UKC

So i'm still young, but unfortunately i was blessed with some rather flexible, double jointed fingers (I can PM you pictures if you want to take a look).

I currently climb a couple of times a week at my local indoor, and have been pushing to get my grades up and generally become more accomplished in a range of disciplines. However i am getting very worried that i am worsening the situation of my fingers. Many people at the wall have said i need to stop, or need ridiculous amounts of tape to strap up.

I was hoping someone could shine a light as to whether it could be a potential problem? Sometimes i feel as though its my fingers that are restricting me from moving up through the grades.

Advice needed!
Thanks
Charlie 17

its a bit of a weird question but obviousally i cant see how bad they are but try not to push them to much at once and hopefully as you tendons get stronger it becomes less of a problem!

In reply to charliegarner: Have you tried talking with your GP?

I'm not sure if anyone would be able to offer a definitive answer on here as it depends on your specific circumstances?

In reply to charliegarner:

You could ask these people:

http://www.hypermobility.org/

and there are some hints about exercise on there too.

It says not to 'show off' your hypermobility to friends, as this will make it worse.

"It is very important that you are as fit as possible and that your muscles are strong. Moving your joints keeps blood and a liquid called ‘synovial fluid’ moving around your joints. These take nutrients (or food) to your joints and carry away waste. So, if you exercise your joints regularly, they stay healthy. Building up your muscles by exercise helps to keep your joints in the right place and means you are less likely to hurt or to injure yourself.

It is important that you choose the right sort of exercise and that you warm up properly with gentle stretching exercises."

In reply to charliegarner:

Here's some more information:

http://climbinginjuries.com/forums/read.php?2,938

In reply to charliegarner:

and:

http://www.bodyweightculture.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-17824.html?s=eb4...

Ehlers-Danloss? I was diagnosed a few years ago but not actually that hypermobile. Tight muscles, loose joint capsules in my case I think. I'm just climbing a bit more regularly after a decent break. Way off the grades and small holds of when I was climbing well (ok, better) but on stamina stuff, so far so good. Harder bouldering would be the real test. Slow and steady I think - you want to be using those fingers for at least another 60 years. Like I'd have listened to that when I was 17

In reply to charliegarner: Thankyou everyone for your quick response!
I haven't consulted my GP but i think i am going to take steps to do that. Luckily i suffer no pain from it, only your standard climbing ache after a hard session.
I have contacted the Hypermobility Syndrome Association, in the hope that they could give me a bit of advice.

From what i'm hearing, i get the impression that steady and relaxed training is the way forward. I'm generally not interested in the grade of the climb, just hope i can at some point climb some exposed rock that really gives me a scare!

Thanks Again, and please keep the advice coming!