UKC

Hi climbers!

After a visit to the GP and a sports physiotherapist, they have proven themselves to have very limited knowledge of climbing injuries, so I just wanted to tap into the collective wisdom of UKC.

My middle finger middle joint has been swollen for about 2 months now and I've been hanging around for jugs for quite some time but the swelling has not decreased even a bit.

Have you had the problem with a swollen knuckle? How long did it take to recover? Did your doctor do anything specific? If you have any recommendations for a specialist in the Manchester area, please let me know.

Many thanks and happy climbing.

In reply to zmv:

I've had this problem. In fact I still have this problem. Dr believes it is early onset arthritis. I stopped climbing completely last year, and it's still not resolved, and is now effecting my MTBing (and doing anything that requires me to grip something for a longish period.

I think it was caused by years of putting up with it, strapping fingers and carrying on climbing.

Hope your issue is nothing like mine, but would be interested if you do dig up some expert that I could get a third opinion from.

had the lower part/knuckle of my middle finger swell.

didnt climb for a month.

after a month the swelling went down so i started climbing easyish with a taped up finger, it seemed to re-swell after each session, so i iced it. after another few weeks it was back to normal.

then about a month later I did the same thing again on the other hand..! Did the same again. takes about 2ish months to get back to normal.

didn't go to a DR or physio. I think it was caused by not warming up properly and sloppy footwork.

may help:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6193

Many thanks for your replies fellows.

I might have to take a longer rest than I want to, even though I am dying to get on a few sport projects!

In reply to balmybaldwin:

This sounds awful. I hope it does recover eventually.

In reply to zmv:

Do you do much keyboard work or use a mouse much?

It's not just climbing that injures joints...