(Reuters Health) - Injuries are extremely rare at indoor climbing walls, a new study of more than a half-million visits to a gym in Germany suggests.
Over a five-year period, 30 injuries occurred, most minor and none fatal, which translates to a rate of 0.02 injuries per 1,000 climbing hours - lower than the rate seen among surfers, skiers and Nordic walkers.
"Rock climbing, especially indoor climbing is a very safe sport," Dr. Volker Schoffl, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the Klinikum Bamberg in Bamberg, Germany, and lead author of the new study, told Reuters Health.
"It's a sport that we can have all ages of people perform together, kids and grandpas can go do the sport together."
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