To add some more suggestions into the pot of suggestions.. Have you questioned why you have a problem with tight muscles? Deep-breathing exercises, meditation and various other relaxation techniques might aid in reducing overall muscle tension. Combined with a conscious effort to relax grip on climbs and a stretching/massaging regime it might do the trick. Are you anxious about falling - have you done a bunch of falling practice and become relaxed with being on the lead?If nothing else helps if it were me I'd be tempted to do a little controlled experiment by taking a small amount of muscle relaxant (you'll have to convince a doc to give you some) and then trying a route to see if there's less muscle cramp.
In what scenarios are muscle relaxants usually used for? Not sure what reasons I'd give the doc for wanting it?
I reckon your tight arms, circulation issues, getting pumped and crimping everything are all a viscious circle.
Ref deep breathing - not much about forcing oxygen into your circulatory system to be skeptical about - it's what Ondra (amongst others) does. Looks like he's deliberately and forcefully inhaling and exhaling while resting, as well as through hard moves. Think I've read him saying something to that effect. Certainly sounds like a racehorse when he's on the rock.
Sports doctors aren't available on the NHS (well there are about 2 in whole country) so try and get yourself a referral to an NHS hand surgeon.
Cheers all,My problem seems to be that no one is even that sure what's wrong with me every time I see them. It'll probably be a long wait before I even get an appointment to review my NCS with the muscular skeletal physio guy.My symptoms are bizzare in that they come and go, sometimes it's worse than others and sometimes I forget I have anything wrong at all. I have weeks where I don't wake at night because of numbness and then the odd time where I do.Maybe I'm wrong but I've always thought surgery was a last resort when things got real bad, and I don't feel it's THAT bad yet.What makes it worse and what probably makes it hard to diagnose what's wrong with me is that my posture is also rubbish and I get aching shoulders and neck which I've also read can cause CTS type symptoms. Also, on the odd occasion where I do wake in the night due to numbess sometimes it's the thumb, index and middle finger that's numb and other times it's the ring and little fingers, which are 2 differnent nerves being compressed aren't they? (Median and Ulnar).The main thing I've noticed in the day lately is the inside of my thumbs in the palm are constantly aching and anything that involves pinching is difficult, I was sawing something the other day with a hacksaw and had to stop after about 30 seconds as that area cramps up, same with gripping a toothbrush! I don't actually get any pain in the wrists at all, the only ache I can feel if I prod around is on the inside of my forearms about a few inches up from my wrist mainly near my ulnar, this is the same in both arms.I saw the physio in work last Thursday and she assesed and identified my ulnar nerve is irritated on both arms and Carpal Tunnel tests didn't really show much up other than slightly in the left hand. I've also got golfers elbow on my right arm too which isn't helping with tightness in my forearm. She gave me some stretches to do for 2 weeks before I see her again, in which time she said if the stretches are going to work they should of worked by then.I just can't face having surgery and recovery taking months only to find it's the wrong thing.
Seriously, try stretching those pesky scalenes
