UKC

I had my first finger injury last night - from reading various posts on here it's a classic tendon injury, a cracking/popping sensation, with not much pain other than when pulling on things (even opening a fire door) or making a fist. I think it's an A1 pulley in my right ring finger.

The consensus seems to be 'see a specialist, your GP won't have much of a clue'. What sort of specialist are we talking about? Any recommendations in my area (Nottingham).

And what sort of training can I do while I rest so I don't totally lose my climbing fitness - maybe a lot of core and flexibility work?

Thanks,

David

In reply to SuperstarDJ:

I'd guess if you wait a couple of weeks for Dave Macleod's new book you'll know about as much as any "specialist".

Perhaps that's unkind to "specialists" and an over optomistic view of the likely content of the book. I don't know.

http://www.davemacleod.com/shop/makeorbreak.html

In reply to JLS:

Thanks - funnily enough I was looking at that on his blog yesterday. And how I have a reason to order it

Ordered anyway!

In reply to SuperstarDJ:

I've used Rick Webber at the 919clinic in Sheffield, he knows his stuff about fingers.

In reply to peewee2008:

http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/video/bmc-climbing-injury-symposium-2014?current-cha...
Hi
This maybe of interest?
Prof Bhatti, who gave the finger injury practical is based in Manchester, and is an excellent sports injury radiologist (not a climber..but is very receptive to climbing injuries).
Its dependant on what you need?..a diagnosis of the injury?..or a rehabilition programme?
Cheers
Nick

In reply to SuperstarDJ:

I wasn't able to get an appointment to see the chap in Sheffield so I went to my usual guy in Nottingham. He freely admitted to not knowing much about this sort of injury but did some diagnostic work which was able to satisfy us that the injury is at the mild end of the spectrum, which was useful in itself.

he suggestion is to do nothing for 5 days, other than ice, then some mild rehab. No climbing at all for three weeks and then very gently.

He had a Google, looked through the piece on Dave Mcleod's website (at my suggestion) and pretty much agreed with that, so probably a book worth buying.

Hopefully I've got off very lightly!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and comments.

In reply to SuperstarDJ:

I'd be surprised if there's a one-size fits all protocol for tendon injuries - the physios and orthopods don't really seem to have a consenus as far as I can tell. I had the same and laid off climbing totally for 6 weeks and it's still rather week (but I'm old and smoke...), I'd say if in doubt - go slow.

In reply to SuperstarDJ:

Rest for a few days with ice/ibuprofen, then get on the recovery exercises. Get yourself a stress ball and squeeze whenever you've got free hands. Blood flow to ligaments and tendons is very low so the more motion, the faster it will heal as you will instigate a higher blood flow.

Check out the proper method for taping pulley injuries - http://jhuppi.dpmblogs.com/2012/03/04/h-tape-for-injured-finger-pulleys/ - and remember that this doesn't do much to support the injury itself, it is just there to remind you that you are injured. This becomes increasingly important as it starts to heal and you get back to climbing. Re-injury is easy with pulleys.

Both times I've done it, I started climbing again within a week, and just stuck to jugs and gentle movement. It's a great time to work on base stamina - just spend hours going back and forth maintaining a medium level pump, as long as you're not tweaking the finger at all.

Remember, pain is bad, but it will feel tweaky for a while - just know the difference between real pain and small twinges.

It's also worth thinking about working out a methodical warm up/warm down and stretches so that it doesn't happen again. Prevention is much better than cure! I did both my ring fingers within a month, and (touch wood) haven't done one since, because I started warming up etc properly.

In reply to SuperstarDJ:

The 'specialist' widely used are Occupational Therapists. I had to see one at a specialist hand clinic after surgery for a nerve decompression following a fracture/dislocation to my elbow and wrist (I'm proud of that one. I fell off the aonach eagach in winter whilst solo climbing and got my self out with my arm swinging in all directions). The surgeon referred me to them stating they knew more than he did regarding recovery programmes for sport's injuries. In fairness they were bril in advising me on exercises and measuring progress on recovery etc. I presume you'll have to be referred by your gp in which case expect a long wait otherwise there are private practices and they charge about £80 an hour.

In reply to pwo:

Specialist hand units usually employ both physiotherapists and occupational therapists to rehab post surgical patients. OTs often focus on splints and braces while PTs advise on exercises. There is a lot of crossover between the roles of the professions though.

In reply to Static:

Doug Campbell is superb. One of the leading authorities - based in Yorkshire - and very good with sports people.
http://www.handandwristclinic.com/article.asp?article=8
A consultation might cost you an arm and a leg, but if it saves your finger, could be worth a try if all else fails.
j

In reply to SuperstarDJ:

Hi David, have a read of the article I wrote with Nina Leonfellner for UKC about such injuries here:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6193

There are many ways of analysing how serious the tear has been and a lot of rehabilitation to get on with once the initial inflammation has gone down.
The most important to help with inflammation is the cold water treatment - a bowl of cold water with 6 or so ice cubes in it. Put your hand in it (fully submerged if A1) and keep it in there for 5-10mins. (If the right temperature, your hand should turn a nice fleshy Pink colour).
Once the time is up, remove, dry and let it warm up naturally (too early for cold and heat treatment).

Repeat for 3 sets and 3 times daily.

Once the initial inflammation has gone down, sponge work, elastic band strengthening and a lot of hand massaging helps get the blood to the injury.
REST is crucial and anything that hurts it will add to the scar tissue, so try to let it heal well. Keep up any gliding (full range of motion) exercises on a daily basis to make sure the scar tissue doesn't create issues with trigger finger etc...

Any questions ping me an email and I can help/put you in contact with the best people.

Thanks,

Robin