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Climber’s soft tissue care

Based on the The Climbing Bible: Managing Injuries by Stian Christophersen

In soft tissues, acute injuries are injuries that happen suddenly, usually from a specific event like a fall, awkward landing, or pulling too hard on a hold.

When we refer to acute injuries on soft tissues it means that they affect muscles, tendons, or ligaments.

The RICE method

The RICE method was developed in 1978 by the doctor Gabe Mirkin to help reduce the inflammation symptoms and support recovery.

RICE stands for:

  • Rest: give your body a break and avoid using the injured area.
  • Ice: apply ice in the injured area to reduce pain and swelling.
  • Compression: wrap the affected area to keep swelling under control.
  • Elevate: keep the injured area above your heart to reduce pain, throbbing and swelling.

But after years, they found out that resting with placing cold to the injured area, actually can have a negative effect.

What Is Inflammation?

The symptoms are:

  • Redness
  • Swelling with heat
  • Pain

However, it’s a mistake to think swelling is the same as inflammation, because swelling can be just the buildup of waste from inflammation that the body hasn’t cleared out yet.

And the best way to reduce swelling is to keep the muscle active.

PEACE & LOVE method

That’s why another framework was created after RICE, called PEACE and LOVE.

PEACE: for the first days after the injury

  • P - Protect
    Avoid making the injury worse. Don’t stop using the injured part completely, but limit its use.

  • E - Elevate
    Keep the injured area raised above heart level to reduce swelling.

  • A - Avoid anti-inflammatories
    Don’t take anti-inflammatory medications in the early phase, even if they reduce pain, as they may slow down the recovery.

  • C - Compress
    Use bandages or compression wraps to control swelling around the injured area.

  • E - Educate
    Due to the huge amount of information you can find online, consider learning about your injury and the best ways to take care of it with the help of a health professional.

LOVE: for after the acute phase

  • L - Load
    Gradually reintroduce movement and weight to the injured area, without overdoing it.

  • O - Optimism
    Keep a positive mindset, as your attitude can influence the recovery.

  • V - Vascularisation
    Stay active and keep training the parts of your body that are not injured to maintain good overall fitness.

  • E - Exercise
    Do targeted exercises to restore mobility and strength.