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ddaisy
May 30, 2011, 3:12 AM
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Registered: May 30, 2011
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I started climbing a few months ago indoors, really liked it, and have been to the gym maybe 9 or 10 times overall, and I tried bouldering outdoors about 4 times. It's great!
The problem is that now I have this persistent (not bad, not worsening, not suddenly-occurring) pain in each of my ring fingers. I looked it up, and it seems to be mild tendon damage, so I'm going to rest and be careful until it's gone away. My question isn't really about the injury itself, but more about how I could have hurt myself so soon? I'm sure that my technique is pretty bad, but still... a dozen times climbing in a 2-3 months and already an overuse injury?
I don't pull particularly hard, I haven't bouldered anything harder than V3 (successfully, at least) or top-roped harder than 5.9, and I don't like overhangs, since I'm a skinny weakling. In fact, I don't use my arms that much at all, since that tires me out.
Has anyone else had this happen so soon into their climbing career? Any advice? (apart from resting and going to get instruction for better technique, since I'm planning on that anyway) I really like climbing, and it's bumming me out to think that I may be too injury-prone to be able to do it much.
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FastEddie
May 30, 2011, 4:33 AM
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I would ask, have you ever used your fingers much in any other sport or have you worked manual labor before? This may be the first time in your life you're putting that kind of strain on your tendons. Patient, slow progression may be what you need for the next few years. (easy to prescribe, but hard to fill for the fired up beginner)
gl
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ddaisy
May 30, 2011, 12:02 PM
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I was a bike messenger when I was younger and I rode bike competitively until a couple of years ago, but that doesn't put a huge strain on the fingers. I do have weirdly large strong hands for my size-- I open jars and bottles for my boyfriend, who's about twice my size and strength
Maybe I've been pulling harder than I realized, but I really did think that I was going appropriately slowly; never dynoing, warming up, doing every V0 in the gym before trying the V1s, doing every V1 before trying the V2s, etc...
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granite_grrl
May 30, 2011, 12:19 PM
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Registered: Oct 25, 2002
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Bouldering can put much larger loads on your tendons, give yourself a bit of rest and maybe limit your bouldering in the gym and concentrate on technique on routes.
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mikebee
May 30, 2011, 2:09 PM
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Also, don't crimp. Use an open hand as much as you can.
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gunkiemike
May 31, 2011, 12:59 AM
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Sounds like a classic case of "too much too soon". You've probably heard it said: tendons take a long time to adapt to the strain of climbing. Well, now you know it firsthand.
Gyms tend IME to overly emphasize small (tendon-intensive) holds. My suggestion - climb really steep routes there on really big, positive holds. Get wicked strong that way. Your fingers will develop at their own rate. Minimize the time on crimps and even pinches until the pain is a distant memory.
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ddaisy
May 31, 2011, 2:55 AM
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Registered: May 30, 2011
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All of this sounds like good advice, thanks. I think that I was too ambitious about trying to climb harder grades so soon. At the gym that I've been going to, if you want to move up a grade, the option is usually steeper walls or smaller holds. I found that I was pretty good at the tiny holds, but terrible at the steeper walls. Crimping just felt more natural to me.
Time to work on my weaknesses, I guess.
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guangzhou
May 31, 2011, 3:35 AM
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Registered: Sep 27, 2004
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I agree, you're excited about the sport and want to climb and push as often as possible, but your body has not caught up to your scpych yet.
V3 after jsut a few months seems like a big push, but it also depend on the problems. Based on the limited boudelring I've done with grades, a rough estimate of V 3 would be 5.12 low end.
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