Rock climbing has evolved from a method for alpine mountaineering into a popular recreational activity and competitive sport. Advances in safety equipment and the rapid growth of indoor climbing ...facilities has enabled climbers to focus on the physical and technical movements needed to elevate performance. Through improved training methods, climbers can now achieve ascents of extreme difficulty. A critical aspect to further improve performance is the ability to continuously measure body movement and physiologic responses while ascending the climbing wall. However, traditional measurement devices (e.g., dynamometer) limit data collection during climbing. Advances in wearable and non-invasive sensor technologies have enabled new applications for climbing. This paper presents an overview and critical analysis of the scientific literature on sensors used during climbing. We focus on the several highlighted sensors with the ability to provide continuous measurements during climbing. These selected sensors consist of five main types (body movement, respiration, heart activity, eye gazing, skeletal muscle characterization) that demonstrate their capabilities and potential climbing applications. This review will facilitate the selection of these types of sensors in support of climbing training and strategies.
Route previewing has been established as a critical parameter in indoor climbing performance, as it could determine the success or failure in ascending the route. We addressed the effect of different ...types of previews on output climbing performance. Twenty-one advanced climbers (7b and 7c+ climbing grade) were required to complete 18 routes, rated at 6c, according to the French Rating Scale of Difficulty. Each climber previewed the route under three conditions: "No-previewing", "video-model previewing", and "real-model previewing". Output climbing performance was assessed in terms of route completion. The results showed differences on output climbing performance between types of preview. Specifically, the climbers achieved more successful attempts at climbing to the "Top" of the wall when inspecting the route with the "real-model previewing" condition, compared to the other conditions of preview. On the contrary, the climbers displayed more failed attempts in climbing the route with the "on-sight" condition, compared to the "flash" styles ("video-model" and "real-model"). The preview of the route, including performance of a real/video-projected model manipulating climbing holds, seems to increase the opportunities to climb the boulder successfully, attuning climbers to information specifying ascending actions. Climbing coaches should reinforce the design of representative training, using flash styles, to promote movement solutions for route completion.
Stair climbing is an intense physical activity and requires large range of motion at the joints, adequate muscle strength, and balance control. A powered stairmill, integrated with a gait ...rehabilitation device, can potentially be used for training those who have difficulty climbing stairs. In order to assess the effectiveness of such an approach, it is necessary to understand the similarities and differences in walking on regular stairs and on a stairmill. We have conducted an experiment to compare the differences in kinematics and muscle activations during climbing on regular stairs and a stairmill. Twelve subjects participated in this study. They first walked on regular stairs five times and then performed a one-minute continuous walking on a stairmill. The results showed several important differences. During continuous walking on a stairmill, when compared to regular stairs, there was (i) an increase in the percentage of stance phase during a walking cycle, (ii) a higher angle of plantarflexion of the ankle during the transition from stance phase to swing phase, and (iii) a decrease in muscle activation of the tibialis anterior during swing phase. These differences would provide additional insights into the design of future rehabilitation systems and to interpret human data obtained from stairmills.
Objective Rock climbing’s popularity continues to rise, with people of all ages regularly participating in the sport. Climbing literature suggests climbers get injured mostly in their upper ...extremities. Most studies on climbing injury analysis are conducted retrospectively, with all the inherent problems of a retrospective setup (no exact time collection, biased injury perception, etc). Prospective data are still missing. Methods We prospectively evaluated all attendees of a major German indoor climbing gym in Stuttgart, Germany, with bouldering and lead climbing facilities. Attendee’s age, sex, and time spent climbing were electronically recorded on each visit. All acute injuries were graded using the Medical Commission of the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme Score. Injury cause, belayers’ and climbers’ experience, and outcome were additionally analyzed. Results During a 5-year period (2007–2011), 515,337 visits to the climbing wall were registered, of which 63.6% were by male visitors, 36.4% female, within an age of 8–80 years (median, 34 years). The average time of climbing was 2 hours 47 minutes. Thirty climbing injuries were recorded, 22 were in male and 8 in female climbers with a total mean age of 27.5 ± 10.6 years. Acute injuries happened in 6 cases while bouldering, in 16 cases while lead climbing, in 7 cases while top roping, and in 1 case as a third person (not climbing or belaying) while watching another climber. Bouldering injuries were mostly the result of falls onto the mat, whereas in lead and top rope climbing various scenarios happened. Fifteen (50%) injuries were Medical Commission of the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme grade 2, 13 (43%) were grade 3, and 2 (7%) were grade 4, with no fatalities. The overall injury rate was 0.02 injuries per 1000 hours of climbing activities. Conclusions This was the first study to accurately record time spent indoor climbing digitally and evaluate the acute injuries prospectively in a large cohort. There were few injuries sustained, suggesting indoor climbing has a low risk of acute injury per 1000 hours of participation. The injuries were of minor to moderate injury severity, and no fatalities occurred. Several injuries could have been avoided, and further injury-prevention concepts should be developed.
