Background & motivation

Two different doctors both told me I should stop climbing immediately. I felt crushed, I thought I was a fit and healthy 35 year old, but they made it seem like I was broken. For a couple of months, I was tiptoeing through life - affraid of causing more damage to my hip joints. But that's not me.... it took me some time, but I got off my ass and started looking for better ways to deal with this situation.

I've always been a very athletic person. I started at a young age with a variety of sports: basketball, swimming, tennis, gymnastics... you name it. Later in life I started doing martial arts. This is where I noticed I have a limited range of motion in the hips. For years I tried to stretch to gain flexibility... but nothing seemed to work. Then one time, my hip dislocated. My GP at the time told me I had nothing to worry about. I visited him twice but both times he managed to convince me there was nothing wrong. 

Fast forward 10 years to 2017: I started bouldering after a friend introduced me to it. Again, I noticed the restricted range of motion in the hips was holding me back. And in 2021, I changed doctors and mentioned the hip issues again. He immediately referred me for an X-Ray. The results were quite shocking: severely degraded hip joints, most likely caused by Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI). Basically, I have a bony outgrowth on both sides of my hips. When I try to do the side splits or raise my knee for a high foot, this bony outgrowth jams against the joint and limits my range of motion. 

All those years of stretching and trying to do high kicks caused a massive amount of wear and tear. The two orthopedic surgeons I spoke with said there was so much damage, they were surprised I wasn't constantly in a lot of pain. They also recommended I immediately quit climbing, don't do any other sports that require a wide range of motion in the hips, and avoid sports with repeated impact (like running). It's as if they were recommending me to sit in the couch and watch TV for the rest of my life.

This hit me hard. I felt depressed. And then I felt disapointed for dealing so poorly with it. I was thinking of all the people who had it way worse than me, yet managed to stay strong and positive. Why couldn't I do that? Was I a weak person?

I had the support of people around me, and that made all the difference. Over time I started becoming more positive. And then I got extremely lucky: I found healthcare professionals who turned everything around. The new orthopedic surgeon had more experience with young, athletic patients and totally changed my outlook. By strengthening the hips (in their full range of motion), and by learning to compensate with my back, there was a realistic chance I could keep climbing in a healthy way for years to come. I also found a physiotherapist and climber who managed to empower me again. He overloaded me with hard exercises to strengthen the hips and improve balance. I felt like I had some control over my life and my health once again. I do not have the words to describe how big of a difference these 2 healthcare professionals made to my quality of life. I'm eternally grateful.

I know what makes me tick. To people like my, big challenges are motivating. So I knew nothing would motivate me more to do the daily physiotherapy exercises than an epic goal. And I immediately knew this just had to be a big sport climbing goal on real rock. I'm primarely a boulderer, I underperform (and get super scared) when sport climbing. But every time I climb on real rock, I'm bathing in the stunning beauty that nature has to offer. And afterwards I feel strong, refreshed, and fulfilled. I also think sport climbing is less hard on the body than bouldering, so a sport climbing goal seemed to make sense in terms of health. So what would be an epic, but achievable goal for someone who struggles on 6b (5.10c) and only managed to climb a single 7a (5.11d) in his life? 

The first two doctors turned me into a victim. Powerless. Now it's time to take the power back. I will find a way to not only keep climb in a healthy way, but to thrive and climb harder than ever before: 8a (5.13b). 

But in reality, reaching 8a is just a method. It's my way of focussing on what's important in my life. Thank you for reading this, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments: info@amirnickname.com