injuries were recorded. The rate of injury was not related to any identified design or safety feature of the walls, although upper limb injuries were proportionally more common in walls which provided thinner fixed landing mats rather than thicker, moveable crash mats. The overall rate of injury was very low and climbers seem to modify risk taking behaviour and thus compensate for the level of safety equipment available. It may be possible to reduce the injury rate further by providing seamless ground cover with matting of adequate energy absorbency.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Addiss D. G., Baker S. P. Mountaineering and rock-climbing injuries in US national parks. Ann Emerg Med. 1989 Sep;18(9):975–979. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(89)80463-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bannister P., Foster P. Upper limb injuries associated with rock climbing. Br J Sports Med. 1986 Jun;20(2):55–55. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.20.2.55. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bollen S. R. Soft tissue injury in extreme rock climbers. Br J Sports Med. 1988 Dec;22(4):145–147. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.22.4.145. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cole A. T. Fingertip injuries in rock climbers. Br J Sports Med. 1990 Mar;24(1):14–14. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.24.1.14. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gorard D. A. Effort thrombosis in an American football player. Br J Sports Med. 1990 Mar;24(1):15–15. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.24.1.15. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Heuck A., Hochholzer T., Keinath C. Die MRT von Hand und Handgelenk bei Sportkletterern. Darstellung von Verletzungen und Uberlastungsfolgen. Radiologe. 1992 May;32(5):248–254. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McLennan J. G., Ungersma J. Mountaineering accidents in the Sierra Nevada. Am J Sports Med. 1983 May-Jun;11(3):160–163. doi: 10.1177/036354658301100310. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shea K. G., Shea O. F., Meals R. A. Manual demands and consequences of rock climbing. J Hand Surg Am. 1992 Mar;17(2):200–205. doi: 10.1016/0363-5023(92)90390-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]