Youth Climbing Injuries: Are We Overloading Their Growth Plates?
Are We Overloading Our Youth Climbers? What the Research Says About Growth Plate Injuries and Climbing Training Volume
As the popularity of youth climbing grows—with increased access to indoor gyms, structured teams, and competitive circuits—we’re also seeing a concerning trend: a rise in growth plate injuries, particularly in the fingers of adolescent climbers. While A2 pulley injuries dominate the adult climbing injury narrative, the most common injury in youth athletes is very different—and far more insidious.
The Most Common Youth Injury Isn’t a Pulley Tear
Despite what many climbers believe, the most frequent injury in athletes under 18 is a periphyseal stress injury, or growth plate injury, not a pulley rupture. These injuries typically occur at the base of the middle phalanx (growth plate region) of the middle and ring fingers, especially during the pubertal growth spurt when the physes are biologically more vulnerable.
Source: Jones et al., 2022 (PMID: 36417842); Schöffl et al., 2022 (DOI: 10.1177/03635465211056956)
What’s Causing These Injuries? High Training Load and Early Specialization
Recent prospective studies highlight the correlation between injury rates and training volume. Youth climbers who train more than 10–16 hours per week, or train year-round without seasonal breaks, show a significantly higher risk of developing epiphyseal stress injuries.
In a 2023 prospective analysis by Schöffl and colleagues, 45% of all injuries recorded in adolescent climbers were growth plate-related—a staggering statistic for what’s considered a preventable overuse condition.
Source: Schöffl et al., 2023 (PMID: 37068419)
Specific Training Practices That Increase Risk
Two training variables stand out as particularly problematic:
The Crimp Grip – This grip places excessive dorsal pressure on the growth plate at the base of the middle phalanx. One study found that 64% of youth growth plate fractures were associated with the crimp grip during high-intensity movements.
Campus Board Training – Especially the “double dyno” style, which requires explosive finger loading, is strongly discouraged in skeletally immature athletes. Some federations, including the British Mountaineering Council and UIAA MedCom, recommend avoiding campus training entirely before age 18.
Sources: Bärtschi et al., 2019 (PMID: 31155395); Meyers et al., 2020 (DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17030812)
What Imaging and Longitudinal Studies Show
Radiographic and MRI studies on youth climbers over multi-year periods show progressive changes in the epiphyseal-metaphyseal regions, such as:
Widened growth plates
Cortical thickening
Early signs of joint surface irregularity
These adaptations were most pronounced in climbers with more years of experience, higher weekly training hours, and those involved in competition climbing.
Source: Schöffl et al., 2017 (PMID: 27888280)
Awareness and Education Are Still Lacking
A national survey of adolescent climbers revealed that only 15% correctly identified growth plate injuries as the most common youth-specific injury. Nearly 36% incorrectly believed the A2 pulley rupture was more common—likely due to misinformation or crossover from adult training narratives.
More alarming: only 6% of youth athletes knew the safe age to begin campus board training. This knowledge gap has direct consequences for injury prevention.
Source: Meyers et al., 2020 (DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17030812)
Practical Recommendations for Coaches, Parents, and Clinicians
If you work with adolescent climbers, here are five evidence-backed takeaways:
Delay crimp and campus training until after skeletal maturity (roughly 16–18 years).
Monitor for dorsal finger pain, especially at the PIP joint—this is a red flag in youth athletes.
Reduce total weekly training load if an athlete is climbing >10–12 hours/week during growth spurts.
Educate athletes and parents about safe training practices and the risks of overuse.
Use radiography or MRI early in suspected cases to avoid long-term joint deformity.
Final Thoughts: Load Doesn’t Equal Progress
Youth climbers are progressing faster and performing harder than ever before. But we must remind ourselves: a stronger climber is not necessarily a healthier climber. Just as we periodize training for strength and endurance, we must also periodize exposure to finger loading based on age, growth stage, and skeletal maturity.
This isn’t about holding kids back—it’s about keeping them climbing for decades.