experience with finger arthritis progression?

I am dealing with some finger joint arthritis (39m), and wanted to get some advice from climbers that have experience with it.

The problem is, I really like to climb sport routes that are hard for me (10-20 attempts for a redpoint), or moonboard, but my finger joins really hurt after that (not during the climbing). It's at the point where I have to take rest days more for the finger joints than for actual forearm recovery... after a particularly good day I might wake up at night due to joint pain. The doctors say it's basically wear / arthritis and nothing can be done.

My plan is, if it starts to hurt too much, I'll move on to easier/juggier climbing (I didn't have much joint trouble in Red River Gorge for example). Every year I joke this is my last year projecting...

However, recently when talking to other people with unrelated "gradual then sudden" injuries, I'm starting to wonder... how likely is it that I will screw up my fingers for good (just from arthritis) and not be able to climb at all? Anyone have experience with arthritis progression as they age?

Have you tried taking some extended time off?  I get thumb tendonitis and resting for a few weeks can be helpful for flare ups. 

Hi Sergey, 

It sounds like you are really cranking those digits! Pain in the JOINTS (as opposed to muscles or tendons) AFTER climbing does sound to me like you may be injuring  yourself. The end result may be that you “can’t play the piano.” I guess that the questions you need to ask yourself invokve whether it is worth the risk (something we ask ourselves all the time) and also whether you are able or willing to change your climbing style, such that you aren’t injuring yourself.
You could try longer routes, which stress route finding ability and endurance, rather than power (especially in Washington!), or mountaineering routes which require skills on snow, ice and rock. Maybe traditional crack routes, rather than steeper, crimpy sport routes? Slab routes in Tuolumne? Many climbers make this type of transition as they age. It sounds like you are an experienced and accomplished climber, and I wish you a long climbing career.
I was never a high end climber, but am still actively and regularly climbing at age 67. My oldest climbing partner is 83 years old, and he still climbs regularly. Most of the people I know, who still climb at this age, have had to make adjustments in their climbing styles, but some have climbing careers in excess of 40-60 years. Good luck to you!

We wear out. Even if we don't do anything. I'm 57. I have arthritis in both middle fingers with nodules starting at the last joint.  I've had to switch to open and 3 finger drag grip and can't crimp. The joints won't straighten let alone bend backwards. I'm still in the 13s on sport.  The joints act like stoppers in cracks. :)

I recently posted about similar injury and based on my description someone suggested arthritis. Since you’ve all experienced this can you confirm the pain you have is similar?

No pain to touch on the sides of the finger or the palm side of the finger. Pain to the touch on the knuckle closest to the nail. A feeling of tightness on the nail side of the finger when making a fist. Minor pain when actuating the knuckle closest to the nail but none when actuating the entire finger but keeping the final knuckle bent. This is all a week from injury so maybe it changes over time.

Thanks. 

Hello. I am a bit of an expert in the area. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis as young as 27 and have it in several joints. I am a master’s nurse and decided to dedicate my career to helping others with this condition as most of the available information out there is outdated.

The normal course for finger osteoarthritis is that it is painful while it is developing but then the pain subsides and you are left with some nodes. This has also been the case with me. (I also have knuckle that sometimes act like stoppers - sometimes too well.)

I am in the middle of writing my my social media outreach posts for the month so I am just going to copy and paste something I just wrote up for the gram (@arthritishealthcoach if you are interested):

Osteoarthritis is not an inevitable part of aging.

It's time to set the record straight. Contrary to common belief (even among medical professionals), osteoarthritis is not simply a normal aspect of the aging process. Did you know that only 1 out of 4 people will ever develop osteoarthritis in their lifetime? What’s going on with those other 3 if OA is so normal.

Scientific advancements have revealed that osteoarthritis emerges from an intricate and inflammatory biological process. This process leads to the deterioration of cartilage, joint tissues, and the formation of bone spurs. While the inflammation associated with osteoarthritis differs from other forms of arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis, it remains an inflammatory process at its core.

