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ddarko34
Jan 22, 2007, 3:14 PM
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so i went to the doctor. diagnosed as chronic tendinitis in my right wrist. i used to just train on it anyways, but it got pretty bad (well, just ached a lot and would flare up sometimes). so i laid off the weight training and stuck to more cardio. also took a substantial amount of time off of climbing.
i started doing some treatment for it. some sorta electroshock thing and heat treatment. seems to be working too. so i wanna get back into rock climbing.
the pain has lessened to the point where there's only a MILD discomfort and only when the wrist is flexed or extended at a 90 degree angle (push up position).
is it possible to train effectively with this kind of condition? or should i wait until it's COMPLETELY healed? which could be never.
anyone ever had this kind of injury and just rested and trained through it, flare ups and all?
dumb question i know. but the thought of waiting years to get back into it isn't very appealing.
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redpoint73
Jan 22, 2007, 4:25 PM
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Tendons take a long time to heal, but in most cases, years or forever would be an exaggeration.
Whats a "substantial amount of time off" exactly? If you are already seeing a doctor, you should ask them. Returning to climbing too early can cause much further injury. On the other hand, a "mild discomfort" does not sound too bad.
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mushroomsamba
Jan 24, 2007, 1:13 PM
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I agree with redpoint, if your seeing a doctor and listen to them. it's better to take some time off and heal then climb and never be able to train or climb again
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mapper94
Jan 24, 2007, 4:36 PM
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I recently got over a bout of tendinitis in my left shoulder. At first I just thought I pulled a muscle in my shoulder, so I kept climbing on it for a month or so. As you can imagine, that only made it worse, and I was forced to stop climbing and training for over three months.
Xrays and MRI showed no tears, only some inflammation. 800 mg of Ibprofin three times a day, and some exercises to strengthen my shoulder is what I got along with my three months off.
I have now been back climbing for about a month and my shoulder is much better, but not 100%, don't know if it ever will be though. I start off doing some low weight, high rep weight training to try to strengthen my shoulder, prior to climbing on it. Seems to be working. Good luck
Dan
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lena_chita
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Jan 24, 2007, 5:06 PM
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Which tendon areyou having problem with? Normally, I guess it is a good idea to recover completely before resuming activity, but I didn't quite follow that advice myself.
I had a flare-up of wrist pain about a year after I started climbing.
Apparently I have an old injury, probably from childhood, that stretched and partially torn the ligament that holds the flexor carpi ulnaris in the groove on the ulna's head, so every time I rotated the wrist the tendon slided over the bone and well, it got inflamed and pretty much everything hurt-- from pronation/supination to wrist flexion/extension.
I rested, iced it, saw the doctor and PT about it etc. etc. wore a cast at night to immobilize the wrist. In my case, just learning how to tape the wrist properly ( something that PT showed me) made the huge difference. I went back to climbing after couple weeks of rest, was climbing easier stuff and started taping the wrist like I was taught to.
Even though it was still uncomfortable, the discomfort was mild enough with tape in place that I was able to climb. My Wrist actually was hurting more when doing yoga-- push-up position, down-dog, etc, so I made modifications to those poses that didn't require wrist extension-- using fists for push-ups, placing rolled-up towel under wrist to make it less extended, etc.
It took months-- probably 5-6 months?-- for pain to go away completely. It has not come back in the past two years, I'm back to normal range of motion, etc, etc. I still tape the wrist for climbing b/c that's what PT told me to do, though occasionally I forget and it is fine.
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erisspirit
Jan 24, 2007, 8:12 PM
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Ive had tendinitis in my ankle and wrist. The ankle I never really stayed off of, and now tho it is for the most part healed, I do have problems with it sometimes. My wrist got so bad I couldn't write. I gave it a lot of rest time, and didn't do much until it stopped hurting. Now once in awhile when I climb a lot it might flare up a little, but nothing a day or two of rest won't fix. In my experience when there is pain it is time to take a break.
good luck!
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spoons
Jan 24, 2007, 9:28 PM
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accupuncture
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ddarko34
Jan 29, 2007, 1:07 PM
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see that's sorta the thing now. there isn't really any pain at all, it's more of a mild discomfort. of course, if i do pushups palm up on a hard surface for a few months, the discomfort get worse and the range of motion goes down, but when i rest on it, it feels ok.
whenever there's pressure applied to my wrist via "palm up" position, that's when the discomfort kicks in. i use a neoprene wrist band to keep it warm and tight and that seems to help, but i'm just worried about making it worse while climbing.
my dr. basically said stay off of it. it's not bad, but it's chronic. if i don't stay off it, it'll take longer to heal and there'll be risk of reinjury. but how long is long? i've had it for about 2 years now and didn't really do any consistent treatment on it until now.
i AM thinking of accupuncture on top of something called TENS treatment and heat compress.
dumb question, but how much stress is placed on the wrists while climbing? the only real things i can think of that may reinjure it is mantling, or doing a perpendicular 90 degree hold. i could see that putting stress on it.
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pastprime
Jan 30, 2007, 9:50 PM
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In the long run, you will lose more climbing time by not letting it heal; but having said that, I have climbed with tendon injuries that I knew were agravated by some very specific type of hold or move, and just absolutely pledged to myself not to do the things that were damaging. It can even be good for your technique, by forcing you to develop alternative moves. If you aren't able to restrain yourself that way, I'd stay off the rock instead of making the injury worse.
Turmeric, from the spice rack at the grocery store, is a very good anti-inflammatory. Put about 1/4 teaspoon in some water a couple times a day, then wash it down with more water.
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aerili
Jan 31, 2007, 8:05 PM
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Your modus operandi of not treating it for two years was a very bad call. Yet so typical of so many climbers...sigh. I continually fail to see the logic they all use in assuming that climbing as usual and avoiding medical care will help their problem.
I have no idea if you're a candidate, but it's possible prolotherapy could help you at this point. You need to find a doctor who performs it regularly and well and who can determine if your injury might respond to this therapy.
It's usually not covered by insurance, just an FYI.
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ddarko34
Feb 3, 2007, 12:09 AM
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well, there isn't any inflammation, which is a good thing. it's healed, not 100%. the pain just gets aggravated over time when i use it extensively for a period of time. it gradually gets worse over the months until i get a little treatment on it, and it gets better.
prolotherapy legit? i hear mixed stories about it. more negative than positive.
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aerili
Feb 6, 2007, 12:42 AM
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I think prolotherapy is legit. The reason insurance doesn't want to cover typically is because the solution injected is essentially stuff like glucose and lidocaine, things that can't be patented by a drug company and which they therefore have no interest in researching. Without valid clinical trials paid for by someone, insurance will not cover a procedure for which there is little evidence of efficacy.
Who knows why some people have negative outcomes.... No therapy is ever 100% effective for everyone. Also, the docs practicing it may not have been very skilled at the procedure, or they may not have had enough experience determining whether or not the individual was a good candidate and recommended it needlessly. It's hard to say. I think the key is finding a doc who really knows how to perform it well, has been doing it a long time, and has a high number of successful outcomes under his/her belt (of course, again, no one will ever get 100%). I had a friend who had some injections done on a wrist injury from climbing and he had a very successful outcome. That's totally anecdotal, but it wouldn't hurt to at least get a consult if you can. GOOD LUCK!! =)
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