Küpper T*, Vujic S, Zulic S, Dikic N, Morrison A, Schöffl V, Heggie T and, Schneider M
Introduction: Competition ice climbing has developed into a semi-professional sport. Nevertheless, scientific data on the injury profile and incidence are rare.
Objectives: To evaluate the causes, diagnoses and incidence of acute and overuse injuries in elite ice climbers during training and competition for better prevention.
Methods: Competitors in an Ice Climbing World Cup event volunteered to complete a questionnaire on their training, injuries and overuse symptoms. Injuries and accidents were analysed in each of the injury scoring systems of the UIAA, OSICS and NACA. Statistics were descriptive.
Results: A total of 73 climbers (M: 58; F:15) joined the study, including all World Cup winners. The average climbing experience was 5.9 years with most active in several climbing disciplines. Competition training averaged 11.8 hr/wk and was of a similar volume to previous months and years. Thirty-one climbers had mastered a UIAA climbing grade difficulty from 9 up to 11+. In 13 out of 16 climbers reporting an accident, the injury occurred in a discipline other than ice climbing - 6 happened in another climbing discipline, 4 during competitions, 3 while on tour, and one was unspecified. None reported securing errors or rockfall as causal, but 10 stated the accident was avoidable, and 4 felt it was ‘fateful’ and therefore unavoidable. Three accidents were caused by ice breakage, 5 by material damage, 4 by swaying, and 3 were ‘other’. Using the NACA injury index for the 16 reported accidents: 25,0% were NACA 1, 68.7% NACA 2, 6.3% NACA 3, and none were NACA 4 or above. The acute injuries sustained by 18 climbers using the UIAA Injury Score in brackets were: 4 frostbite (1/2), 6 open wound (1/2), 6 fractures (2/3), and one unclassified. In almost all cases the injury lasted between one day and less than a week, and one case lasted 5 weeks. The 16 reported injury locations using UIAA/OSICS Injury Indexes were: 4 lower leg, 2 head/ face, 2 foot/toe/ankle/unspecified, 1 in each category for upper arm, wrist, knee, and chest, and 3 were unspecified. Overuse injury histories were reported by 40.6% of climbers, with women at a significantly higher risk.
Conclusion: Although the risk of overuse injuries is low in elite ice climbers, particular attention should be paid to the elbow joints and shoulders of women. Accidents were generally infrequent and involved minor injuries. Helmet use is mandatory during competitions. However protective goggles may help prevent eye injuries and wearing appropriately designed protective trousers may reduce lower leg injuries caused by crampons, thus reducing the risk and incidence of injuries
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