Physiotherapy for Rock Climbers in Thun, Switzerland

Physiotherapy focuses on identifying the origin of your injury and an analysis of your current physical capabilities. Be it a torn pully ligament, shoulder pain, tenosynovitis, tendinitis, shoulder instability, or a torn lumbrical muscle, each requires a deep dive into:

  • The mechanism of your injury
  • The healing phase of your injury
  • Your current training regime
  • The mobility & stability of the joints around your injury
  • The strength of the muscles around the injury site
  • Your neuromuscular control
  • Your mental state

The bottom line is: we can’t treat your injury efficiently before we understand you, your training, and your injury.

So, what does physiotherapy look like when you make an appointment?

How Does a Physiotherapy Treatment for Rock Climbers Look Like?

Physiotherapy treatment for rock climbers exists out of 2 parts. The first part are the first 1 to 2 appointments in which we focus on understanding you and your injury. The second part focuses on applying treatment modalities and ensuring you make the right steps to recover well.

1st Appointment (30 or 60 minutes):

  1. Intake interview: this helps me understand you and your injury
  2. Physical Assessment: to understand functional movement capacity, mobility, stability, and pain provocation
  3. Analysis & Discussion: I analyze the data from our intake and physical assessment and discuss the conclusion with you; where did your injury come from? What should you do now? How are we going to make sure it heals efficiently? And finally, how are we going to make sure it doesn’t happen again?
  4. Treatment: Based on my analysis and your feedback we come to a treatment plan and with clear roles for each of us. What we do in the clinic and what you can do at home to rehab efficiently.

2nd Appointments & After (30 minutes)

  1. Analysis of your progression: we discuss your progress, issues you encountered, and possible new symptoms that have arisen.
  2. Continuous adaptation to your progress
  3. Progression in the intensity of exercise therapy
  4. Application of treatment modalities like manual therapy, radial shockwave therapy, soft tissue mobilization

Physiotherapy Treatment Modalities

These are the main treatment modalities I use during climbing physiotherapy treatments.

Exercise Therapy

Exercise therapy is the most important part of sports physiotherapy for rock climbers, physiotherapy after surgery, and accidents. With the right exercises at the right moment, we can improve your:

  • Mobility
  • Stability
  • Coordination
  • Strength
  • Hypertrophy
  • Endurance
  • Power

Doing exercises forces your body to adapt and get into the state you want it to be. Without it, any other treatment modalities are less effective. For example, soft tissue mobilization of the rotator cuff muscles might bring you more mobility. If you don’t repeat the use of this newly acquired mobility often, your brain won’t recognize it.

Soft Tissue Mobilization

Soft tissue mobilization can be done in the form of Manual Friction Massage on Trigger Points or by doing Deep Tissue Release with the aid of myofascial techniques. Both approaches can reduce pain, muscle tension, improve mobility, and perceived stability. Soft tissue mobilization treatments should always be followed by exercise therapy to ensure the newly acquired situation remains.

Dry Needling

During a Dry Needling treatment, I use acupuncture needles to enhance blood circulation in myofascial trigger points to reduce pain and movement dysfunction.

Manual Therapy

Manual therapy is ideal for problems originating in joints. Think of back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, and elbow pain. With manual therapy, I can mobilize and manipulate joints and improve movement quality. Manual therapy is a great treatment starter but should always be followed by exercise therapy to ensure the newly acquired movements stay.

Neuromobilization

Neuromoblization (NOI) is great for injuries involving the nervous system. Be it originating from the spine like herniated discs, radiculopathies as well as neurological problems in the limb like carpal tunnel syndrome and thoracic outlet syndrome.

Radial Shockwave Therapy

Radial Shockwave Therapy is a treatment that involves mechanical shockwaves applied with a machine. This treatment can enhance blood circulation, cell metabolism, and can reduce pain by generating competition for your current pain sensations. I use radial shockwave therapy for tendon injuries and on rare occasions on ligaments as well.

a physiotherapist doing dry needling
a physiotherapist doing manual therapy on the lumbar spine

How Much Does Physiotherapy Cost?

If you’re a Swiss Resident/Citizen, Physiotherapy is paid from your basic insurance if you have a referral from a doctor. If you make an appointment without a referral, you pay a private fee.

Our private fee is CHF70.

Click here to make an appointment online* (you’ll be redirected to the website of the clinic I work at; Physiotherapie Reactive)

*If you’re not insured in Switzerland or don’t have a prescription for physiotherapy ordered by your doctor, choose “Private Physiotherapy”.

Make Appointment

Please call +41 033 335 22 44, or make an appointment online by clicking the button below (you’ll be directed to the website of our clinic).

ONLINE APPOINTMENT