Effects of regular rock climbing on instrument play

Question

Related : Is it bad for a piano player to work out?

Context :

The SE question linked above actually reminded me of a story about a guitar teacher that used to rock climb regularly but quit as he felt his climbing activity hindered his guitar play.

As an occasional climber and a guitar player, I wondered about this story for quite a time. The answers in the question above claimed that working out should not be a problem for piano playing. But what about rock climbing ? Climbing definitely put some hard pressure to your fingers, and anyone who had ever rock climbed know that you feel that a numbness lingers in the fingers quite some time after climbing (several hours usually).

Question :

Does rock climbing hinder, in the long-term, your finger dexterity, hence your instrument play ? If yes, how, and how much ?

Details :

I'm more interested in the lingering effects from climbing exposure on the fingers (or arms), not so much about the injury risk from fall/mishap (of course if you crush your fingers on a rock it will seriously hinder your play). Though they're not totally out of the question either.

For the instrument, I obviously think about the guitar, although I guess this question could be extended to any instrument that requires some finger dexterity, like the piano.

EDIT : this is what I mean when I write 'climbing' : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_climbing

Answer 1

rock climbing does indeed hinder your fingers' range of motion, but not necessarily dexterity.

Tenosynovitis: Your tendon sheaths around your joints get inflamed from regular and repeated rock climbing strain and they start to build up scar tissue. They thicken and drastically reduce range of motion, especially limiting your fingers' ability to touch your own palm. This doesn't really affect piano playing but does affect guitar playing, limiting your ability to play some certain intricate chords.

I'm speaking from experience.

Context: I played...
Classical Piano from 5-14yrs old
Jazz Guitarist from 14-24yrs old
Rock Climbed/Bouldered from 24-27yrs(now)

Answer 2

Short answer: No. Longer answer: depends.

Similar to my answer in the question you linked, I have several friends who are intense rock climbers - all play different instruments: piano, trumpet, etc. They are professional musicians and have never had issues resulting from it.

That said, any intense sport you do will show up later in life as an effect on the body. It’s possible that if it’s going to affect you, it won’t be until your 50-60’s, which is when it’ll really start to give you trouble. Also possible it never effects you at all. This is entirely dépendant in your individual biology.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

I play guitar, and infrequently go climbing at bouldering gyms. Anecdotally, I've found that for a couple of days after climbing, even once the muscle soreness is gone, (bearing in mind that I only climb once every couple of months) my finger dexterity when playing guitar feels reduced. I find it frustratingly difficult to play things that would normally be easy. It almost feels as though, because the muscles have changed, that I can't rely on the "muscle memory" that I normally would. Perhaps more frequent climbing and consecutive guitar practice would mitigate this.

Answer 4

I think a person needs to assess their sport technique and make a personal decision about how much risk they are willing to take.

If you played a sport a lot, you could face an overuse injury. Something like tennis and a wrist problem. But, generally if you have good form and take care of yourself you should not get injured just from playing a sport frequently.

On the other hand you could play a sport occasionally and have an accident. (I jammed my finger catching a football this summer, but I don't play regular football.)

But, you can say the same for nearly anything you do. I could cut my hand chopping vegetables.

Some sports may be especially risky. Martial arts - where you punch stuff all the time - seems risky for the aspiring concern pianist. But other than an extreme like that, a musician should be able to play sports without fear of injury.

Answer 5

My wife climbs mountains for fun (I can't even watch her), and she is also the Worship Leader at our church. If anything, the mountain climbing helps her guitar playing, because she feels healthier and stronger. Of course, the question can be viewed as purely subjective - it works for my wife, but it doesn't work for me (Gravity and I don't have a good relationship)