[Fiend]

Have searched the other A1 topics, no dice (and one had an article to useful stretches with missing images).

3 weeks ago I slipped on some gravelly bollox on the scramble down to Quarry 3 in Avon's Leigh Woods, whacked and bruised my arse, and also impacted my right hand / main finger. It felt a bit sore at the time but not very sore and wasn't sore climbing nor after climbing.

From 2 weeks since then it's been feeling progressively more sore in an area near the A1 pulley area in my palm, in the first inch downwards from the base of my finger, slightly more towards the little finger side / away from the thumb. It's sore to touch, sore to stretch (and feels tight), sore to fully clench a fist (but less sore to just clench the main finger)

Climbing-wise, it's more painful full crimping and pinching (with some additional pain around the knuckle), and grasping any rod-like implement. It feels fine open-handed, dragging, camming into finger cracks etc. Basically it feels a little bit like an A2 injury in what aggravates it, except there's only a tiny bit of tenderness around the A2 compared to the A1 area.

The only think I can think to do is massage some voltarol gently into the area to reduce inflammation, and cross-tape it as for A2 to reduce crimping... Any other help / advice appreciated.

[jwi]

Can you really make it worse by climbing, if you stay off jugs? I understand how mechanical pressure on the injured part could make it worse, but surely climbing should be fine, if painful, otherwise?

(Obviously I wouldn't pay much attention to my experience and advice. My advice is free and worthless. I always think it is fine to climb through injuries.)

[duncan]

Difficult /wrong to try to diagnose on that information but two weeks is still within the usual healing time for a soft-tissue injury so I wouldn't be too concerned currently.

I wouldn't bother with Voltarol. I wouldn't prod the area too much as I don't think that is terribly informative. The key indicator, in my view, is how your hand feels the day after climbing. This should gradual improve overall, though recovery is never a linear improvement of course.

I would be doing all those pain-free activities you describe (lots of finger cracks in Lancs.) whilst backing-off the crimping for now. If taping reminds you to avoid crimps it might be worth a try. 

[owensum]

I once had an A2 pulley injury that was sore in the A1 region, or what I thought of as the A1 region, in the palm. The A2 pulley extends quite a way into the palm, and truly an A1 injury is something more like synovitis inside the actual joint. Fwiw.

[ummagumma]

I had the same sort of issue ... pain in same area. I aggravated it cross loading the finger during training. Got an ultrasound and turned out to be an inflammation of the first finger joint rather than a pulley. Took ages to heal. I took 4-6 weeks off. At the start it was the usual protocol of rest, voltarol, soak in cool water ... then used warm (not hot) treatment .. then eased back into it with easy climbing with tape ... then increased the intensity over weeks. n=1 advise. Best of luck with it.

[Hoseyb]

I had similar issues at the end of rehabbing a pulley injury, all the progressive loading protocols were very a2 specific. I built a hand jam box that I could attach to a weight, and used that for progressive loading. Worked a treat.

[Fiend]

Thanks for the replies. As mentioned the injury hasn't come from climbing which makes it a bit perculiar.

Duncan - I've mentioned the timescale as it's got worse over that time, despite little / no increase in overall loading. It feels like it's anti-healing! Although I had an increase in cleaning activities (holding tools, pulling plants) which may not have helped. The cross taping helps to both remind me, but also restricts full crimping at all. I will keep an eye on the post-climbing pain for sure.

Owen & Ummagumma - thanks, interesting thoughts. It could be the A2 but seems right at the outside limit of where an A2 could be injured / painful. I think it's a bit lower than that. It could be something within the joint? Coming from an impact could support that.... I think the area is a bit inflamed, it looks slightly swollen and there seems more tenderness around the area than with a pure pulley injury. Hence the voltarol (and tonight, turmeric powder tea).

[User deactivated.]

I would be doing all those pain-free activities you describe (lots of finger cracks in Lancs.) whilst backing-off the crimping for now.

Best back off the wanking as well:

it's more painful full crimping and pinching (with some additional pain around the knuckle), and grasping any rod-like implement.

[mrjonathanr]

Could it be a lumbrical, Fiend?
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Lumbricals_of_the_Hand

Might be worth showing to a physio.

[Fiend]

It could indeed, that fits the sensation a bit more, and the position i.e. the 3rd lumbrical. Yup I guess it's biscuit time...