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Razgriz
Jul 31, 2009, 1:49 AM
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Not sure of the origin of this injury or where it came from. It might have been gradual.
So my left middle finger is injured. I can't fully curl it anymore when I go to make a fist. It hurts like hell to shake peoples hands too. When pressure is on my 2nd knuckle from the finger tip, it just stings.
Along with this, when I twist or rotate my finger, it hurts both knuckles on the finger, the one closest to the tip, and the next one up.
This has been going on for about 1.5 to 2 months now.
What's the problem here? I'm not familiar with terms, sorry, hence me using layman's language.
(This post was edited by Razgriz on Jul 31, 2009, 1:50 AM)
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ersatz_radio
Jul 31, 2009, 3:13 AM
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I had an identical injury, except that the pain was restricted to the middle knuckle only. The doctor didn't know what caused it and prescribed rest and ibuprofin. I did some reading on my own and it sounded a lot like a PIP collateral ligament injury. The only thing is I'm not sure if this would explain the decreased ROM or not. The weird thing about it for me was that it happened during a time when I was not climbing often.
Let me know if you find out what's going on--I'm curious too.
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onceahardman
Aug 1, 2009, 2:28 PM
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Razgriz wrote: Not sure of the origin of this injury or where it came from. It might have been gradual. So my left middle finger is injured. I can't fully curl it anymore when I go to make a fist. It hurts like hell to shake peoples hands too. When pressure is on my 2nd knuckle from the finger tip, it just stings. Along with this, when I twist or rotate my finger, it hurts both knuckles on the finger, the one closest to the tip, and the next one up. This has been going on for about 1.5 to 2 months now. What's the problem here? I'm not familiar with terms, sorry, hence me using layman's language.
Is it safe to assume the "origin of the injury" was from climbing?
When you say you can't flex it fully any more, does that mean actively, using the finger's own muscle power? Can you use the other hand to force the finger into end-range flexion? (This might be painful, but can the joint go there or is it mechanically blocked from doing so?)
If the finger will not flex, either actively or passively, you may have a capsulitis, a.k.a. synovitis, which has stiffened the joint capsule. Other possibilities include fracture or internal derangement of the joint.
If you can fully flex only passively, a completely torn finger flexor tendon is possible, but you probably would have remembered it happening. My bet is an arthritis and/or capsulitis which is milder, and stiffens the joint enough so your finger flexors can no longer generate sufficient torque to fully flex the joint.
Rest from climbing. Keep the joint moving, though. Passive stretching into flexion is OK, as long as the pain at rest (= inflammation) does not increase.
PS...STOP twisting the joint. You do not need or want to increase a finger joint's ability to rotate. There is no such physiological motion there.
(This post was edited by onceahardman on Aug 1, 2009, 2:55 PM)
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slidingmike
Aug 3, 2009, 1:53 AM
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Does it hurt when you press firmly along either of the sides of the joint?
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Razgriz
Aug 3, 2009, 6:21 AM
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Thanks a lot for the replies!
Yes, it does hurt when I firmed press on the sides of the joint. That's why it hurts when people shake my left hand haha.
When you say passive, you mean with me using the other hand to bend it into place? If so, then yes, i can fully curl my middle finger all the way, just hurts.
Actively, my finger can almost fully curl on it's own strength, but it starts to get really uncomfortable after bending it past the 90degree point.
(This post was edited by Razgriz on Aug 3, 2009, 6:22 AM)
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