Injury-Risk Evaluation in Water Ice Climbing

Abstract

Introduction: Ice-climbing is widely considered to be a hazardous sport with a high risk of injury. To date, there has been no scientific analysis to characterize and reveal the prevalence of injury in this sport. The purpose of this study was to quantify and rate ice-climbing injuries. Methods: Eighty-eight ice-climbers (water ice) (13 female, 75 male, mean age 34.6 years) from nine countries completed a comprehensive questionnaire on ice-climbing accidents and injuries, climbing frequency and risk taking behaviour. Iceclimbing hours were quantified and injuries rated according to the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) score. To enable comparison to other sports, the injury risk was calculated per 1000 hours of participation in a given sport. Results: Seventeen athletes (19%) reported a total of 35 overuse syndromes resulting from ice-climbing. Ninety-five injuries were retrospectively reported for a consecutive 3-year period. The incidence and respective grading of the acute injuries were: 67 for NACA 1, 24 for NACA 2, and 4 for NACA 3. Most acute injuries were open wounds (55.2%) and haematomas (21.9%). These injuries occurred 61.3% of the time while lead climbing, 23.8% while following and the rest during belaying, approach or return. The incidence of overuse injury syndromes was 0.77/1000 hours of sports participation. The injury incidence was 4.07/1000hr for NACA 1-3 with 2.87/1000hr in NACA 1, and none in NACA 4-7. Body mass index (BMI) correlated significantly (P<0.05) with an increased risk of injury. Overuse syndromes correlated significantly with training hours (P<0.01), ice-climbing level (P<0.01) and the risk willingness while lead climbing on ice (P<0.01). Conclusion: Contrary to the popular perception, our study demonstrated that ice-climbing is not a sport with a high risk of injury. All NACA I injuries are of minor medical relevance and would normally not need special treatment or a doctor’s attendance. The results of injury risk per 1000 hours of participation in ice-climbing was comparable to that of indoor competition climbing and to other outdoor sports (hiking, mountain biking, kayaking). The injury risk was also much less than a standard sport such as soccer.