Talking About Tweaks

Posted on Oct 20th, 2008 | 4 comments


Hi Steph,
I’ve had a bad tendon injury in my right hand ring finger for the past two months. I injured it by pulling really hard on a finger lock with no feet. I’ve had previous injuries but none have been as bad as this. I went to the rock gym to climb last evening to see if my hand has improved. If anything I think it has worsened. Since you climb many hard routes do you ever get hand injuries? How does one stay away from getting injured? Do you have any tips to a faster healing process? I’ve never been injured for this long in the past five years that I’ve been climbing. Surfing, mountain biking, etc, nothing seems to fill the void like climbing. Hope to hear from you soon!
-Tom

Dear Tom,
I’m sorry about your finger. Those ring finger injuries are a drag! I had one or two, off and on, for years. I hurt mine by crimping too much on plastic, and it took forever (years!) to really be better, though it did. If yours is hurting dramatically when you try to climb, you’re going to have to lay off. I know, that’s not what you want to hear! But it does change. There is a point where it’s sore and hurts a little, but does not stop you from climbing with tape on. When you are at that point, I say just tape it up and start to climb, with common sense, even if it is a bit sore during and after.

Until you are at that point, you need to lay off and do some recovery work. The best thing you can do is ice immersion as much as possible. This is a great thing to do while driving, reading a book, watching a movie or drinking coffee. Fill a coffee cup with ice water and keep your finger in it for as long as possible. This will help you a lot. I think you heal at least twice as fast by doing ice immersion than if you did not do it. Also, make sure to stay very hydrated. The more you can hydrate, the more you will mend.

I am a little suspicious of ibuprofen, and I really like aspirin. Whatever, make sure you take anti-inflammatories of some sort regularly. This will help you heal at the injury site and also prevent your brain pathways from getting caught in a pain pattern.

Usually I find with any injury that if I devote all my energy aggressively towards healing for a short time period, I am ready to use the hurt body part with caution very soon. Fingers are annoying and lingering, but it is the same recipe….

Get better fast!
xx Steph

  • http://www.allclimbing.com Tom Markiewicz

    Steph, can you elaborate on your suspicious-ness of ibuprofen? I use it all the time, but haven’t compared it to anything else in a long time.

  • Steph Davis

    Hi Tom,
    I am kind of a Luddite, in general. I don’t have a TV or a microwave. Because I am suspicious of them. So my suspicious-ness of ibuprofen is, I think, probably mainly eccentric.

    When Fletcher (my dog) started to have arthritis problems, I took her to the vet for x-rays and medicine, and he ultimately put her on Rimadyl, which is kind of like ibuprofen for dogs. But he also told me that I could give her aspirin. But definitely NOT to give her tylenol or ibuprofen, because those are poisonous to dogs. At first I ended up taking aspirin myself all the time, because that’s what was always around for Fletcher. But then I guess I just got a little suspicious of the others. I mean, if they are bad for dogs, couldn’t they be bad for me……? Hmmm. :)
    xxS

  • Tom Dillon

    Hi Steph,

    I just wanted to say that I really appreciate you responding to my e-mail regarding tendon injuries. I have now started to tape my ring and pinkie finger together in hopes that I won’t use it as much. I will try that ice method that you suggested and hopefully it will heal somewhat soon! I plan on buying your book once I have finished “Into the wild”. I hope you are having fun climbing where ever you are! Thanks again.

    Tom Dillon

    P.S. I added you on face book! = )

  • kat

    hi steph–i am not a climber, but i love your book and this blog (and dogs!!)
    i think you are right to be suspicious of ibuprofen. a few weeks ago i sprained my knee while sparring. when i went to the orthopedist, he said that he would prefer if i did NOT take ibuprofen(suggested tylenol instead). he said something to the effect of “we can get you back in business quicker if you take it, but your quadriceps will be weaker than if you had not taken it.” this shocked me since i had been popping motrin like crazy since the accident. then he wrote me a prescription for ibuprofen (just in case, i guess) and told me that if i took EVEN ONE, that i had to take a prilosec as well to ward of potential ulcers from the ibuprofen. needless to say, i have not taken any!!!!
    my knee is healing nicely with homemade cold packs(3:1 alcohol:water mixture courtesy of performance menu), hydration, good nutrition, and rest. i am out of jiu-jitsu for longer than i would prefer (6 weeks total and i am past the halfway point!!), but it beats the heck out of getting re-injured and ending up with surgery. this injury is also giving me time to work some other weak links in my training/fitness. even if one part is injured there is always something else to work on–and sometimes, ya just need a break :-)
    did not mean for this to turn into such a long post, but i hope you or tom find something helpful in all of this. all the best to you guys!

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