UKC

I was wondering if anyone on UKC had any advice for avoiding Ulnar wrist injury, as well as recovery.

Most of my climbing is either outdoor trad (approx 2-3x a week) and indoor bouldering (1-2x a week). I have found over the last 2-3 months that I am damaging one of my wrists on the ulnar side (likely TFCC injury) while bouldering, and then exacerbating the injury. 

I am aware that the best plan for recovery is rest, but every time I rest and then go back to climbing, the other wrist seems to pick up the same injury.

Does anyone have any experience with these injuries as well as ways to prevent them while still keeping climbing volume high?

Thanks in advance,

Sam

I’ve basically been managing bouldering with damaged wrists (TFCC) for the last five years. So I can’t really comment on recovery…. But plenty of support tape around the wrist helps a lot and makes climbing and training possible. Avoid slopers as they tend to exacerbate wrist problems. 
wrist Widgets (and cheap Amazon versions) can help too if you don’t like spaffing through loads of tape all the time. 
There are some useful YouTube and online articles about strengthening the wrists following TFCC strains, and rest also helps, but you feel like you’re only one bad move away from getting back to square one… That said I’ve bouldered 7C with knackered wrists so it is possible to carry on, depending on your pain tolerance. 

Thanks for the reply!

I am the exact same when it comes to bouldering on the knackered wrists. It feels great for a while and all of a sudden one awkward move sets it off for a few weeks.

I'll have a look at some widgets online, do you have any reccomendations? 

Pain tolerance isn't the issue annoyingly, its the loss of strength in twisted positions, especially in the middle of a traverse on a trad route that concerns me.

Best resource I found for TFCC injury rehab was a book called The Self Rehabbed Climber. It's got really detailed protocols you can follow to sort your injury out. 

When my TFCC was still injured, I found I could climb pretty normally as long as I avoided open-hand grips with the injured hand.

Thanks for the reply, I will definitely check that out.

I find the same, but once I do start getting pain it completely saps all strength and ability from the injured hand.

I had this and the taping does help - but really important to get it right. Loads of youtube vids on exactly how and it takes a bit of practice

Thanks I will definitely check them out. I'm lucky in that I work in a hospital so nurses have been able to sort out compression socks for my wrist and a brace. Taping seems like the best option for being able to climb with realistically.

How long have you tried resting the injury for? I took 4/5 months out after TFCC damage 5 years ago. Not had a problem with it since.

I've been managing TFCC issues for over a year. Just have to ease off when it flairs up. Physio recommended wrist widgets (get cheap version off Amazon). They do seem to help a lot and are easy, unlike taping, to put on and off. Stretching wrists seems to help.

I think wrist widgets help manage symptoms for some. Didn't notice any difference myself. 

I’ve taken a few weeks off of bouldering and brought down intensity any time I get the injury, but given I’ve only been climbing for under a year I find it very hard to bring myself to take that long off, even though I know it wild help!

Thanks I will give the widgets a go given what you’ve all said about them.

I do normally ease off when it flairs up the annoying things is it will just suddenly appear again after weeks of being fine and climbing normally. I went on a two week holiday when my left wrist was damaged and seemed to fix things up completely but now my right has gone again unexpectedly 

I went to see a hand surgeon re tfcc. "just keep it strapped, can't be fixed".

Getting the tension right is key. 

I also had a lot of success with a wrist widget (injured my TFCC after getting my hand stuck in a jam).

I was tempted to push through the pain and keep trying to climb, but very glad I rested it for a few months. I was able to do some fingerboarding during this time though, which didn't cause pain and kept motivation up. When returning to climbing I kept the wrist widget on for a the first few months. Think I've been very lucky and it now seems to be back at full strength.

I've also noticed Aiden Roberts wearing a wrist widget (as well as elite gymnasts), I'd say that's a decent endorsement!