UKC

I’m after advise or insight from anyone who has restarted climbing after having broken a finger. I broke mine on a dry ski slope a month ago. I’m now pain free and have tentatively started back at the wall, 10 grades below where I was climbing before the break and only on vertical walls. I feel very paranoid that I’m going to aggravate the fracture and be back at the start of the months recovery, it’s not like soft tissue problems I’ve had where pain feels like an indicator of whether I’m over doing it! Any help or suggestions would be really welcome

Surely it's far too early to be going back to the wall? At best, the fracture will need at least 6 weeks to repair and there's a good chance you will aggravate it by trying to do too much too soon. Also, you must have sustained soft tissue damage which is likely to need some time yet to heal fully

I broke a finger exactly two months ago and it's only now that I'm thinking about going to the wall again. A frustrating lay off, but better safe than sorry.

I had a partial fracture in my middle finger in January, not a full break. I started climbing again after a couple of weeks. I taped the finger straight (not tight but using lots of tape so I couldn't bend it much at all) climbed on very easy endurance circuits (only jugs), trying not to engage the injured finger at all. This worked quite well and I had no negative repercussions that I am aware of.

After a couple of months I started doing light fingerboarding, taking weight off with a pulley system to the point where I could hang with no pain/irritation in the finger. I gradually worked back to bodyweight hangs over a few weeks and then adding weight eventually. I only climbed easy circuits indoors during this time and moderate sport/ trad outdoors (avoiding pockets and crimpy routes).

I only returned to bouldering when I could hang a significant amount of additional weight on the fingerboard. It didn't take long to get back to this after I was back at bodyweight hangs. 

Some of this may have been overkill but I was able to climb throughout the rehab period and make some endurance gains at the expense of strength. So not all doom and gloom.

Obviously what worked for me may not work for others.

Good luck with the rehab.

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Best bet is to get increased amounts of vitamin D, zinc, magnesium and selenium along with plenty of rest and gentle exercise.
 

A climbing trip to southern Spain, with a daily seafood meal should do the trick.