[ksjs]

I'm looking for a consensus or some reassurance:

I injured my finger about a month ago (99% sure it's the A2 pulley on my right hand ring finger). There was no pop or initial pain, indeed I finished the session where I injured it with no awareness of an injury. That came the next day but it wasn't especially significant.

I continued climbing on it and it was only after a reasonably long indoor bouldering session that it really came to light but again this was the day after i.e. I woke up and it felt very tender.

On the basis that:

- I am not in pain when loading the finger open-handed
- I haven't suffered loss of strength when open-handed
- I have discomfort (but not pain - I think!) when crimping
- I haven't experienced a significant decrease in crimp strength and
- I have an understanding that it will simply take time to heal and that *IF* I don't do anything stupid it's OK to continue climbing

I have sought to continue as normal pretty much.

Last night however, after a route session (10 routes) including some 7s, the injury site was very tender. I am aware that it fatigues quite quickly and I do start to experience increased pain as a session goes on. This morning though I'm aware of it but not for example in pain if I make just less than a clenched fist (which emulates a crimp position). The injury site remains however tender to touch (to the extent that turning a steering wheel can be painful if the wheel touches the injury site).

I wonder am I simply being stupid and unrealistic and I'd like to know what my strategy should be. Am I just stopping the finger from healing by pursuing my current regime (trying to boulder or do routes as hard as I can but avoiding [not very successfully probably due to a desire to push things] dodgy holds and stopping when sore)? Am I making the injury, once healed, stronger due to the loads I'm applying as it heals? Should I continue but become very strict about hold type / grade? Should I continue as is but increase number of rest days?

Thoughts or links to useful info please. Thanks!

[erm, sam]

I am not an expert but my reading of it is that you are slowly making a minor injury worse. I would take the intensity of the climbing down for a couple of weeks until you don't experience tenderness the day afterwards and then build up again over another couple of weeks.

[wintermute]

From your thread title I'd say you know exactly what you need to do!

Based solely on my personal experience of something very similar;
-Don't climb for ~2 weeks
-Start climbing very easy circuits to keep it moving. I mean very easy; if there's a chance you'll fall off then they're too hard. Resist the urge to do something stupid, and if it starts to feel bad, sack it off straight away. By far the hardest part.
-Stretch, massage and ice your fingers at every possible opportunity.

I tried to ignore mine last summer and turned what I reckon would have been a 2/3 week inconvenience into an ordeal that lasted about 3 months while I let it recover properly.

On the bright side though, I found it was a good opportunity to go and explore some proper low grade esoterica and visited loads of cool places/did some cool problems that I wouldn't have done if I'd been fighting fit.

Also a good time to crack on with core and/or bar work.

[highrepute]

rest 2 weeks (not very long in grand scheme)
ice twice a day
starting climbing again but stop if experience any pain.

[Schnell]

I'm apparently seriously prone to pulley injuries but this is my routine when I've got one and it works relatively well. I've never injured the same one again after it has recovered.

 At the moment I've a tweaked a2 on my right hand ring finger which is nearly recovered and a pretty bad a1 on the left hand middle finger. I work with the principle that stopping training is a last resort but there are loads of things you can train without causing further injury. Right now I'm avoiding any crimping at all, so I'm climbing only open handed at the wall. This requires a serious ego readjustment but it's definitely good training for finger strength and technique. It's tricky to avoid slipping back into crimping so generally I stick to using just back 3 or front 3. I'm also doing open handed campusing, finger boarding on slopers and some bar stuff.

Once there's no pain at all when I poke the pulley when rested I'll go back to light crimping. I'd expect it'll cause mild tenderness after use but as long as it's very mild it's fine and will gradually fade.

[Wood FT]

I did my a2 ring ring finger last year so;

- didn't do anything for a few days
- started regular ice baths, get the intensity right as sometimes I realised I was just sat with my hand in a bowel of water watching Trisha (hot/cold stuff as well, wet T shirt scenes)
- did very easy indoor climbing after 2 weeks of nothing
- gradually climbed more and did some easy trad outside
- entered the world of the living 6 weeks later

All I wanted when I injured mine was for someone to just say it'll be alright


it'll be alright

[petejh]

I hope you don't end up posting for injury advice after all of our climbing sessions!

Funny that we're both in a pretty similar boat. By the end of last night's sesh my LH middle finger a2 was feeling tender but I'd classify it as discomfort not pain. I iced it for 15 mins when I got home last night. This morning it feels good, just very slightly more tender when I prod it than the uninjured finger - so that's better than it was 3 weeks ago. I think what I did in our sesh (onsight 13 routes starting at 5+ up to 6c+ back down to 5+) was just the right level of pushing the finger along without doing too much, although I could have stopped a couple of routes earlier perhaps, but no big deal. I started noticing increased discomfort (not pain) around the 6b+ on the way down the pyramid.

I question the wisdom of trying to onsight 7bs indoors (or out) unless its something you'd normally piss up, or bouldering on anything fingery. Easy mileage with a gradual increase in intensity that doesn't provoke pain seems to be the recommended thing to do while recovering from finger injuries. At the moment I'm happy to try any climbing - trad and sport - that doesn't require having to pull hard on small holds, so in theory it could be an enduro 8a with no small holds except there aren't any in this country, so it's more likely to be juggy 6s and 7s (again, not over-endowed in the UK) or a lot of trad routes up to around e5 but probably better to second or top rope. And just focusing on enjoying other aspects i.e. movement in the sun, fitness and technique, not strength. I'll be happy to go out tradding at the moment and just accept that I might be better seconding / top-roping with the option of not having to keep holding on on small holds if it feels wrong. Or going to LPT with others but restricting myself to the goal of doing all the 6s.

