UKC

About 2 weeks ago now I injured the PIP joint on my middle finger, on both hands which is quite strange. The finger on my left hand is still slightly swollen but seems to be healing, however the finger on my right hand is still pretty bad. They are both super stiff in the morning but loosen up pretty quick as the day goes on. I have read into it a bit and all evidence seems to point to a collateral ligament injury. I am going climbing in Malta next month so I'm hoping I will be able to climb to a decent grade by then. In the mean time I am going to post on this thread every week about how my rehab has going and what I am doing. Not only will it help me keep track of my recovery but might help others who are suffering from the same injury.

This week:

This is the first week I have started being proactive. I thought by just resting my fingers for a week would be the best option. I have started taking 2 600mg ibuprofen tablets in the morning and in the evening before I go to sleep to try and reduce inflammation but I haven't seen any noticeable result yet. I have also started cold and warm water baths that Dave McLeod mentions on his blog. This seems to help the pain and reduce the stiffness in the morning. I am also doing finger rolls with 3/4 body weight on a campus rung just to get the finger working and get some blood flowing. I have also taken the opportunity to do more conditioning training down at my local climbing centre to keep active and maintain psyche levels.

In reply to Connor Dickinson:

With 1200mg of ibuprofen in the morning you could largely ignore your injury I'd imagine. Your stomach may not thankyou after a while though.

Sarcasm aside. That's alot of ibuprofen. Not being up on Dave's regime I couldn;t commment on hot and cold etc. but I 'feel' that it may be too soon and more rest could be needed. 2 weeks isn't a long time.

Good luck nonetheless.

I was mistaken, they are only 200mg

In reply to Connor Dickinson: When i broke my collar bone i was advised against using ibuprofen by the Dr's, something to do with slowing the healing process. This may only affect healing bones (or be bad advice) but probably worth researching properly if you're hoping for a speedy recovery...

In reply to Connor Dickinson: Thanks for this, I am in the same boat. Bent my thumb back when I slipped on an annoyingly easy route indoors. Been about 3 weeks now and although I have full range of motion, it is stiff and achy and can't climb with it.
Could you explain the hot and cold thing please?

In reply to adsheff: Its really simple. Get 2 bowls of water one as cold as you can get it and the other should be nice and warm. All you do is submerge your hand in the cold water for 5-10 mins then move to the warm for the same amount of time. keep massaging it to break up any scar tissue and then ice.

In reply to Connor Dickinson: I have noticed exactly the same injury when I came back from a trip to font. I was there before I went I think but can't remember exactly when it came on. I reckon it must have been upping the training recently. Likely the result of crimping? Anyway crimping feels sore whereas openhand feels ok.

I tried to train hard (steep board and fingerboard) open-handed but noticed that after the session it was worse so this week I have decided to dial it back and continue to boulder indoors on easier problems. for the last 2-3 sessions, I have spent them trying to tick as many problems as possible over a 1.5-2hr period - usually ends up being 25ish. I aim for problems that are easy all the way to ones that I can just about flash or slightly harder.

...oh and don't crimp anything on the offending hand.

I think that the icing/Lewis reaction that Dave is talking about might help as when you do it, your hand looks red implying more blood flow. This is why these injuries talk so long to heal as there isn't much blood flowing to your fingers. I find it difficult to get 30mins in the day where I can sit still and keep my hand in the ice water though.

What I need is a safe way of training crimps as I am weaker on this grip. Any ideas? Dave suggests climbing steep crimpey problems but I am inclined to use the beastmaker?

In reply to DaveMo: Should have said that my reasoning for continuing to train is from information or guidance for runners. Runners seem to continue to run for recovery as it stimulates blood flow etc. I know that some people advocate complete rest but I worry that the injury might just come back if you do this.

In reply to Connor Dickinson: Hi again. Finger was feeling good on the weekend and decided to give it a test on some harder problems. But I put myself back a bit - reckon it was a pinchy problem that may have caused it. My fingers were angled and I could feel a bit of pain. Felt worse the next day but not terrible. Also busy with DIY so may be slowing the healing process or worse. Really difficult to tell. I'd like to just climb easy and have proper rest but it's difficult. Had an indoor routes session last night and really taped up properly. Finger feels better for it actually. Just kept is quite easy.