Footwear in rock climbing

NewsBot · Jul 21, 2015

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Footwear in rock climbing: current practice
R.D. McHenry, G.P. Arnold, W. Wang, R.J. Abboud
The Foot; Article in Press

Highlights
•What Is Already Known?
•Rock climbers often wear ill-fitting and overly tight footwear.
•Foot injury and deformity, including hallux valgus, is common in the group.
•What This Study Adds:
•The extent of shoe-size reduction amongst rock climbers has been quantified for the first time, showing a mean reduction of almost 4 UK shoe sizes for rock climbing footwear.
•A shoe-size reduction was also found between an ideal fit and that of rock climber's everyday footwear.
•A greater than previously reported prevalence of foot pain during climbing activity is reported (91.07%).
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Background
Many rock climbers wear ill-fitting and excessively tight footwear during activity. However, there is insufficient evidence of the extent or harms of this practice.

Objectives
To investigate footwear use in rock climbers with a focus on issues surrounding fit.

Methods
A cross-sectional study with active rock climbers of over one year of experience completing a survey on their activity and footwear.

Additionally, the authors quantified foot and shoe lengths and sizes alongside demographic data.

Results
Ill-fitting and excessively tight footwear was found in 55 out of 56 rock climbers. Foot pain during activity was also commonplace in 91% of the climbers. A mean size reduction of almost 4 UK shoe sizes was found between the climbers’ street shoe size and that of their climbing footwear using a calibrated foot/shoe ruler. There is an unfortunate association of climbers of higher abilities seeking a tighter shoe fit (p < 0.001).

Conclusion
With the elucidation of footwear use amongst rock climbers, further investigation may aim to quantify its impact and seek a solution balancing climbing performance while mitigating foot injury.
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Dr. Steven King · Jul 28, 2015

Aloha,

"Ill-fitting and excessively tight footwear was found in 55 out of 56 rock climbers."

Wow, here is a problem looking for a solution.

Good thing climbers don't wear their helmets that small it may squeeze the gray matter out of their ears.

We have a novel solution for enhancing balancing climbing performance while mitigating foot injury, if anyone is interested...

Take a closer look into advanced composite systems, they offer a far higher coefficient of friction than rubber and foam to hold the edge.

Mahalo,
Steve

NewsBot · Jul 31, 2018

Self-reported chronic injuries in climbing: who gets injured when?
Grønhaug G
BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018 Jul 17;4(1):e000406.

OBJECTIVES:
To assess self-reported chronic injuries in climbing and possible connections with gender, experience and style of climbing.

METHOD:
Retrospective survey.

SETTING:
Web-based questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS:
667 active climbers (385 with chronic injuries, 289 males and 96 females).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:
Climbers who had experienced at least one chronic injury during the last 6 months.

RESULT:
About 2/3 of male outdoor climbers had experienced a chronic injury. The three most frequent sites of injury were fingers (41.3%), shoulders (19.4%) and elbows (17.7%). The most frequent injury for the females were fingers (29.2%), shoulder (21.9%), wrist (12.5%), elbow (11.5%) and foot/ankle (10.4%). The most frequent injuries for the male were fingers (45.3%), elbow (19.7%) and shoulder (18.7%). Respondents who preferred outdoor climbing were more prone to injury than others.

CONCLUSION:
Fingers were the most prevalent site of injury regardless of level of experience, gender and whether level of expertise is reported in terms of bouldering or route climbing. There seems to be a gender difference in respect of site of injury prevalence and a different prevalence of injuries according to style of climbing and different levels of expertise. Furthermore, the use of the suggested way of reporting levels of expertise to compare between bouldering and route climbing seems to be robust with no huge differences in terms of incidence level of different injuries.
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NewsBot · Aug 9, 2022

Rock-Climbing Shoes: A Survey of Attitudes and Practices
David W. Jenkins et al
JAPMA

Background: There is a paucity of literature regarding rock climbing footwear. Rock climbers anecdotally voice numerous complaints regarding their current footwear. In an effort to improve existing rock-climbing footwear, implementation of a survey tool assessing the attitudes and practices of rock climbers was undertaken.

Methods: A Web-based survey was developed to assess the demographics, attitudes, and practices of individuals active in rock climbing, with a focus on footwear.

Results: Forty-five of the 417 respondents were male and 55% were female. The average years climbing was 7, with a majority of respondents in the 18- to 34-year-old category. The majority climbed 5 to 10 hours/week. Eighty percent identified as intermediate or advanced climbers. Climbing shoes were an average of 0.83 size smaller than the climber’s street shoes. The more elite the climber, the greater the mismatch. Overall satisfaction with current rock-climbing shoes was 88%; however, as the age of climber and number of years of participation increased, the level of satisfaction decreased. The most frequently reported problems with shoes included inconsistent sizing between brands and poor heel fit. The most commonly reported locations of pain were the toes and heel.

Conclusions: The authors concluded the following: 1) a surprisingly high satisfaction with current rock-climbing shoes was reported; 2) the difference in size between climbing shoes and street shoes was less than expected; 3) more shoe fitting problems were experienced by those with the most experience in climbing and those who spend the most time climbing; 4) the most common locations for experiencing pain were the toes and the posterior heel or Achilles tendon; 5) higher than expected satisfaction levels with climbing shoes contrasted with the very high number of specific complaints and recommendations for improvement; and 6) because of the increasing popularity of rock climbing, foot care providers should learn about the various types of climbing and the shoe gear needs that result therefrom.
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NewsBot · Jan 18, 2023

Investigating Foot Morphology in Rock Climbing Mammals: Inspiration for Biomimetic Climbing Shoes
Stephen Spurrier,Tom Allen andRobyn A. Grant
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010008

The sporting goods sector can serve as a proving ground for new technologies. We propose that climbing shoes are an excellent case study for showcasing a systematic approach to bio-inspired design. Foot adaptations to climbing have been described before in some animals and have even been incorporated into bio-inspired products. However, there has not yet been a systematic description of climbing adaptations in mammals, and especially in rock climbing species. We present a description of foot morphology in mammals and compare rock climbing species to those with other locomotion types. Our results show that rock climbing species in our sample had fewer digits and larger anterior pads than arboreal species. Rock climbing species often had hooves or, if they had foot pads, these were relatively smooth. These examples look a bit like current climbing shoe designs, perhaps suggesting convergent evolution. However, there was also variation, with rock climbing species having pads varying in shape, placement and texture. Much of this variation is likely to be dependent on the relatedness of species, with those that are more related having more similar feet. We suggest that incorporation of novel textures and compliant pads might be an interesting focus for future climbing shoe designs.
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Footwear in rock climbing

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Dr. Steven King Well-Known Member

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Footwear in rock climbing

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

Dr. Steven King Well-Known Member

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

Safety / protective footwear with mild rocker sole

Prefabricated Foot Orthoses and Rocker-Sole Footwear in Individuals With First Metatarsophalangeal J

Adding rocker soles to footwear

Rocker bottom footwear, wheres the evidence base

MBT rocker sole footwear, for hallux limitus?

Perspectives toward feet, foot health, and footwear

Evidence based research on early walker footwear

Share This Page

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