Citation

Campbell AD, Davis C, Paterson R, Cushing TA, Ng P, Peterson CS, Sedgwick PE, McIntosh SE. Clin. J. Sport. Med. 2015; 25(5): 412-417.

Affiliation

*Family and Sports Medicine, University of Utah Health Care, Salt Lake City, Utah; †Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine; ‡Kaiser Permanente, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado; §Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Utah Health Care, Salt Lake City, Utah; ¶Arizona Sports Medicine Center, Mesa, Arizona; and ‖Central Maine Sports Medicine (a Clinical Division of CMMC), Evergreen Sports Medicine Fellowship, Lewiston, Maine.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/JSM.0000000000000247

PMID

26340733

Abstract

Climbing is a popular wilderness sport among a wide variety of professional athletes and amateur enthusiasts, and many styles are performed across many environments. Potential risks confront climbers, including personal health or exacerbation of a chronic condition, in addition to climbing-specific risks or injuries. Although it is not common to perform a preparticipation evaluation (PPE) for climbing, a climber or a guide agency may request such an evaluation before participation. Formats from traditional sports PPEs can be drawn upon, but often do not directly apply. The purpose of this article was to incorporate findings from expert opinion from professional societies in wilderness medicine and in sports medicine, with findings from the literature of both climbing epidemiology and traditional sports PPEs, into a general PPE that would be sufficient for the broad sport of climbing. The emphasis is on low altitude climbing, and an overview of different climbing styles is included. Knowledge of climbing morbidity and mortality, and a standardized approach to the PPE that involves adequate history taking and counseling have the potential for achieving risk reduction and will facilitate further study on the evaluation of the efficacy of PPEs.

Language: en