UKH

Whenever I climb my ring finger tendon feels really tight after a while. How best to treat please?

In reply to bleddynmawr:

You might find some light massage and bathing it in icy water after climbing helpful. Also try and determine if a particular grip type is better or worse. If you can open hand with out aggravating it but crimping makes it sore then avoid crimping for a while. And be prepared to take it easy until it improves, or you'll risk pulley rupture.

You may even find that holding big jugs aggravates it due to the rim of the jug pressing on the sore part of the finger, so open handing even these holds on your fingertips might feel better

In reply to bleddynmawr:

1)Rest, lots of rest. Till it feels better + 1 or 2 weeks.l, and don’t load it.

2) turmeric and black pepper water (natural anti-inflammatory)

3) massage the point area and do light therapy exercises using a therapy ball and flexex.

In reply to bleddynmawr:  Avoid crimps at all cost!  I've climbed through a few a2 pulley tendon injuries and its been absolutely fine as long as i only climb with open handed technique,  basically avoid slabby routes and get on steep routes with big holds.  Just climb top rope or sport so that if you do encounter a crimp you can cheat your way through the move.

In reply to climbingnoob:

To balance thw viewpoint, I'd not do any of those things. Resting is really not the way to fix tendon injuries. They need to be carefully and progressively loaded to stimulate repair. Tendons left one tend to stay as they are. 

There's zero (quality) evidence that turmeric works as an acute anti inflammatory. If you really need to use one, just use ibuprofen. What does "natural" mean anyway? 

In reply to GDes:

My understanding is that it's during the initial 'acute stage' which is when tendons need to be rested, with 3 weeks being the rule of thumb, after which something along the lines of what you describe being done is a good idea.

In reply to climbercool:

I'm just coming back from a a2 tendon injury. Sounds like a good tip to climb steep juggy routes, over hangs maybe. Working on technique. 

As others have said,  sounds like a pulley issue. I've had a couple of tweaks lately, and what's worked for me is:

1 week rest, if there's any inflammation or if it's sore to touch the area then it's too early to climb

2 weeks light climbing. Slopers and pinches are fine. Don't pull anything with a closed hand, even a jug - I use tape so I can't bend the finger. Load each grip slowly and carefully.

2 - 4 weeks of progressive increase. Listen to your body and stay away from crimps and dynos. Don't rush because a setback will send you back to step 1. 

In reply to bleddynmawr:

Thanks all, and I've been avoiding dyno's all my life!

In reply to GDes:

Natural means not using artificial chemicals.

And what I posted works for me. Feel free to ignore the post in it’s entirety if you guys wish. 👍 And the turmeric and black pepper does work. Google it. There are papers floating about supporting what I wrote about turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties.