[Sport climbing with adolescents: effect on spine stabilising muscle strength]

Indoor climbing and boulder facilities gain importance in therapy for patients with back pain or with psychic disorders. The effect of climbing on strength of the spine musculature has hardly been investigated in young men and women. To address this question 17 high school students agreed to enrol into a 10-week climbing course twice a week and 9 to serve as controls. All participants were measured before and after training on special devices for measuring the isometric strength of cervical extensors and lateral flexors as well as for thoracic/lumbal spine, the flexors, extensors, the right and left rotators and lateral flexors. The mobility was measured for the transversal and frontal plane. After the climbing course, a gain in strength was measured in all but two muscle groups, the thoracic/lumbal extensors and left lateral flexors, in the control group only for the thoracic/lumbal flexors and left lateral flexors. The gain in strength was higher in the climbing group. The ratio of maximal strength of the right to left rotators was smaller after climbing. Sport climbing in adolescence leads to increased muscle strength of the spine muscles and to an increased muscular balance; thus, for prevention of back pain climbing courses may be introduced in high schools.