I had pulley strain on my both hand middle fingers. I took me a year to recover. My right hand finger was even worse it would slightly dislocate sometimes. I couldn’t find any doctors who wanted to treat my fingers. So I took one of your videos as reference Hang boarding. I screwed my finger board on the wall and started with 15s keep my feet on the floor. Adjust to comfortable pressure on my fingers. Now my finger injuries are healed. Heading to heavier loading, fingers are stronger than before. Finger dislocated problem solved Thanks for your previous video.
I strained my flexor tendon in my ring finger 3-4 weeks ago and am just starting to think about how to get back into training/climbing so this video is great! Thanks
I like how chill he is, can he do some podcasts or like audible books. I wanna have a nap. I need chillness. Make a lofi-music vid with random clips of his voice.
What an incredibly useful video, and perfectly timed. I have the exact injury on the same finger. I'm liking the sound of working on slabs some more but with a bit more of a focus
Hi there.. thank you for the video.. ive also had a finger PIP joint injury around 7 years ago, where i hit my middle finger on a basketball.. but unfortunately, since then my finger PIP joint has become thickened and the swelling did never go away completely away.. i also do have some mild chronic instability at my joint.. but i do not have any pain and movement restrictions.. is it actually normal that finger joints can remain permanently thickened and swollen after a trauma?
Hey, This is so well timed, I just ripped a chunk of my left index finger and have some sort of pulley shenanigans in my right hand. **Strapping in**...
Hope you are doing better now mate. Climbing is what holds my depression at bay and I've recently had a streak of mild injuries to my hands and elbow. Family keep telling me to stop completely for a while but they don't understand how much that will knock my mental health back. Really happy to have someone like Ollie / Lattice give a nod of approval to the idea of working around injuries while you rehab rather than just going cold turkey. Wishing you luck on your summer projects :)
Just the series for me. Knee problems for 11 years, been managing elbow problems since I started climbing 3 years ago, strained a finger a few weeks ago and can still only pull 90% with that side.
David, have you been working with a climbing physio or coach? We shouldn't have to put up with chronic pain/issues in climbing. Many of these things should be resolved in months at the most. If things persist its worth looking at your approach to climbing, training or rehab. Injuries can be "part of the game" but how we deal with them makes world of difference to our long term development and motivation.
@@LatticeTraining Thanks for asking. I warm up for quite a while and take rest days whenever I’m less than 95% sure I’m healthy. Joint issues are kind of a family trait. I even find myself being the only guy to warm up or stretch down in my friend group yet I’m the only one who is injured ever. I have seen tons of doctors and PT for the knees. PT twice weekly for the first 2 years of the issues and they only became manageable a few years ago. Possibly I wasn’t done growing until I was already in my 20s. As of this year it finally doesn’t impact my ability to do sports at all anymore if I monitor seasonal temp changes and dress really warm during those few weeks of wildly varying temps. No reason pain a few times a season is what it is. Thank god for ice packs. Elbows I also saw a couple doctors and they basically told me stop climbing so I just applied what I learned in physical therapy to them. Low intensity low volume, followed by a ton of volume still low intensity until I could climb again. DAILY stretching of my forearms after workouts and off days is key for me. TLDR: Once weekly light climbing helps my elbows somehow and joint issues run in the family. (Wondering if I comment on all the injury videos you guys put out lol!)
@@davidtorres8396 sounds like you've been very proactive which is great. As you have experienced, seeing a general doctor is not always that helpful. Often you get advice like "just rest" or "stop climbing". Seeing a climbing specialist physio/PT is the usually the best way to go. I've heard the analogy of "seeing an ankle surgeon to perform your heart surgery, they're both doctors yes, but experience and specialization is everything". A good physio should progress your rehab to the point in which is just feels like normal training i.e. high intensity and sports specific.
Thanks! 20 years! This has become a psychological crutch and may be holding you back if you focus on this every time you climb. It may be good to relearn how to climb without tape and become confident in your finger again. Even the most significant finger injuries will heal in a matter of months. If you still feel pain, its important to see a physio.
