Part II of our series, “Recovery in Climbing.”

Can’t help but wonder - is there a difference in short, medium, and long-term recovery? Should you approach each differently? Short answer - yes.

Long answer - read on to learn more about how to maximize recovery from our Vancouver physiotherapy author Rachel Rubin-Sarganis.

Any serious athlete knows that recovery is just as important as the training itself. If you want to optimize your climbing performance, knowing how to limit fatigue and speed up recovery is as important as knowing how to perform a knee-bar, a finger jam, or drop-knee. Your ability to recover after a hard training session or working on a climbing project depends on numerous factors including age, genetics, and fitness level, but regardless of these factors, there are various tips and strategies that you can use to help enhance the recovery process!

Medial epicondylitis, also known as climber’s, golfer’s, or baseball elbow; is an overuse injury of the elbow characterized by pain from the elbow to the rest on the medial side of the elbow. The medial elbow region is prone to overuse injuries in climbing for a couple of reasons.

Physiotherapy will be an extremely important aspect of medial epicondylitis treatment. As climber’s and athletes, the physiotherapists at Elios Health are very familiar with medial epicondylitis and want to help you minimize the impact your symptoms place on your climbing and daily activities.

It’s the time of year for winter sports and snow-packed adventures. “Skier’s Thumb” is one of the most common hand injuries associated with winter sports.

To ensure success as you hit the slopes, read this blog post to learn all about the anatomy, symptoms, causes, and treatment options for Skier’s Thumb.

If you sustain a thumb injury this winter and are in the Greater Vancouver area, consult with us at Elios Health so that you can return to your winter activities safely. With the proper treatment and rehabilitation, we can help get you back to the mountains pain-free as soon as possible.

The knee is designed to move through flexion and extensions and facilitate the squatting motion. For most people, it should not cause knee pain, however, knee pain while squatting is a very common complaint.

Usually, the issue stems from poor movement patterns when performing the exercise due to muscle imbalances, limited mobility, and poor form. When left unaddressed, these issues can lead to acute and chronic knee injuries.

Rachel (Physio Beta) is at it again.

Enjoy three of her favourite exercises for improving shoulder stability.

Hint: one of them requires balance!

As the weather gets colder, many rock climbers are shifting their focus from their outdoor sport climbing and boulder projects to training and gym climbing. For some climbers, however, the snow and cold weather mark the start of ice climbing season.

One common injury seen among ice climbers is “ice axe wrist”. It is an overuse injury caused by prolonged activity involving flexion and extension of the wrist, especially while holding heavy tools (such as an ice axe). Ice axe wrist is also commonly seen in rowers, weightlifters, and skiers.

Getting back into running postpartum can be a difficult task. Not only do new moms face complete changes to their daily routines but their muscles, joints and ligaments also go through drastic changes as well.

We would hardly expect injured athletes to be able to jump back into running at a pre-injury level and becoming a new mother is no different.

The following provides some information to consider when returning to running postpartum.

Oh no, a sprained ankle!

It’s one of the most frustrating times is when you just can’t “walk it off”.

Let’s take a look at what’s going on down there…

The ACL is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee and often affects younger, active individuals who participate in sports. Injuries to the ACL are usually caused by non-contact rotational forces such as sudden changes in direction, rapid stopping, jumping, and landing abnormally.

The Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the key ligaments that act to stabilize the knee joint. The ACL connects your thighbone (femur) to the shin (tibia). Together with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the ACL forms a cross-shaped band that prevents excessive forwards or backward movement of the shinbone relative to the thigh, as well as provides the knee with rotational stability.

Manual therapy encompasses a range of techniques used by physiotherapists to assess and treat injuries and chronic conditions causing pain, stiffness, and reduced range of motion of the arms, legs, and spine. It involves hands-on treatments geared towards improving muscle function while minimizing pain.

Read on to learn more about the types of manual therapy, and who it helps!

At Elios Health, it is the responsibility of our certified sports nutritionist, Dr. Marieta Buse ND to help patients make more intuitive decisions around food.

Eating healthy is much easier when you have a plan and great habits.

Here are three areas to help maintain an optimal balance with your nutrition and diet.

What is a rotator cuff? What are people always talking about it? In fact, what makes it a “cuff”? Is it like a cuff link?

Ok, we are getting a little out of hand here.

Read on to learn more about the anatomy of the shoulder, and our three favourite exercises to prevent rotator cuff injuries!

Lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow as it is more commonly known, is a painful condition of the elbow caused by overuse. As you may have guessed, tennis and other racquet sports are a common culprit of the injury, however, several other sports such as golf, baseball, martial arts, and rock climbing can also lead to the condition. Non-athletes can be prone to tennis elbow as well, and it is a common occurrence in painters, carpenters, musicians, and plumbers.

Let’s explore the anatomy of the elbow, and ways to address elbow pain.

How do you know if your pain is just something from last weekend's adventure or a sign of something more long-term? In this post we look at signs and symptoms of chronic and acute injuries, and what to do when you think it is something more than leftover stiffness.

Acupuncture and intramuscular stimulation (IMS) can both be effective modalities for pain management. The two treatments are similar in that they both involve the insertion of a thin, single-use, sterile needle to stimulate healing. The two treatments differ in the way that the needles are used and the conditions that they address.

We are all in a hurry to get to that next trail! However, us hikers and backpackers are are guilty (at one time or another) for failing to engage in a proper dynamic warm-up.

Warming up your (epic strong) muscles and soft tissues (not the kind you cry into) prior to hiking and backpacking is extremely important for injury prevention. Muscle, tendon, and ligament strains, sprains, and tears are less likely to occur when the body is warmed up.

Let’s take a look and see 7 warm-up exercises for hiking!

Pulley injuries are the most common type of finger injuries among rock climbers. To minimize the impact of a pulley injury on your climbing goals, it is important to understand the anatomy of the pulley system, the mechanism of injury, and how to prevent and treat finger injuries.

Stretching before engaging in your epic adventure (ie: sports and exercise) can help mitigate the risk of injury and optimize athletic performance by preparing your muscles, joints, ligaments, and other soft tissues for upcoming activity and load.

In adventurer’s terms: how you prepare matters!

Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome) is described as pain or discomfort at the front of your lower leg that worsens when running or exercising.

In some cases, the pain may resolve immediately after activity or can easily be managed with ice and rest, however, shin splints can also lead to chronic pain. Although they can be very painful, shin splints are preventable and treatable with proper care.