To ensure the safety and efficiency of Zhurong Mars rover when climbing a slope on Mars, the forces of the rover under four climbing methods, which are normal climbing, Z‐type climbing, diagonal ...climbing, and bionic wriggle climbing, are analyzed. Each method corresponds to different maximum climbing slopes. The experiments are carried out with a backup rover on dense and soft terrains to determine the range of climbing slope for different climbing methods. According to the slope, peak current, cost of transport, and state of terrain, the climbing strategy is given. For dense and soft terrains, the soil cohesive is 0.99 and 1.4 kN/mn+1 and soil friction modules are 1528 and 700 kN/mn+2, respectively. Specifically, normal climbing is recommended for low‐range slopes, while Z‐type or diagonal climbing are suggested for medium‐range slopes, and bionic wriggle climbing is found to be optimal for high‐range slopes. To ensure the safety of the Zhurong Mars rover, it fails climbing if the critical values are exceeded. These results provide valuable insights for human operators when planning the rover's slope‐climbing actions on Mars.
The current medical fitness standard guidelines issued by Renewable UK for wind turbine technicians were adopted from the UK Fire and Rescue service. However, on the face of it, the two industries ...have different demands. This thesis aimed to ascertain the day-to-day nature of the role of a wind turbine technician - specifically, it aimed to understand the effect of external loads on vertical ladder ergometer climbing, the effect of a climb assist device and the effect of space restriction on ladder climbing. A further aim was to understand the difference between climbing a pitched and vertical ladder ergometer. Using an online survey, it was found that 50% of respondents climbed wind turbines on four, five or six days per week. The median turbine height climbed was 36 m whilst carrying external loads up to 15 kg. Finally, of the specific wind turbines involved, only 25% contained climb assist devices. This thesis ascertained that vertical ladder ergometer climbing was significantly (p < 0.05) more demanding than pitched ladder climbing, with a large effect on V̇O2 (d = 1.7 – 3.3) and heart rate (HR)(d = 1.5 – 1.9). The change in pitch leads to the mean V̇O2 across all speeds increasing from 39.1 ml.kg.min-1 to 45.5 ml.kg.min-1, and mean HR increasing from 148 bpm to 170 bpm. The use of a climb assist device significantly (p < 0.05) decreased mean V̇O2 from 28.3 ml.kg.min-1 to 22.0 ml.kg.min-1, mean HR from 134 bpm to 114 bpm, and the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) from a median of 3 to a median of 1. Furthermore, descending a vertical ladder has a significantly lower energetic cost than that of ascending, with a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in V̇O2 from 28.3 ml.kg.min-1 to 15.3 ml.kg.min-1, mean HR from 134 bpm to 111 bpm, and RPE reduced from a median of 2.5 to a median of 1. Climbing vertically with 5 kg significantly increased V̇O2 (36.4 versus 38.1 ml.kg.min-1) and HR (162 versus 167 bpm) compared to a no-load condition, while climbing vertically with 10 kg also significantly increased V̇O2 and HR compared to no load (36.4 versus 40.1 ml.kg.min-1; 162 versus 170 bpm) and 5 kg condition (38.1 versus 40.1 ml.kg.min-1; 162 versus 170 bpm). In comparison to results in unrestricted conditions, there was no significant (p > 0.05) change in the horizontal space required for climbing when a space constraint was applied to participants (0.88 m, 1.03 m or 1.23 m). This thesis found that, depending on the speed and/or the presence of an external load, the intensity of vertical ladder ergometer climbing exceeds that of the medical fitness guidelines. This thesis therefore proposes that future work should re-examine the medical fitness standard - the research also highlights that more studies are needed in order to create an evidence base from which to design a bespoke industry fitness standard.
Rock and ice climbing are widely considered to be 'high-risk' sporting activities that are associated with a high incidence of severe injury and even death, compared with more mainstream sports. ...However, objective scientific data to support this perception are questionable. Accordingly, >400 sport-specific injury studies were analysed and compared by quantifying the injury incidence and objectively grading the injury severity (using the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics score) per 1000 hours of sporting participation. Fatalities were also analysed. The analysis revealed that fatalities occurred in all sports, but it was not always clear whether the sport itself or pre-existing health conditions contributed or caused the deaths. Bouldering (ropeless climbing to low heights), sport climbing (mostly bolt protected lead climbing with little objective danger) and indoor climbing (climbing indoors on artificial rock structures), showed a small injury rate, minor injury severity and few fatalities. As more objective/external dangers exist for alpine and ice climbing, the injury rate, injury severity and fatality were all higher. Overall, climbing sports had a lower injury incidence and severity score than many popular sports, including basketball, sailing or soccer; indoor climbing ranked the lowest in terms of injuries of all sports assessed. Nevertheless, a fatality risk remains, especially in alpine and ice climbing. In the absence of a standard definition for a 'high-risk' sport, categorizing climbing as a high-risk sport was found to be either subjective or dependent on the definition used. In conclusion, this analysis showed that retrospective data on sport-specific injuries and fatalities are not reported in a standardized manner. To improve preventative injury measures for climbing sports, it is recommended that a standardized, robust and comprehensive sport-specific scoring model should be developed to report and fully evaluate the injury risk, severity of injuries and fatality risk in climbing sports.
Although rock climbing is thought of as a quintessential nature sport, much contemporary climbing takes place on indoor walls of plastic and wood - figuratively (and sometimes geographically) far ...from the outdoor settings where rock faces are found. In this paper, we leverage data from a survey of thousands of indoor climbers in the United States and Canada to examine differences between indoor-only climbers and those who also climb outdoors or intend to in the near future. Among other findings, our results suggest that climbing is less central in indoor-only climbers' routines and tends to be less motivated by the managed risk-taking that was once considered an inseparable element of the sport. Our results also offer insights into possible shifts in the marginalisation of groups and identities other than cisgender white men in outdoor recreation activities and contexts - and the role of indoor facilities in such shifts.
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