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chompiraz
Feb 1, 2012, 6:59 PM
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Hey everyone, I'm hoping to get some input on an injury I got about a week ago. I climbing up an arete indoors and i was doing a lay back thing with my left hand, my index and ring fingers were crimped on a little chip and the rest of my hand was flat on the wall. i pulled hard to stay on and I felt a couple of pops in my hand, and I felt a strain/slight pain go from the two fingers and run all the way down to my elbow.
I get some pain at the base of my ring finger when squeezing things, like my bikes' brakes, but no pain without activating the fingers. Also there's some pain on my wrist a couple of inches below the base of my palm.
I assume I strained either the tendon or pulley pretty bad, and am just wondering a. how long should I rest it before i get back into climbing and b. how can I work out my upper body strength without doing pull-ups since it hurts. I can't really grab weights with that hand either, it makes it feel uncomfortable.
Any suggestions?
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onceahardman
Feb 1, 2012, 11:01 PM
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chompiraz wrote: Hey everyone, I'm hoping to get some input on an injury I got about a week ago. I climbing up an arete indoors and i was doing a lay back thing with my left hand, my index and ring fingers were crimped on a little chip and the rest of my hand was flat on the wall. i pulled hard to stay on and I felt a couple of pops in my hand, and I felt a strain/slight pain go from the two fingers and run all the way down to my elbow. I get some pain at the base of my ring finger when squeezing things, like my bikes' brakes, but no pain without activating the fingers. Also there's some pain on my wrist a couple of inches below the base of my palm. I assume I strained either the tendon or pulley pretty bad, and am just wondering a. how long should I rest it before i get back into climbing and b. how can I work out my upper body strength without doing pull-ups since it hurts. I can't really grab weights with that hand either, it makes it feel uncomfortable. Any suggestions?
It's hard to know.
A muscle/tendon injury could be 2-12 weeks. A pulley could be 6-9 months. Diagnosis in this format is virtually impossible.
If you can afford it, see an ortho who specializes in hands. Then see a hand therapist.
If you can't afford it, stop crimping immediately (actually do this anyway-learn and use open grip). Do AROM only for 2 weeks. Don't keep testing it to see if it still hurts. It's injured, and you need some time for scar tissue to form. Scar tissue is your friend at this early stage.
After two weeks, write back and remind me, and let me know how you're doing, and we'll customize an exercise program.
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chompiraz
Feb 2, 2012, 2:05 AM
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Hey thanks for the reply. I picked up Training for Climbing from REI and I think it might be an a2 pulley strain. I stopped climbing immediately, I knew that much. I the only thing that's troubling me is that I felt 2 distinct pops in my hand, although I couldn't pinpoint where, and also If I extend my hand out fully my left ring finger can hyperextend past its usual stopping point at the first knuckle/base of the finger, could this be an indication of something being fully torn as opposed to just partially torn? If so I would need surgery right?
(This post was edited by chompiraz on Feb 3, 2012, 5:51 AM)
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onceahardman
Feb 3, 2012, 2:07 AM
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As I said, very difficult to diagnose in this format.
The excessive finger extension ROM could be indicative of a tendon/muscle tear, ligament tear, or capsule tear. It is not at all indicative of a pulley tear.
Go see a specialist. That's really my best advice, but I'm happy to advise further if you want.
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chompiraz
Feb 3, 2012, 8:34 AM
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Yeah I've signed up to go see the doctor tomorrow, but that just gets me a referral for an appointment for a week or more from now, oh well there's no rushing it when recovery is 100 days away.
In the mean time, what are some exercises I can do to keep from losing too much grip/lat strength, pull ups are hard without using my ring finger...
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