Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
C1 pulley injury?
|
8 months ago, I was climbing a crimpy route and I’ve had a tender spot on the side of my middle finger (2nd knuckle) ever since, especially when climbing. There was never a pop, and I can’t seem to rehab it at all. I think it might be my C1 pulley, since I’ve had multiple A2 and A4 pulley ruptures in the past and it doesn’t feel the same. I went to an orthopedic hand specialist and the doctor told me to either “take up golf or quit whining”. Then I went to a physical therapist and he told me he couldn’t help with hand injuries. Does anyone have any tips on diagnosing and/or rehabbing this, or perhaps a recommendation for a doctor in Fort Collins who can help? |
Mark Straub wrote: If you actually live in Ft collins the. You should have no shortage of pts in your area that specialize in climbing injuries. Preferably, find one that is a climber themselves and an avid one. Do some sleuthing online to find the right person and they’ll get you a diagnosis pretty quickly. Regarding g the injury, not sure how the symptoms would show up with a c1. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of anyone being diagnosed with such an injury in my 15+ years of climbing. It’s mostly likely an a2 injury and a mild one at that. Either way, get it diagnosed by someone who knows what the demand of the sports are on the digits and they’ll get you back on track. |
|
I’m studying physical therapy right now and looking to specialize in climbing injuries, and I agree I’ve never heard of a C1 injury. What I think is more likely given the location is a collateral ligament injury or even some joint capsule synovitis since it’s been such a long thing. There’s no pain on the palm side of the finger? If so, either of those would likely be overuse, meaning pull back volume in crimps for a bit and slowly (emphasis on slowly) build up tolerance of the tissue to load. |
Lorenzo de Amicis wrote: Got any PT recommendations? So far I haven’t found anyone who has helped. It’s not an A2 injury. It’s on the knuckle, not above/below it. Pain is worst on the sides. Dead hangs do not cause pain, but crimping with rotation does. I’ve had (and rehabbed) six A2 injuries in the past and this feels notably different. I’m not sure why you’re convinced it’s an A2 injury and a “mild one at that”- are you a doctor or PT? |
Michael Larson wrote: Could be another ligament injury, I’m really not sure- and I’d love to find somebody who can help me diagnose it. I did have a friend with a diagnosed injury to a cruciate ligament from climbing, so it’s not totally unheard of. Regarding training- that’s exactly what I’ve done over the last 8 months. It has not improved at all. Rest doesn’t help, slow progressive load increase doesn’t help. I can still pull with full strength, and there’s no pain unless I add rotational or lateral movement (and after a session where I climb). No pain anywhere except the affected finger. No pain pressing directly on the A2 or A4, but there is pain when I press anywhere on the knuckle. |
|
It's in Golden but if you're willing to drive an hour Kevin Cowell knows his stuff: theclimbclinic.com/meet-our… |
|
I had a pully injury a while back, I saw Jeff Giddings, out of Boulder Colorado. He is a climber who is a Physical Therapist specializing in finger injuries. I thought he was good for me. Here is the link to his website: |
|
If you’re willing to drive to Boulder, Mitzi Harrison healed my partial pulley tear and I never had to stop climbing. She made me a custom pulley ring. It was awesome. |
Mark Straub wrote: Sounds like a collateral ligament, which after reading some literature online, is the same thing as Cruciate ligament. For some reason it seems that cruciate is fallen out of favor in terms of terminology for this particular structure..not sure why. My bad! Either way, your original analysis is probably right. Torsional or lateral forces will be the main contributor of pain to that structure. When I've had similar injuries, very mild in my case, I used a theraband or rubber band to rehab stained ligament by doing reps in the direction that aggravates it. This was after the acute phase of the injury subsided. Having said that, find a pt that can help you diagnose at what stage you're at in terms of the recovery process and then prescribe an appropriate rehab protocol. Here's a couple links to peruse while you find a pt: https://www.hoopersbeta.com/library/collateral-ligament-injury-from-rock-climbing-causes-fix |
|
That’s awesome, thanks for the links! I’ll search for a PT as well, it seems there are a couple in Fort Collins- the climbing-specific PTs don’t take insurance, but it may be worth it. |
Mark Straub wrote: FWIW, no one takes my insurance (I have Kaiser) and Mitzi was incredibly reasonably priced especially for everything she did for me. My initial visit was $110 and my follow ups were $70. I looked around and did not find anyone even close to that. I was referred by a friend of mine who has BCBS and Mitzi did accept that and she just had a small copay. Just as an FYI, if no one in Fort Collins works out. |
|
Excellent, thank you Kate, Josh, and John for your recommendations. I’ll see how my luck goes with the FoCo PTs and will look into your recommended providers next if the problem persists! |