While aging can contribute to increased inflammation within the body, it's important to recognize that modifiable factors play a significant role in exacerbating osteoarthritis symptoms and accelerating joint damage. These are the main factors:

▶ Inactivity

▶ Excess weight

▶ Proinflammatory foods

▶ Stress

▶ Poor sleep

By implementing lifestyle changes that target these risk factors, we can make remarkable strides in reducing symptoms and slowing the progression of osteoarthritis. Together, let's embrace these modifications to enhance our quality of life.

Thanks everyone, makes sense... that, for most people, it only gets gradually worse and maybe even subsides, sound like music to my ears ;)

As for extended rest, it doesn't really help, I mean pain subsides in 1-2 days but even after a few weeks of non-climbing vacation it comes back after one hard low-volume session.

Jake wander wrote:

I recently posted about similar injury and based on my description someone suggested arthritis. Since you’ve all experienced this can you confirm the pain you have is similar?

No pain to touch on the sides of the finger or the palm side of the finger. Pain to the touch on the knuckle closest to the nail. A feeling of tightness on the nail side of the finger when making a fist. Minor pain when actuating the knuckle closest to the nail but none when actuating the entire finger but keeping the final knuckle bent. This is all a week from injury so maybe it changes over time.

Thanks. 

I dunno, I have it in the 2nd knuckle from the tip on 3 fingers (2 on the left hand and one on the right), doesn't really match well. The key symptoms for me are swollen, clicky knuckles and fingers that are naturally slightly bent at the knuckle, I cannot straighten them normally without a bunch of stretching. I had an unrelated collateral sprain/tear and they did x-rays to rule out bone damage, and told me on other fingers (from the sprain) I have pretty obvious arthritis and no other damage to anything, so I'm mostly going from that.

Osteoarthritis is weird because it isn't a on/off thing, it is just a collection of symptoms they seem to group together (osteopaths/bone spurs, join narrowing, inflammation, pain, lack of mobility). Climbers can and do accumulate some of the physical ones like bone spurs & joint narrowing but don't get the pain or mobility loss. So I would say just having a few symptoms does not mean you are going to be unable to use your hands in 20 years.

If anything I think all the blood flow we get to fingers and all the finger mobility exercise climbers do make us a good candidates to have knobbly but strong and functional hands in old age. I have long fingers and was getting bone spurs on top of the second joint on my middle knuckles due to full crimping. I ultimately started wearing a finger ring I 3d printed that prevents the finger from hyperextending. It makes it so I can full crimp without have the joint hyperextension where the top of the bones are just grinding together.

Eric Mcal wrote:

Osteoarthritis is weird because it isn't a on/off thing, it is just a collection of symptoms they seem to group together (osteopaths/bone spurs, join narrowing, inflammation, pain, lack of mobility). 

What is an "osteopath" symptom? I thought the word meant a doctor of osteopathy.

Eric Mcal wrote:

Osteoarthritis is weird because it isn't a on/off thing, it is just a collection of symptoms they seem to group together (osteopaths/bone spurs, join narrowing, inflammation, pain, lack of mobility). Climbers can and do accumulate some of the physical ones like bone spurs & joint narrowing but don't get the pain or mobility loss. So I would say just having a few symptoms does not mean you are going to be unable to use your hands in 20 years.

If anything I think all the blood flow we get to fingers and all the finger mobility exercise climbers do make us a good candidates to have knobbly but strong and functional hands in old age. I have long fingers and was getting bone spurs on top of the second joint on my middle knuckles due to full crimping. I ultimately started wearing a finger ring I 3d printed that prevents the finger from hyperextending. It makes it so I can full crimp without have the joint hyperextension where the top of the bones are just grinding together.

Hi Eric,

Could you post a picture of your 3D printed ring please? Would love to try to print one myself!