Apparently that's not good, from around the 6th month after the tear you should climb without tape, because you deprive the tape of the opportunity to adapt even more to the stress
@@LatticeTraining So a few months is not true. There are still changes to the scar structure 1.5 -2 years after a pulley rupture due to ongoing remodeling processes!
This is great, thanks! Not sure if it's a common one, but I get a few wrist injuries and there doesn't seem to be much on this online. Any chance of some similar tips for the wrists
Dear Lattice, after 1.5 year of not climbing due to the pandemic, I came back climbing feeling my fingers very strong. I moved to a new city, where the setting style is not that finger intensive, and I could enjoy 5 months of quality climbing, while progressing into more difficult climbs, without any finger pain/discomfort whatsoever. I was really happy I could climb long sessions, and even harder grades that I couldn't do pre-pandemic, without having my fingers complain about it. However, during the last month I started climbing on the Kilter board, and I kind of pushed my limits too much I guess. I feel a slight discomfort in my right hand middle finger, on the pain scale I would put it into a 2-3. When I press the region of the A2 pulley I feel some pain, but nothing too intense. My question is: should I back off from harder climbs completely, until this discomfort passes completely, or should I continue climbing normally, and only stop if it actually gets to the pain level? I have this concern because I don't know if it is actually worth it backing off for 3-4 weeks over just a slight discomfort, and I'm not sure I can get completely rid of it without halting climbing completely. I say this because pre-pandemic my default situation was exactly this discomfort in this finger, I would climb as usual and try harder climbs, and this discomfort wouldn't increase nor decrease, but be there for months in a row.
Hi Rodrigo, I don't think I'd suggest stopping altogether. If you've developed a bit of an injury, continuing training and climbing (even if at a lower intensity) is usually very good for remodelling the tissues in the injured area and building up more tolerance in the future. If its a minor niggle you should act quickly and take it seriously, but its usually a case dropping the training volume a touch and making some modifications to what you are doing. Then building the finger strength and tolerance up slowly. Remember connective tissue many times longer to develop that muscle strength. The Kilter board has likely just been a spike in training intensity for you, rather focused on the fingers. If pain or discomfort continues, see a climbing specific physio/PT. Its really the best thing you can do and many climbers hold off doing this for far too long.
@@LatticeTraining Thanks Lattice for the reply! You were right, it was just a case of lowering the training level a bit and choosing more finger-friendly climbs. I definitely panicked a bit on the beginning, but after 7 days rest I was calmer, and I did as suggested: lower intensity training/climbing. Now (day 15), the discomfort disappeared and I'm slowly going back to harder climbs. During my last session, I could feel immediately when something was too much, and I did not insist. Now, I'll try to slowly progress to harder stuff, each session probing for how my fingers respond during/after.
HI guys thanks for a really useful video! Can I just ask, why is it better to finger board on single fingers rather than two? In your case with a ring finger injury, is it worse to train front two together than training them individually and why is that? Thank you
Thanks for this video 💪🏾 I’ve had this finger stiffness in my middle finger on my left hand for 4 months now. It’s fine during the day but in the mornings I have a hard time opening the finger. I think I should take whole month off from my calisthenics training to let it heal properly
About two years ago I injured my right ring finger while messing around on some two finger pockets. I had only been climbing for a few months. I have made massive gains in finger strength and climbing performance since then, but my right ring finger often still hurts a little when hanging from 2 finger pockets. I don't know if this is something I should be worried about. The finger still feels solid when in half or full crimp position and I can hang edges smaller than 20 mm using my middle two fingers on both hands.
I had a similar injury. Typically, a finger injury that occurs on pockets is lumbrical strain or tear. Lumbricals are muscles in the palm and fingers... google lumbrical injury!
interesting, i have the same that has also hung around way longer than expected, 20 weeks now. mine hurts in the finger itself though, not the palm, which makes me think its not a lumbrical injury
Have you or anyone here developed persistent swelling and slight numbness in their thumbs or fingertips from climbing, high repetition dumbbells, kettlebells or barbell exercises? What did you do to recover from the problem?