Having designs on 'finishing off' a fingery bouldery 7c+ (Wirral Whip) is not conducive to healing an injured pulley.

Seconded: it'll be alright.

[Stu Littlefair]

What Guy said. It'll be OK.

It very much sounds like you've got some minor inflammation and scarring, which you are pissing off by continuing to climb.

My advice, which is slightly different to others here.

1) Don't rest. At least not for more than a few days. It doesn't sound like you've got serious inflammation. If you haven't, then all rest is doing for you is letting scar tissue build up.

2) Reduce volume. Try and avoid endurance training, routes etc. Stop when fresh.

3) Open hand only. If it doesn't hurt to open hand I strongly recommend only climbing open hand for a few weeks to months.

4) Climb in control. Deadhanging is perfect for this, allowing you to pull very hard (tendons need load to recover properly) without danger of catching a hold in a bad position. If you must boulder, be static and put weight on holds gradually.

5) Cold treatment, massage, stretch. Once a day. Don't go crazy on the massage or you'll just piss it off. read the following for details - http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/pulley-injuries-article.html

6) Get out and smell the flowers. All of the above is dull as shit, so enjoy yourself at the weekend and climb easy, great routes that you've never done. Go somewhere new.

[highrepute]

Right now I'm avoiding any crimping at all, so I'm climbing only open handed at the wall.

Maybe off topic. But I thought the current thinking was that half-crimped (that all fingers on, some a bit bent but no thumb) is the safest (due to being the most active, i.e. not relying on bones/tendons/ligaments to take the strain) grip type.

Also the fact that it is active means that it has the most potential for getting stronger.

If my fingers are feeling tweaky I'll preference the half-crimp.

[Schnell]

Right now I'm avoiding any crimping at all, so I'm climbing only open handed at the wall.

Maybe off topic. But I thought the current thinking was that half-crimped (that all fingers on, some a bit bent but no thumb) is the safest (due to being the most active, i.e. not relying on bones/tendons/ligaments to take the strain) grip type.

Also the fact that it is active means that it has the most potential for getting stronger.

If my fingers are feeling tweaky I'll preference the half-crimp.

For me half-crimping involves my index being straight and middle and ring finger bent. I find it irritates the pulleys in those two a bit less than full crimping but not much less, and much more than open-handing which doesn't hurt them at all. I agree fully open-handing is definitely tweaky but not on the pulleys which is what the original question was about.

[slackline]

Just added another link to an article on finger injuries management/prevention to the Wiki.

[duncan]

What Guy said. It'll be OK.

It very much sounds like you've got some minor inflammation and scarring, which you are pissing off by continuing to climb.

My advice, which is slightly different to others here.

1) Don't rest. At least not for more than a few days. It doesn't sound like you've got serious inflammation. If you haven't, then all rest is doing for you is letting scar tissue build up.

2) Reduce volume. Try and avoid endurance training, routes etc. Stop when fresh.

3) Open hand only. If it doesn't hurt to open hand I strongly recommend only climbing open hand for a few weeks to months.

4) Climb in control. Deadhanging is perfect for this, allowing you to pull very hard (tendons need load to recover properly) without danger of catching a hold in a bad position. If you must boulder, be static and put weight on holds gradually.

5) Cold treatment, massage, stretch. Once a day. Don't go crazy on the massage or you'll just piss it off. read the following for details - http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/pulley-injuries-article.html

6) Get out and smell the flowers. All of the above is dull as shit, so enjoy yourself at the weekend and climb easy, great routes that you've never done. Go somewhere new.

All this, not more but not less either.

For the reasons Stu suggests but also to keep your pain processing within healthy ranges. In my case 6) would be Easy Trad.™ Works every time for me, for various non-pathophysiological reasons, and what I hope to be doing on Sunday. Whatever you do, it should be fun, meaningful to you, and involve moderate activity of the hurty bits.

[Nibile]

What Stu said.
I experienced an increase of healing process' rate when doing open handed climbing or fingerboarding.
This does not mean that you should try to one arm monos: as I experienced yesterday, it's not good for injured fingers despite being open handed...
 

[Schnell]

This one (found through the wiki) is particularly relevant and good: http://www.athlon.com.au/articles/r&i_bumwraps-thetruth.pdf

I always enjoy how Julian Saunders makes light the injuries that make me sink into despair.

Also this has probably been posted before. http://www.marski.org/downloads/public/lesoes_mao/Injuries%20to%20the%20Finger%20Flexor%20Pulley%20System%20in%20Rock%20Climbers%20-%20Current%20Concepts.pdf but could be of interest.

[ksjs]

Some really useful and much appreciated replies. I think I know it will be OK I guess I'm disappointed as I had a good winter's indoor bouldering and was feeling strong and really wanted to put that to the test NOW! But all good things come to those who wait.

I will have a look at the links, stick to open-handed and easy crimping (only once warm), continue icing (I could be a bit more religious about this) and think about massage (though to be honest it would have to be the gentlest massage possible as it's very tender)

Good knowledge people - thanks again (and no Pete, I don't blame you!)