UKC

Can anyone help? Pushing my bouldering grade more than ever. Used to be v2/v3 but now do v4 and just started trying v5's but my pathetic fingers dont seem to be able to take it. During attempts at an overhanging crimp only problem (which I didnt complete but could link half the moves) fatigue eventually stopped play not pain BUT the day after 2 of my fingers were VERY sore - one had a twinge from a previous session but i thought it had recovered. There's was no popping or tearing during the session but opening jars, wringing out a sponge still hurts 2 days later. Advice please?

In reply to jules699: I would lay off climbing for at least a week, maybe a little longer and get some Theraputty to strengthen your fingers.

In reply to jules699:

I'd dip it in an ice bucket regularly for a few days, massage it, maybe use a gripmaster or some putty like the other guy said, something to keep the blood pumping and to maintain some kind of "active rest".
Sounds to me like you've just worked it too hard, doesn't sound like a major injury, i've done the same thing a few times when i've got carried away and had a hard session, my advice above pretty much sorted me out in a similar situation.

In reply to jules699:

The remedy BJ suggests is sound.

In general for getting strong fingers without injury is a risk/reward balancing act. Riskier more intensive training can lead to greater gains but injury can put you out of the game and make you more prone to re-injury. In general these pointers should help:

1. Warm up on easy problems to reduce bowstringing
2. Ration how much crimping you do - use a half-crimp position instead of full crimp where possible
3. Keep hydrated as it makes the tendons more flexible (hearsay - would like to know the science on this)
4. Deal with tweaks early with rest/ice/less finger intensive stuff etc before they become injuries
5. Try not to get carried away when tired ie fingerboarding or competing with mates bouldering

In reply to jules699:

Yeah just largely re-iterating what's already been said.

Pay attention to your warm up, warm ups are really personal and what works for your mate might not work for you. Your mate might get away with 5 minutes on easy problems, personally I need an hour plus if I'm going to be pulling hard on small things. The only times I've acutely damaged fingers or finger flexors has been when I've rushed a warm up for some reason.

Sounds like what you are experiencing though is just overuse. It's a tricky one to balace, personally I find managing finger injuries is a big part of getting training right.

The key is knowing when to back off and having strategies you can use to mitigate how much worse you're making things when you train. Tape and being meticulous about your warm up can help prevent things getting worse. Icing after every session, ibuprofen, active rest and sports massage can variously reduce inflammation and get blood flow going, which improves healing.

Sometimes though what you just need is some days off, I personally don't find taking a long stretch (eg. weeks or months) off climbing useful, as within a session or two fingers seem to be back where they were before. I think active rest eg. easy traversing, finger putty, stress balls, anything to keep fingers moving and blood flow going, more effective than stopping entirely.

Climbing on plastic is often more stressful than climbing on real rock, bizarrely I sometimes come back from a week away with fingers feeling great, only to find them throbbing after the first session back at the wall. Try mixing it up at the wall: different angles, hold types, grip types, styles of climbing, bouldering, routes, different wall, etc. to try to spread the load a bit.

In reply to jules699:

Cheers for the advice everyone. I guess in hindsight I may have rushed my warm up a bit and I did get a bit carried away/sucked in with the problem. Its been 4 days now. I can make a fist but when I squeeze it the pain comes again. I'm trying my best to give it a week off even though its driving me crazy. Went mountain biking today for an alternate "buzz" ...

In reply to jules699: Time and rest and recuperation

In reply to jules699:

Forgot to mention glucosamine/cod liver oil supplement is good for your joints

In reply to shark:

And another thing - massaging your fingers should make you aware of what is sore and what isnt and (guessing here) promote a response ie get the blood flowing to the sore part and other unknown magical self-mending responses

In reply to jules699:

In conjunction with all the other great advice everyone has offered, don't forget to do finger extensor work with rubber bands, I often do this as a warm up, along with a gripmaster before I go to work on a few easy problems, then a quick stretch and off I go.

In reply to jules699: An often neglected process is warming up properly. Its no good to do some star jumps and pressups to get going as this doesn't really involve the forearms. I warm my forwarms up by holding my hands out to the side and make a fist. Then you flick all your fingers open in quick succession for as long as it takes to feel the 'burn', repeat until you can't do more. Then do some easy up and downs slowly, exaggerating the movements to get the muscles moving.

just a suggestion, and works for me

In reply to higherclimbingwales: Then do some easy up and downs slowly,


Bit off topic but Ive been experimenting with climbing fast on several easy problems back to back as a warm-up which seems quite effective - not to mention quick. I've never seen the merit of doing them slowly when you are on jugs.

In reply to plexiglass_nick:

"Climbing on plastic is often more stressful than climbing on real rock, bizarrely I sometimes come back from a week away with fingers feeling great, only to find them throbbing after the first session back at the wall. "

Why is this? I would of thought the stresses were pretty similar? Is it a case of being able to fit more routes into a given period of time in the gym than outside bouldering e.g. no finding/clean problems, walking around etc?

In reply to OllieZA: The orientation of the holds is more uniform whereas you might get huge variation in a single climb on rock, you do more moves per unit of time indoors as you say, and indoor routes are steeper: it is hard to find a non-vertical 7a outdoors and vice versa indoors.