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tonithegreat
Apr 14, 2003, 8:33 PM
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Registered: Jan 22, 2003
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Hopefully this hasn't allready been asked somewhere. . .
But, I figure I'll ask in the Ladies forum because I've seen good female-specific health related advice here in the past.
Do any of you expereince more injuries climbing when your life is full of stress away from the gym/crags?
Lately climbing has been about the only thing beteen myself and insanity. I'm about to graduate from law school, and I'm doing that final round of exams and big papers, and getting ready for the bar exam, and I'm job searching at the same time. The stress is killer. But 3 nights a week I get to forget all about it and concentrate on becoming one with little rocks bolted to a wall. And my climbing has really improved a lot in the last few months! But now I am battling some kind of minor joint or tendon problems in my left elbow, and I swear they only crop up when I have a major paper that I'm working on or a big assignment from work. It's as if my body can't forget the stress and tenseness, even if I'm not thinking about the law at all, but only thinking about climbing.
Do any of you have any tips for leaving the work/school stress behind when I walk into the gym or drive to the crags?
I'm trying to take it easy, because if I have to quit climbing because of an injury, I might totally loose it! One of my freinds says that I need to take a stress management class, but who has time for that?
Any advice is appreciated!
Toni
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leahmeryl
Apr 14, 2003, 9:52 PM
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Registered: Nov 27, 2002
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Toni - I started climbing right after taking the NY and NJ bar exams! I wish I had been introduced to it sooner - would have been great relief from the books!!! Anyway, my job is pretty stressful and I usually climb right after work. So I can relate to what you're asking about.
The first thing I do when i go climb is take a long time to stretch and do some yoga-like stretches. I hold them for longer than I need to and really try to focus on the how I feel physically, instead of mentally. Then if I've had a really tough day, while I'm stretching I close my eyes and visualize myself turning off my laptop, packing away my files, walking out of my office, going down the elevator... each step of me leaving work - right down to throwing in a CD and driving away. It really helps me.
I'm less focused when I'm stressed and I tend to get clumsy! You could probably connect each bruise I have to a deadline at work!
Anyway, good luck with the bar exams! (It will be over before you think!)
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missedyno
Apr 15, 2003, 5:40 PM
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Registered: Nov 21, 2001
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yeah, sounds like you're under a lot of stress right now... this would be a bad time to push yourself with climbing!!!
take a good amount of time to stretch before climbing. i find that if i have a rough day at work and feel like i barely made it to the gym alive, lots and lots of stretching before climbing really helps.
good luck with everything :)
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sroehlk
Apr 15, 2003, 7:23 PM
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Registered: Oct 15, 2002
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To answer your question - yes! I think there is a strong correlation to stress and climbing injuries. I also use climbing as a stress reliever and try to go as often as I can. When I’ve had a really crazy day at work I climb much harder physically, but I don’t feel as fluid. I guess that’s where the bruises come from. When I’m feeling relaxed everything just clicks.
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yppah
Apr 16, 2003, 11:27 PM
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Registered: Jun 21, 2002
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I did not associate the two until reading this. But, I think that maybe they could be related. I have been really stressed out all this semester. It is my last as a graduate student and I had to write up my research. About a month into the semester I really messed up the tendon in my left hand ring finger. I have not been able to climb much since then because of the injury. I was really looking forward to the climbing as a stress relief. Now I wonder if it was the stress that cause the injury in the first place. I had warmed up the day that I hurt the finger, but probably not as well as I normally do because I wanted to ensure that I really got to spend some time climbing since my time was so limited by all of the other things I had to do. So, indirectly, I may have caused the injury. Or it may have just been my time. I have been climbing for a number of years and not had the honor of the finger tendon injury and forced time off.
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