spidergirl Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Hello- I have lurked but am a new poster here. I’m hoping someone can help advise me... I’m supposed to take an ice climbing course with a friend this weekend but have an injured hand. In mid-Dec. I injured my ring finger tendon while rock climbing so haven’t climbed since. I saw a sports doc who said no rock climbing for 4-6 weeks, ice, and wrap. I no longer have pain in the finger but I do have pain in the palm of my hand, running down from that finger. I’ve ice climbed several times before but never with a hand injury. My question is, will ice climbing this weekend aggravate the rock climbing injury? Or should using an ice axe be okay? Anyone had this experience? I appreciate any advice! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbone Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Don’t climb on an injury. You could potentially reinjury or injury it in such a way as to have it never heal properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 you don't really use your fingers much to ice climb if you have leashes. otoh if your palm hurts why not rest it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayB Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Hello- I have lurked but am a new poster here. I’m hoping someone can help advise me... I’m supposed to take an ice climbing course with a friend this weekend but have an injured hand. In mid-Dec. I injured my ring finger tendon while rock climbing so haven’t climbed since. I saw a sports doc who said no rock climbing for 4-6 weeks, ice, and wrap. I no longer have pain in the finger but I do have pain in the palm of my hand, running down from that finger. I’ve ice climbed several times before but never with a hand injury. My question is, will ice climbing this weekend aggravate the rock climbing injury? Or should using an ice axe be okay? Anyone had this experience? I appreciate any advice! Thanks! Depends on the nature of the hand injury and the sort of ice you'll be climbing, I'd think. I've been able to climb mellower/lower angle stuff with a tweak that sounds similar to yours no problem, but once I got on steeper routes that actually got a decent forearm pump going, it definitely seemed to aggravate the injury and prolonged the pain associated with it by at least a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidergirl Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Thanks for the advice, all. As tempted as I am to climb, I’m leaning toward being conservative and letting it heal completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendershot Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Ok, I have a simmilar deal as spider girl, pulled finger tendon while pulling on plastic. Does the "don't climb on an injury" thing apply to weight lifting as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Puget Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I think the answer depends on what your lifting program entailed. In the past I have found that the pressure on my fingers from pulling on heavy loads (eg Lat Pull Down, Weighted Pull-ups) irritated my fingers. Just avoiding these types of exercises, reducing weight load or using straps solved the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidergirl Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 I have found that lifting heavy things have irritated my injured tendon (more in the palm of my hand now). Lifting the laundry basket, heavy pots while washing dishes...even holding a heavy squash with my fingers spread (so that I could scoop the seeds out) hurt my tendon. So I haven't been lifting weights. I had thought I could possibly ice climb because gripping doesn't seem to bother it as much. But JayB's point about using the forearm made me reconsider. I could see how the forearm muscle use could put strain on the hand muscles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I wonder if the tendon sheath for that finger in your palm area was also torn a bit and is still inflammed? If so, using it in any way will just lengthen your recovery time. It's probably best to concentrate on aerobic and other stuff right now and let it heal. 4 to 6 weeks would be pretty fast for that type of injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budweiser Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 (edited) Lifting the laundry basket, heavy pots while washing dishes...even holding a heavy squash with my fingers spread (so that I could scoop the seeds out) hurt my tendon. So I haven't been lifting weights. I have this same problem, doing laundry, washing dishes, vacuuming all seem to aggravate old climbing injuries. Edited February 7, 2008 by Budweiser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selkirk Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I think in general tendon injuries, rotator cuffs, tendonitis etc, (anything that will get irritated with use) require pretty much absolute rest to heal quickly and not linger. So you can lift weights all you want, you just can't do it with using your injured hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendershot Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Damn it! Ok, so that leaves squats, leg curls, calf raises, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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