Influence of regular climbing on depression, generalized anxiety and lower back pain

• Published in: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine 2021-09, Vol.28 (3), p.463-468
• Main Authors: Zieliński, Grzegorz, Zięba, Estera, Wilkowicz, Wiktor, Byś, Aleksandra, Ginszt, Michał, Libera, Oliwia, Zawadka, Magdalena, Saran, Tomasz, Gawda, Piotr
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Back pain; Climbing; Health problems; Injuries; Low back pain; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Spine; Spine (lumbar); Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 1232-1966; 1898-2263
• DOI: 10.26444/aaem/124189

Introduction and objective: Anxiety and depression disorders are increasingly affecting society. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, and depressive disorders are increasing in society worldwide. Lower back pain is one of the common health problems experienced by 50–80% of adults at some point in their lives. The aim of the study was to assess the climbing environment in terms of depression, generalized anxiety and pain in the lumbar spine. Material and methods: 139 people training on climbing walls Lublin in December 2019 were invited to participate in the study. After applying exclusion criteria, 113 people with an average age of 30±8 years, 88 men (average age: 30 years) and 35 women (average age: 30 years) were qualified for the study. They were examined by the author’s own questionnaire and the PHQ-9, GAD-7 and ODI questionnaires. Statistical analyses were applied and the significance threshold was set at 0.05. Results: Overall percentage results suggest mild depression at 27%, moderate anxiety at 27%, and mild back pain at 26% in the group of climbers tested. Climbing level and climbing sub-discipline did not affect the average results of PHQ-9, GAD-7 (p>0.05). Back pain was more common in boulder climbers (p