"double jointed" fingers

Since I was a kid I was told I was "double jointed". With my fingers I can hold them straight (joints locked straight) and and flex just my last knuckle (so my finger tips are pointing basically towards the ground). For climbing this makes about a perfect open handed hook, but it feels REALLY weak. Should I work on making this stronger or should I concentrate on keeping a little bend in all of my knuckles?

Thanks in advance.

...quit thinking so much.

=)

I would work on crimping =)

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Congrats Gary.

It sounds like an honest question from an honestly curious person. Give him a break.

To answer the question, I don't know if it will help your climbing. I am considered "double jointed" and I've never noticed an ad/disadvantage from it in climbing.

From an injury prevention standpoint it would worrying me to stress the joints in unnatural(to most people) positions. Being double jointed is really just having unusually loose ligaments and tendons. Ligaments and tendons hold your joints in alignment. Since yours are loose they don't hold your joints in proper alignment and the joints are more prone to injury and dislocation.

Just my thoughts, but I don't really have a clue.

Evan

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Congrats Richard, or should we call you Dick!

Thanks for the helpful replies to those of you who chose to help. I am honestly curious. I don't think I am "thinking too much". I can crimp, and I can use more open hand technique with tension in my fingers. I've been led to understand that in the long haul using an open hand when possible will help prevent injuries. I can also keep my palm entirely flat and my fingers entirely straight with just my last knuckles bent. It just feels weak, so that's why I asked. I wanted to see if this weakness could be overcome or if there were some mechanical reasons not to even try.

Bite me Dick. I would have expected that on one of the other forums but not here.

I think you've gotten the advice you needed on rockclimbing.com.

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Aerili wrote:I think you've gotten the advice you needed on rockclimbing.com. RC: 1 MP: 0 Yes, it is for real.

Yes ma'am, you are right.

it's interesting that your double-joint is in your fingertip knuckle. i have one in my left thumb, big knuckle. when i am doing a route with sustained thumbstacking, some times this joint starts kind of getting stuck.

I'm curious, Gary, can you do that with your toes too?

I can do the exact same thing with my last knuckle - the only way you can do it is by locking your middle knuckle and flexing. There's nothing that you can do to make this grip strong, and it is basically completely useless for climbing.

Also, as a fellow hypermobile (a more correct term for "double jointed") climber, I'll give you a warning to watch yourself. It's easy to screw up and injure yourself when you've got ass-tons of mobility in very weak distortions of your joints. I tore the crap out of my TFCC in my wrist while contorting into a barely-human arm twist for a strenuous mantle and had to take half a year off from climbing.

Eric Krantz wrote:I'm curious, Gary, can you do that with your toes too?

No I can't. I can "make a fist" with my toes and get a good spread, but this is just due to working foot mobility.

Thanks for the input JamesD. I always had a really good grip, but the structural strength of my fingers was always lacking. I could never do fingertip pushups as my joints would simply collapse in every direction.

This is okay, it just means I have to work harder.

Thanks again.