Does boulder/climbing help or causing damage?

alternatiwe

Hey folks,
I'm playing on electric guitar for maybe 20+ years now. Nowadays I'm playing mostly things which requires quickly moving my fingers on the fretboard. Not on the shredding end though, but somewhere in the middle..
I just started this new hobby recently, I'm climbing, mostly indoor. I can feel that it has some effects on my fingers/hands. Days after these activities, especially during the morning I feel pain in my fingers until the first few movements done. Most probably my hands are going to be stronger, on the other hand I'm a little bit worried if it would have some negative effects on my technique.. may it slow down?
Probably there are several players here around who already went through this.. what are your experiences? Should I quit from climbing? Should I change any technique?
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks!

Cranky

I literally gave up bouldering for guitar.  It wreaked havoc on my elbows and forearms, I battled tendinitis for a long time.  I’m prone to inflammation injuries anyway, but this was really hitting where it hurt.

It was a bummer, as climbing had me in my best overall shape between flexibility, stamina and strength.  And my fellow climbers were a very pleasant and vibrant group to be around.  But guitar is more important to me.

If you continue to climb, I would say no more than 2x a week, and spend plenty of time warming up, cooling down, stretching, and do a good amount of old fashioned pushups with your palms on the ground and fingers out.

monquixote

Everyone I know who has done climbing regularly has picked up injuries.

How you balance it against guitar is priorities.

guitars4you

My daughter plays a lot of netball at a reasonable level - She started bouldering - Liked it - But ended up with a foot/toe injury that caused havoc with netball - Around a year to resolve - She would like to still do some but is just worried about picking up the same injury - Like others have said, great fitness benefits

euan

I think with bouldering you’re going to be using a lot of muscles and tendons in a way that you’ve never before. Especially and that will again change depending on whether you’re a static or dynamic climber. 

Also lots of people tend to get a bit over excited and try to push themselves really quickly and go for problems that they really shouldn’t do and might eventually successfully do sloppily. There is where injury lies. 

Take your time learning correct technique, especially how to use and balance your weight. Spend your first 30 minutes on the easy problems warming up and really practicing technique. It’ll help in the long run. 

drippycat

Moderation is key. Both me & my best mate were keen on climbing & I still sometimes do it. Both of us play guitar & have had no bad effects from the climbing. Mind you, we were never rock athletes. If you were going for pro level with either then I'd imagine having to suffer a decline in one for the others sake.

Stratavarious

I did both for a lot of years… but hands and tendons in their 20’s are different,   

Hard bouldering risks damage which will effect playing. Not least the little skin tears which annoyingly catch the thin strings. Fatigued forearms don’t like a full gig the next night too. A cut or knackered finger can put you out of action for a week or two.

I got by by focusing more on big roped rock and mountain routes and did not chase too many high E grades.  I did a lot of a climbing wall stuff to practice rope work but that and bouldering has become quite its own sport thing.   

A lot depends on the intensity and direction you take your climbing.. the big slabs at Grimsel in Switzerland are all foot work.  You’ll only lose your skin if you slip. 

slacker

monquixote said:

Everyone I know who has done climbing regularly has picked up injuries.

How you balance it against guitar is priorities.

As I lay in hospital near mile end climbing wall I left 4 bands and got back into it 2 years later. 

Mattharrier

I find that most people - including me - push too hard too quickly when climbing or bouldering. Strength can get you up routes without worrying about technique for a while, but learning the correct techniques and building your muscles slowly will help to prevent injury.

Ultimately though, climbing and bouldering will make your fingers stronger, but less flexible. If this impacts your playing to a point that bothers you, you'll have a choice to make.

kelpbeds

I climbed to a pretty highish level back in the day. Never affected my guitar playing.

viz

kelpbeds said:

I climbed to a pretty highish level back in the day.

I lolled at that for some reason

kelpbeds

viz said:

kelpbeds said:

I climbed to a pretty highish level back in the day.

I lolled at that for some reason

Haha yes, I see that now didn't at the time! Pun not intended!

hassleham

I've been climbing and guitaring since I was 7.. I started getting pretty good at both when I was around 18 and despite climbing (mainly bouldering) to a pretty high level, I never felt like it was impacting my guitar playing negatively.

I did start to get problems with my left wrist when I was about 26 years old as I was still climbing pretty regularly but was also playing guitar a lot more (teaching all week and gigging at weekends). It turned out that the muscles in my forearms were clumping together and were pulling/grinding against small bones in my wrist joint and causing a lot of pain when I played guitar. So I started stretching regularly and also 'flossing' my forearms (google it, really good for helping with tight forearms and wrist pain!) which really helped, and I've had no problems since.

I don't climb as much any more but would feel pretty comfortable getting back into it and not having it affect my guitar playing, as long as I kept on top of the stretching/flossing routine.

As a side note, I was having some back/neck pain in my early twenties and when I went to an ostiopath she said I was completely lop sided and more built on one side of my back, which she believed was due to me playing classical guitar and sitting in classical position from a young age. So i guess classical guitar is more dangerous than rock climbing!

Crazed_Fandango

I workout with weights and have competed in both powerlifting and strongman, both of which considerably improve grip strength.  The only negative I've found might be extra fret wear