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Published on: May 26, 2020
Pediatric Climbers Experience More Upper Extremity Injuries, Geriatric Climbers More Lower Extremity Injuries, and
Titan Z Alexio1, Philip M Lee1, Nathan N Kim2
1John A. Burns School of Medicine Honolulu Hawaii U.S.A.
Purpose:
To analyze epidemiologic trends, injury prevalence, and mechanisms of injury associated with rock climbing.
Methods:
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a public emergency department database, was queried for rock climbing-related injuries from 2014 to 2023. Data extracted included demographics, anatomic region injured, diagnosis, mechanism of injury, and disposition. Patients were stratified into 4 age groups: pediatric (≲18 years), young adult (19-39 years), middle-aged adult (40-64 years), and geriatric (≳65 years). Mechanisms of injury were categorized and analyzed by fall height where applicable.
Results:
A total of 1346 cases of rock climbing-related injuries were identified after exclusion criteria. Fractures (30.2%) and sprains/strains (20.2%) were the most common diagnoses. The majority of injuries resulted from falls (61.2%), with fracture incidence increasing with fall height. Pediatric and young adult climbers sustained more upper extremity injuries, while geriatric climbers had a higher proportion of lower extremity injuries.
Conclusions:
In this study, we found that younger climbers experienced more upper extremity injuries, while older adults more commonly sustained lower extremity injuries. In addition, male rock climbers experienced higher proportions of shoulder injuries compared with female rock climbers. These findings illustrate the potential need for age- and sex-specific injury prevention strategies to guide safe participation in this growing sport.
Level Of Evidence:
Level IV, retrospective epidemiological case series.
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