Returning to climb after pulley injury

I injured two finger pulleys in November and climbed on it for 3 weeks because I didn't know what it was. Not smart, yeah. I then rested for a month and climbed in Joshua Tree for a week pretty relaxed stuff. Then I rested for a while and have recently been starting back up once a week. What I wonder is how do I know if I'm ready? Daily activities no longer hurt my fingers. I don't feel comfortable climbing at my old level, and more intense routes make my finger feel tired in a way. Then for two days following my fingers are somewhat stiff or sore. Am I ready to keep climbing or should I lay off? Or should I maybe just climb slightly easier stuff (I'm guilty of the occasional overhanging route)?

I'm curious about this as well. I injured mine about 3 months ago and, while it doesn't hurt, it doesn't quite feel ready either, if that makes any sense. The injury was unexpected and happened with more a murmur than a bang, so I have concerns a reinjury might occur just as easily.

Pulled/sprained my A2 last June. The first 3 months I tapped the injury, climbed way below my ability, and only on jugs. Even jugs hurt for awhile. 6 months post injury I was able to slowly start open hand crimping and harder routes. 9 months in I was fully recovered and had increased my open hand grip tons.

Its simple really. Don't climb for at least 2 weeks. Basically do whatever regime of increasing blood flow, circulation, and reduced swelling you like. Be militant about it though. Resist the urge to climb your grade for at least 3-6 months. Learn open hand crimp and to listen to your body. If it hurts back off some. It's all easier said than done :)

Conrad, how did you know it was just an A2 vs. an issue with your collateral ligament? Mine feels like it could be a bit of both.

^ The above advice by ConradS is a great way to stay injured! Do not climb on an injured pulley. Injured pulleys are only cured by complete rest from climbing (several finger specialists have said this too me and my experience supports their advice). 8 to 12 weeks of rest should do it. Slow reentry into climbing once there is a total absence of pain is the way to go.

onlineclimbingcoach.blogspo…

Dave Macleod is the man.

Found this too - I'm nursing a similar injury since early Dec, I think

drcarlacupido.com/wp-conten…

Fat Dad wrote:Conrad, how did you know it was just an A2 vs. an issue with your collateral ligament? Mine feels like it could be a bit of both.

Don't think it was a ligament as my finger didn't become unstable or swell. But who knows maybe. My injury resulted when crimping and a sudden sharp pain in finger. No loud pop. I self diagnosed like most of us.

Easy there Adam. My results clearly show that you can return to climbing slowly and stay uninjured. Dave Macleod and other top climbers believe that light climbing is essential to the recovery/healing. I did fail to leave out that I did not climb for 2 weeks after injury. My bad. Of course every injury is different. Honestly there is no new information in this thread. Even your disagreement is predictable.

In my anecdotal experience with finger injuries (I've had 3 or 4), they are different than other acute injuries in that if you simply rest them, climbing is not pain free once you return. What I mean is you need roughly 6 weeks of rest. You may want to do some light, intermittent climbing during this time but nothing fingery, obviously. The trick to finger injuries is figuring out the difference between pain and soreness. When the injury is "healed" it may still hurt and/or feel weak with use. However, when the injury switches from injured to sore, I consider that "rehab." For example, I blew out a tendon in them middle of January. I stopped climbing until the end of February only with the occasional gym session top roping way below my level (for reference I onsight around 11+ and was climbing 8's and 9's on a TR maybe once a week). After six weeks, I started to ease back into climbing. At this point my finger is not "pain free" but it's at the point where it feels sore and weak to use, but climbing is not injuring it further. I guess this is a long winded way of saying, finger injuries don't just go back to 100% with rest. It takes rest to allow them to heal, and then a long period of rehab before you will be back to 100% pain free. Once you've rested the injury long enough for it to heal though, it is important to start climbing again. If you're just waiting to start climbing until your finger feels 100%, you will never start climbing again because that won't happen without some rehabilitation.

Complete MRI-confirmed A2 ring finger pulley rupture in 2003. I never stopped climbing. Taped and stuck with easy stuff. Sure it hurt but I wasn't willing to stop climbing. Back to prior climbing level within 3 months, much stronger in 6 months (still hurt to crimp and for 24 hours afterwards). Completely pain free in 12 months. I did tape pretty tight for 12 months, but I think it was mostly of psychological benefit. YMMV.

To follow up on Birdman's post, where was your finger sore? I had slight pain on my A2 when I press on it, but it's actually the middle knuckle of the middle finger that feels weak/swollen at times. It's always a tough call knowing what kind of discomfort is acceptable when trying to get back into it.

Fat Dad, it is definitely the A2 on my middle finger. No pain, swelling, or stiffness in the actual knuckle. Again, even if it is a collateral ligament injury, the advice is still the same. I think Chris Tregge hit it on the head. 3 months back to climbing at your normal level but still hurts. 6 months, able to get stronger than you were previously but still a dull pain and/or soreness. A full year of climbing before your finger feels good as new again.

I had similar experience to those above (A2 pulley sprain/rupture, heard the pop but had little immediate pain and still had full movement of the finger). Did a google search, there's some good information out there (Dave Macleod's article is great, there's another site that was a good reference also).

No climbing for 2-3 weeks after injury. Lots of ice baths and stretching/flexing.

Slowly got back into light climbing on slab/vertical(mostly jugs, slopers, working on my relatively VERY weak open hand grip). Like others mentioned, this is a great opportunity to put in some time training your open hand grip. Maybe you regularly use an open hand grip, but for me, concentrating and trying to only use open hand grip made me realize how little I used it.

I'm 5 months post injury now, wouldn't say I'm fully recovered. Still stay away from demanding crimps on that finger. Climbing in the gym, some problems I'll come to a hard crimp on the injured finger and just have to say 'Nope, next problem'. Haven't had any pain for a few months, still maybe a bit weak in that finger but strength is coming back quickly.

I have taped the finger the whole time and will continue taping for the near future. I realize that there are conflicting studies regarding the benefit of taping for this type of injury, but for me it's a nice reminder that that finger is weak/injured, and that I need to take care of myself to avoid future injuries (proper warm up, etc.)