Footwear in rock climbing: Current practice.
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.


OBJECTIVE
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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Institute of Motion Analysis & Research (IMAR), Department of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery, University of Dundee, TORT Centre, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK.
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McHenry
Institute of Motion Analysis & Research (IMAR), Department of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery, University of Dundee, TORT Centre, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK.
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Arnold
Institute of Motion Analysis & Research (IMAR), Department of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery, University of Dundee, TORT Centre, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK.
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Wang
Institute of Motion Analysis & Research (IMAR), Department of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery, University of Dundee, TORT Centre, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK. Electronic address: r.j.abboud@dundee.ac.uk.
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Abboud
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D018409:Foot Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009051:Mountaineering / Q000293:injuries*; D012775:Shoes; D055815:Young Adult
Foot injury; Footwear; Rock climbing