METHODS article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1580509
This article is part of the Research TopicMuscle and Tendon Injuries in Sporting and Tactical Populations: Mechanisms, Prevention and RehabilitationView all 10 articles
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rehabilitation and Return to Sport in Rock Climbing Athletes -A practical concept paper
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States
- 2Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Klinikum Bamberg, Sozialstiftung Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
- 3Division of Exercise Physiology and Metabolism, Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany
- 4School of Health and Community Studies, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, England, United Kingdom
- 5University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany
- 6Department of Emergency Medicine, Section of Wilderness Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States
- 7University Hospital Rostock, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
- 8Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery,, Martin Luther Hospital, Johannesstift-Diakonie, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- 9Department of Orthopedics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
- 10School of Health, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, England, United Kingdom
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Background: Acute ACL tears are becoming increasingly common among rock climbing athletes, particularly those who engage in bouldering.Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose of the paper was to develop a rehabilitation and return to sport protocol for rock climbing athletes after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.The protocol is designed in 6 phases and emphasizes the importance of sport-specific postoperative rehabilitation protocols that address the unique needs of rock climbing athletes and stresses the need for sport-specific training prior to returning to full activity.The proposed rehabilitation protocol follows the stages of typical postoperative ACL protocols but with an emphasis on climbing-specific demands, such as eccentric landing mechanics and penduluming into a wall during lead climbing.Results: Climbers will be able to utilize the protocol to return to rock climbing.This paper highlights the need for further research on the topic and provides a foundation for future studies examining ACL tears in climbing athletes.
Keywords: ACL, Bouldering, Rock climbing, protocol, Return to sport
Received: 20 Feb 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Vagy, Schöffl, Ohde, Petersen and Lutter. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Volker Rainer Schöffl, Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Klinikum Bamberg, Sozialstiftung Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
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