Also I’m a beginner and have a flexor strain on my middle and ring finger on my left hand (told by my dr), he recommends 3-4 weeks off to completely heal. Should I be doing light finger holds while they’re still feeling slightly tender? It hurts a 2/10 but only when I’m really pulling or pushing on my fingers. Or should I wait a few weeks and then start light edge training?
Obviously follow the advice of a trained medical professional, however such a short span of time to heal suggests rather minor strains where progressive and controlled loading would see an elongated recovery time but strengthening of the tissue and fingers further than complete cessation and resuming training would. However, again, follow the advice of a trained medical professional, and ask if controlled rehabilitation exercises would be acceptable. If the doctor says no, then do not as I am doubtful two strains would “completely heal” in just a few weeks if such exercises would harm your recovery.
Their Lattice Mini Bar Portable Fingerboard (latticetraining.com/product/mini-bar-portable-fingerboard/), but you could use other types of one arm blocks with rope on the market (or portable hangboards, but longer ones might get awkward for one hand lifts), to attach to your weights, or DIY a block/hold/edge from wood or other materials. For open hand grip, I used various things around the house like a large beer mug that has a handle where you slide a sling through with a carabiner attached to the weight pin. Or a large diameter hard cardboard tube where you put the sling through the middle.. Some other brands include eg pucseries Il Domani (pucseries.com/patxi-usobiaga/il-domani/) which also makes a one hand portable hang edge.
I had pulley strain on my both hand middle fingers. I took me a year to recover. My right hand finger was even worse it would slightly dislocate sometimes. I couldn’t find any doctors who wanted to treat my fingers.
So I took one of your videos as reference
Hang boarding. I screwed my finger board on the wall and started with 15s keep my feet on the floor. Adjust to comfortable pressure on my fingers.
Now my finger injuries are healed. Heading to heavier loading, fingers are stronger than before. Finger dislocated problem solved
Thanks for your previous video.
I strained my flexor tendon in my ring finger 3-4 weeks ago and am just starting to think about how to get back into training/climbing so this video is great! Thanks
I like how chill he is, can he do some podcasts or like audible books. I wanna have a nap. I need chillness. Make a lofi-music vid with random clips of his voice.
Im doing the exercises, and i started feeling better! Thank you a Lot!
What an incredibly useful video, and perfectly timed. I have the exact injury on the same finger. I'm liking the sound of working on slabs some more but with a bit more of a focus
Hi there.. thank you for the video.. ive also had a finger PIP joint injury around 7 years ago, where i hit my middle finger on a basketball.. but unfortunately, since then my finger PIP joint has become thickened and the swelling did never go away completely away.. i also do have some mild chronic instability at my joint.. but i do not have any pain and movement restrictions.. is it actually normal that finger joints can remain permanently thickened and swollen after a trauma?
Hey, This is so well timed, I just ripped a chunk of my left index finger and have some sort of pulley shenanigans in my right hand. **Strapping in**...
I wish I had this video last year when I got my finger injury and ended up in very dark place. Thank you for putting it up. :)
Hope you are doing better now mate. Climbing is what holds my depression at bay and I've recently had a streak of mild injuries to my hands and elbow. Family keep telling me to stop completely for a while but they don't understand how much that will knock my mental health back. Really happy to have someone like Ollie / Lattice give a nod of approval to the idea of working around injuries while you rehab rather than just going cold turkey. Wishing you luck on your summer projects :)
@@mehashi I'm with you on the mental effects. Last lockdown was a real bummer, but I'm on the bright side again :)
Hang in there! I watch World Cup Climbing to help me stay excited about climbing. Some of the moves the pull off are so damn cool.
Ollie thanks for the video! It's very useful!
great stuff lads!!! thanks!
Just the series for me. Knee problems for 11 years, been managing elbow problems since I started climbing 3 years ago, strained a finger a few weeks ago and can still only pull 90% with that side.
David, have you been working with a climbing physio or coach? We shouldn't have to put up with chronic pain/issues in climbing. Many of these things should be resolved in months at the most. If things persist its worth looking at your approach to climbing, training or rehab. Injuries can be "part of the game" but how we deal with them makes world of difference to our long term development and motivation.
