thisisclarke
May 30, 2013, 8:15 AM
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Registered: May 5, 2013
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I figured I would start a thread for this since I've only seen finger extensors mentioned in injury treatment, and I usually only hear about wrist extensors being recommended for muscle balance training. Has anyone else has seen results with training their finger extensors?
I recently experienced an almost overnight improvement in my ring and middle finger injuries (mild inflammation and pain I've been climbing through for over a year). However, I'm trying to distinguish among several variables that could have solved my problem (though they might have all contributed to the improvement):
1. I've lost around five pounds (not a lot of weight but definitely noticeable; I'm 5'8 and now weigh 155).
2. I've reduced my training to two climbing days per week to allow for better recovery, supplemented with occasional running, weight lifting, and core exercises.
3. I started exercising my finger extensors (about 2-3 times per week; and nothing too strenuous, just raising individual fingers with a closed fist).
So, I've lost weight before, and while I climbed much better, my fingers still hurt when I did crimpy routes. I've also reduced my climbing frequency several times before, and while my fingers normally improved temporarily, the pain slowly came back to me in as little as 1-2 climbing sessions. The only thing that leaves as the culprit is my finger extensor exercises. I've only been doing them for about two weeks, but lately I've been flying up crimpy routes that I struggled with just a few weeks ago, and NO PAIN! (knock on wood)
I also noticed that my middle fingers and ring fingers are the only fingers that I ever have trouble with, and they also have the weakest finger extensors (especially my ring fingers, and my ring finger injuries are normally more persistent as well). Does anyone else have experience with regular training of the finger extensors? I'm just trying to get some more insight because I also read from another thread about a Physical Therapist discouraging training the finger extensors because they are prone to tendonitis.
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