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phazed
Feb 8, 2008, 12:06 AM
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Doctor says thats what I have. He also said as long as I protect it I can climb on it.
It hurts when I push my finger towards my middle finger and if I try to close it all the way when making a fist.
I tape it while climbing and its not too bad, hasn't gotten any worse but not much better either.
Has anyone else had this injury? What did you do?
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dashclimber306
Feb 8, 2008, 2:25 AM
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I did this once as well (middle finger, left hand). Mine swelled considerably. I asked the doctor how long till i could climb and he laughed in my face. I was only out of climbing for 6 weeks and did not crimp hard for probably 6 months. Be careful!
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Hennessey
Feb 8, 2008, 3:01 AM
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I had the same thing happen to my middle finger on my right hand about a month ago.The doctor said not to climb for a few weeks, but like a dumb-fuck I only waited a week before I started climbing again. My finger is still a little sore and hurts a little if I clench my fist tight.
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matrowe
Feb 8, 2008, 6:21 PM
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listen to your body,it will let you know when its right,not your doctor.i injured mine in my left middle finger in october last year.went to a hand specialist and he gave me a cortisone shot and said id be fine to climb in 2 weeks.one month later of not climbing i went back because the pain wasnt any better and he said i CAN go climb and it wont cause any further damage,it will only heal itself????didnt make sense cos i could feel my finger was not right at all but i desperatly wanted to climb so went and ended up fucking it up even more and now havnt climbed once this year and still no improvement at all.doing the MRI thing nxt week to see exactly wats going on.good luck with yours.
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mcclown
Feb 9, 2008, 6:58 PM
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Hey,
I've done similar injuries in fingers. The best advice I've seen is the advice given out by Dave MacLeod. He's a climber from Scotland that you's might not have heard of, but he's ripping it up on the trad climbing scene there and he seems to know his stuff.
Anyway, have a look at his articles on finger injuries and especailly have a look at his video about cold treatment for injuries at the bottom of this page http://www.davemacleod.com/articles.htm
Good Luck!
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JAB
Feb 10, 2008, 4:08 PM
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Sounds like you saw a lousy doctor. You should stop climbing, wait until the finger does not hurt anymore, then wait at least a week more before starting climbing again.
Tape your finger the first couple of weeks when you return to climbing and do not attempt any crazy crimps with that finger.
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Katmindoo
Feb 12, 2008, 10:20 PM
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sounds like what I've got going on. My right middle finger started feeling tweaked back in December and I gave it two weeks off. It's been on and off since then, and I'd been climbing at like 75% and finally saw a doctor (a DO) today. He told me it was tendonitis/arthritis, to give it a month off, wear a splint and so on. Take care of your body! because now I'm stuck on the ground just when the weather is getting gorgeous. And to others, any advice on how to stay climbing fit, not cabin crazed for the next month?
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scotchie
Feb 12, 2008, 11:21 PM
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phazed wrote: It hurts when I push my finger towards my middle finger and if I try to close it all the way when making a fist.
Are these 2 different ligaments? I have a collateral ligament injury, which is where it hurts to move my index finger towards the middle finger. I can climb if I tape it and don't push too hard, but at some point I am going to need a surgery to add support, since I have damaged it beyond the ability to heal itself. I haven't done the surgery yet.
I would listen to your doctor and if you have any doubts, seek a second opinion (preferably from a specialist).
Did your doc teach you how to tape? The way to tape it is specific to which tendon or ligament is damaged.
PS: Cortisone treats inflammation, but it doesn't automatically fix the problem that is causing the inflammation. Did the folks posting about cortisone actually have a tendon injury?
PPS: The Dave McCleod video is also about a tendon injury (specifically the A3 pulley), not a ligament injury.
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phazed
Feb 12, 2008, 11:36 PM
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Did you have any special scans done to find out about your ligament injury?
I'm kinda worried now. I havent climbed since friday and closing my fist feels a little better but moving to the ide doesnt.
It just sucks because i'm graduating in 2 weeks and will be leaving my gym/all my friends who climb there. All I want to do is climb with them.
I dont think my injury will get any worse. 2 weekends ago I took 3rd place intermediate in a local ABS and climbed very hard without any more pain afterward then when I just go to the gym and mess around.
Acording to this site I should be OK?
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20060301/810.html
In reply to: Patients with collateral ligament injuries may continue participating in athletic events as symptoms allow. If joints are unstable with active ranges of motion, patients should be referred to an orthopedic or hand surgeon. |
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onceahardman
Feb 13, 2008, 12:18 AM
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I have read this with some interest...
phazed, this just seems second nature to me, but for some reason, it doesn't occur to many patients...
FIRST- STOP pushing your index finger toward your middle finger! YOU KNOW it hurts, right? It hurts because you are directly putting a tensile (stretching) force on a sprained ligament. LET IT HEAL!. You may be able to splint/tape it and go climbing with your buddies pain-free. but for crying out loud...what you are doing is analogous to continuing to open up a cut in your skin, to see if it has healed yet. Leave it alone.
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phazed
Feb 13, 2008, 12:26 AM
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chill out guy,
I'm not checking it every day and pushing it until I can't stand the pain anymore lol
I'll take a picture of how I tape it tomorrow and see if you guys have any suggestions. Only 5 more days of climbing before I take enough time off to let it heal.
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onceahardman
Feb 13, 2008, 12:37 AM
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Phazed, sorry if I came off as a dick.
I have patients who almost compulsively do this kind of stuff though. What you have is an injury to connective tissue. It heals through the formation of scar tissue. That takes time. How much time depends on age, diet, severity of injury, your own anatomy and physiology, and whether or not you re-injure. You don't have to push it "until you can't stand the pain anymore" to re-injure. Tesing daily, or every other day, can lead to chronic instability, and arthritis.
Treat it more like a broken arm (bone also is a connective tissue glyco-protein matrix). Immobilize it, let it heal, then range of motion, then strengthen.
I try to be helpful, really.
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phazed
Feb 13, 2008, 12:54 AM
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no problem man.
I've started splinting it against my middle finger and will do so until its better.
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scotchie
Feb 13, 2008, 2:36 AM
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Well don't worry too much. My diagnosis and treatment might be different than yours. You probably don't need surgery.
I have the same injury on my non-dominant hand, and my doctor says that will heal on it's own in time. No special treatment except don't stress / continue-to-injure it.
Even the surgery is relatively minor. About 5 weeks out of climbing. It's not that big a deal.
No, I didn't have any scans done. He pushed the finger to the side (gently, without pain) to see how far it would go. The finger was moving outside of its healthy range of motion.
My advise is to ease off on the hard routes, comps, and hard training for a while. Be careful to pick routes that don't require grips which stress the joint in the directions that are painful. In short, "if it hurts, don't do it." Tape up and be careful.
I've found that taking a couple weeks off of climbing isn't that hard to deal with. At first, it seemed terrifying and depressing in a way that a non-climber could never understand. But it turns out that there are actually a lot of other things to do (skiing, hiking, etc).
Also, I've found that it's *usually* possible to modify the climbing style and techniques to not overstress the joint. But it means lowering your ability level until you learn to adapt.
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