@@LatticeTraining Thanks for asking. I warm up for quite a while and take rest days whenever I’m less than 95% sure I’m healthy. Joint issues are kind of a family trait. I even find myself being the only guy to warm up or stretch down in my friend group yet I’m the only one who is injured ever.
I have seen tons of doctors and PT for the knees. PT twice weekly for the first 2 years of the issues and they only became manageable a few years ago. Possibly I wasn’t done growing until I was already in my 20s. As of this year it finally doesn’t impact my ability to do sports at all anymore if I monitor seasonal temp changes and dress really warm during those few weeks of wildly varying temps. No reason pain a few times a season is what it is. Thank god for ice packs.
Elbows I also saw a couple doctors and they basically told me stop climbing so I just applied what I learned in physical therapy to them. Low intensity low volume, followed by a ton of volume still low intensity until I could climb again. DAILY stretching of my forearms after workouts and off days is key for me.
TLDR: Once weekly light climbing helps my elbows somehow and joint issues run in the family. (Wondering if I comment on all the injury videos you guys put out lol!)
@@davidtorres8396 sounds like you've been very proactive which is great. As you have experienced, seeing a general doctor is not always that helpful. Often you get advice like "just rest" or "stop climbing". Seeing a climbing specialist physio/PT is the usually the best way to go. I've heard the analogy of "seeing an ankle surgeon to perform your heart surgery, they're both doctors yes, but experience and specialization is everything". A good physio should progress your rehab to the point in which is just feels like normal training i.e. high intensity and sports specific.
Nice.. Very informative
Thanks
For reducing grip load while lifting, lifting straps could be helpful as well.
Cheers, Ollie. I still tape my ring finger from a pulley issue I gave myself 20 years ago, mostly as a precaution.
Thanks!
20 years! This has become a psychological crutch and may be holding you back if you focus on this every time you climb. It may be good to relearn how to climb without tape and become confident in your finger again. Even the most significant finger injuries will heal in a matter of months. If you still feel pain, its important to see a physio.
Apparently that's not good, from around the 6th month after the tear you should climb without tape, because you deprive the tape of the opportunity to adapt even more to the stress
@@LatticeTraining
So a few months is not true. There are still changes to the scar structure 1.5 -2 years after a pulley rupture due to ongoing remodeling processes!
This is great, thanks! Not sure if it's a common one, but I get a few wrist injuries and there doesn't seem to be much on this online. Any chance of some similar tips for the wrists
wish a follow up episode about training with wrist injury (tfcc)
Dear Lattice, after 1.5 year of not climbing due to the pandemic, I came back climbing feeling my fingers very strong. I moved to a new city, where the setting style is not that finger intensive, and I could enjoy 5 months of quality climbing, while progressing into more difficult climbs, without any finger pain/discomfort whatsoever. I was really happy I could climb long sessions, and even harder grades that I couldn't do pre-pandemic, without having my fingers complain about it. However, during the last month I started climbing on the Kilter board, and I kind of pushed my limits too much I guess. I feel a slight discomfort in my right hand middle finger, on the pain scale I would put it into a 2-3. When I press the region of the A2 pulley I feel some pain, but nothing too intense. My question is: should I back off from harder climbs completely, until this discomfort passes completely, or should I continue climbing normally, and only stop if it actually gets to the pain level? I have this concern because I don't know if it is actually worth it backing off for 3-4 weeks over just a slight discomfort, and I'm not sure I can get completely rid of it without halting climbing completely. I say this because pre-pandemic my default situation was exactly this discomfort in this finger, I would climb as usual and try harder climbs, and this discomfort wouldn't increase nor decrease, but be there for months in a row.
Hi Rodrigo, I don't think I'd suggest stopping altogether. If you've developed a bit of an injury, continuing training and climbing (even if at a lower intensity) is usually very good for remodelling the tissues in the injured area and building up more tolerance in the future. If its a minor niggle you should act quickly and take it seriously, but its usually a case dropping the training volume a touch and making some modifications to what you are doing. Then building the finger strength and tolerance up slowly. Remember connective tissue many times longer to develop that muscle strength. The Kilter board has likely just been a spike in training intensity for you, rather focused on the fingers. If pain or discomfort continues, see a climbing specific physio/PT. Its really the best thing you can do and many climbers hold off doing this for far too long.
