Looking for a safe way to exercise?
Try climbing at your neighborhood climbing gym.
According to a German study of a half million visits to climbing gyms, only 30 injuries were reported, most of which were minor and none fatal. The rate of injury — 0.02 injuries per 1,000 climbing hours — was lower than surfing, skiing, badminton and Nordic walking, among other activities.
“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.”
Most of the injuries were belay-related.
Read more here.

In other recent health-and-fitness-related science news:

Ball hog no more
There may finally be a cure for that guy in your pickup games who refuses to give up the ball.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
According to a recent study presented at a meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, the bacteria was found to thrive on the surface of sports balls for three days “in typical storeroom conditions.”
Adds the ACSM: “And even if a ball is sterilized, it can accumulate the bacteria when it’s used.”
Read more here.

A good time for a walk
When is a good time to take a walk?
After a meal, according to a study out of Japan and published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
According to the study, folks who walked after eating lowered their level of triglycerides, high levels of which can put people at risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and other heart-related conditions. The study’s primary investigator was Wataru Aoi, Ph.D., of Kyoto Prefectural University in Kyoto, Japan.
Read more here.

Cold water thrown on ice baths
Taking an ice bath after a workout doesn’t reduce soreness or strength loss, according to a study from the University of New Hampshire.
In the study, 20 college-age guys ran for 40 minutes. Afterward, 10 took a 20-minute ice bath in 40-degree water, 10 didn’t. They then walked down stairs and were tested for quad strength, thigh circumference and levels of inflammation in their blood. The ice bathers exhibited “possible mild reduction in inflammation, but the findings were not conclusive,” according to the study.
Advises the study’s lead researcher, Naomi Cystal, “Use them sparingly. Use them in tournament situations, use them with an athlete who has done something extraordinary. But for day-to-day athletes, I wouldn’t recommend them. They’re painful, and they’re time consuming.”
Read more here.

Another strike against the BMI
According to a story appearing on Science Daily, “Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine point out that the body mass index (BMI), based on the weight and height, is not an accurate measure of body fat content and does not account for critical factors that contribute to health or mortality, such as fat distribution, proportion of muscle to fat, and the sex and racial differences in body composition.”
Read more here.

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