How come so many climbers develop shoulder problems? Almost all my friends, most of whom have been climbing for years if not decades, have been sidelined by acute or chronic shoulder injuries at times. I’m no stranger to this issue myself. Orthopedists primarily use imaging diagnostics such as x-rays and MRIs to look for structural [...]
If you have been struggling with chronic musculoskeletal pain for some time, the thought of acupuncture has probably crossed your mind since this treatment approach is well known for its potential to relieve pain and discomforts that don’t respond in a satisfactory manner to other approaches like pain medications, surgery, or physical therapy. Nowadays, acupuncture [...]
Does your body hurt, are your joints creaky, do you feel stiff like a board in the morning? You may have been diagnosed by your doctor (or yourself) with arthritis. Narrowly, the term arthritis means inflammation of the joints. Different forms of arthritis exist, such as osteoarthritis (the most common), autoimmune arthritis (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis), [...]
Experiencing chronic pain is no laughing matter. It can profoundly impact your quality of life, your ability to function---both physically and mentally---and undermine your livelihood. Maybe the only thing that's worse than experiencing chronic pain is when you have to rely on pharmaceuticals to manage your pain. The causes of pain are complex and so [...]
When all is well, you wouldn't know that every movement of your body involves your joints. They bend in many different ways, depending on their function, and allow you to flex, extend, twist, or simply move forward. But when your joints are not well, you will know because every movement creates pain and discomfort. This [...]
Shoulders are a hot topic for climbers. Countless rock climbers run into trouble with their shoulders early in their climbing careers, after many years of climbing hard, or once they're older and no longer training regularly. When I'm in the climbing gym, I always like to observe the postures and movement patterns of the people [...]
Are you one of the millions of Americans suffering from low back pain? You now have options to get better that don't involve pain medications or surgery. Since low back pain affects such an overwhelming share of the population at least sometimes in their lives and causes healthcare costs and economic losses in the tens [...]
As a climber you are often pushing yourself to the limit or beyond. In fact, most climbing injuries do not result from accidents but from overuse. Often, the damage to your body accumulates over time until you feel enough pain to slow down or avoid certain movements or positions. Our bodies are amazingly complex organisms, [...]