@@LatticeTraining Thanks Lattice for the reply! You were right, it was just a case of lowering the training level a bit and choosing more finger-friendly climbs. I definitely panicked a bit on the beginning, but after 7 days rest I was calmer, and I did as suggested: lower intensity training/climbing. Now (day 15), the discomfort disappeared and I'm slowly going back to harder climbs. During my last session, I could feel immediately when something was too much, and I did not insist. Now, I'll try to slowly progress to harder stuff, each session probing for how my fingers respond during/after.
HI guys thanks for a really useful video! Can I just ask, why is it better to finger board on single fingers rather than two? In your case with a ring finger injury, is it worse to train front two together than training them individually and why is that? Thank you
Thanks for this video 💪🏾 I’ve had this finger stiffness in my middle finger on my left hand for 4 months now. It’s fine during the day but in the mornings I have a hard time opening the finger. I think I should take whole month off from my calisthenics training to let it heal properly
excellent
when Ollie mentioned shoulders and knees, I was really hoping he would also add in toes :( knees and toes
About two years ago I injured my right ring finger while messing around on some two finger pockets. I had only been climbing for a few months. I have made massive gains in finger strength and climbing performance since then, but my right ring finger often still hurts a little when hanging from 2 finger pockets. I don't know if this is something I should be worried about. The finger still feels solid when in half or full crimp position and I can hang edges smaller than 20 mm using my middle two fingers on both hands.
Where does your figer exactly hurt? In the area of the middle joint or in between the joints?
@@felixha7285 base of the finger and a little into the palm. By now, the pain is fairly mild but it's interesting that it has lasted so long.
I had a similar injury. Typically, a finger injury that occurs on pockets is lumbrical strain or tear. Lumbricals are muscles in the palm and fingers... google lumbrical injury!
interesting, i have the same that has also hung around way longer than expected, 20 weeks now. mine hurts in the finger itself though, not the palm, which makes me think its not a lumbrical injury
Wrist straps on injured fingers wrist when lifting or pulling to lessen the intensity on the fingers?
Can I still run with 2 broken fingers?
extraordinary'
Have you or anyone here developed persistent swelling and slight numbness in their thumbs or fingertips from climbing, high repetition dumbbells, kettlebells or barbell exercises?
What did you do to recover from the problem?
Also I’m a beginner and have a flexor strain on my middle and ring finger on my left hand (told by my dr), he recommends 3-4 weeks off to completely heal. Should I be doing light finger holds while they’re still feeling slightly tender? It hurts a 2/10 but only when I’m really pulling or pushing on my fingers. Or should I wait a few weeks and then start light edge training?
Obviously follow the advice of a trained medical professional, however such a short span of time to heal suggests rather minor strains where progressive and controlled loading would see an elongated recovery time but strengthening of the tissue and fingers further than complete cessation and resuming training would. However, again, follow the advice of a trained medical professional, and ask if controlled rehabilitation exercises would be acceptable. If the doctor says no, then do not as I am doubtful two strains would “completely heal” in just a few weeks if such exercises would harm your recovery.
What gear is he using to hold the weights? For his single finger holds
Their Lattice Mini Bar Portable Fingerboard (latticetraining.com/product/mini-bar-portable-fingerboard/), but you could use other types of one arm blocks with rope on the market (or portable hangboards, but longer ones might get awkward for one hand lifts), to attach to your weights, or DIY a block/hold/edge from wood or other materials. For open hand grip, I used various things around the house like a large beer mug that has a handle where you slide a sling through with a carabiner attached to the weight pin. Or a large diameter hard cardboard tube where you put the sling through the middle.. Some other brands include eg pucseries Il Domani (pucseries.com/patxi-usobiaga/il-domani/) which also makes a one hand portable hang edge.
algo
First!