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gym_wench
Jan 14, 2009, 11:24 PM
Post #26 of 36
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Registered: Dec 17, 2004
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Surfergirl, you really shouldn't have numb fingers. You should go see a doc. You may have some nerve damage.
As for man hands, my hands are tiny but a mess. However, my feet are JACKED UP! I hate wearing sandals. I have huge bunions and calluses on my big toes and my second toes are really long and strangely resemble E.T.'s healing finger. Also, the nails on my second toes are almost continually black from the pressure my climbing shoes exert on them. I love winter just for the fact that I have to wear socks and shoes.
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lena_chita
Moderator
Jan 15, 2009, 6:43 PM
Post #27 of 36
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surfergirl wrote: i'm not so concerned about how my hands will look (i was more just curious), but i would really like not to lose the sensitivity in my fingertips. i already have part of a finger that is slightly numb from climbing 1 month ago (so apparently it is permanent). and don't tell me "you shouldn't climb then!" i just want to get an idea of how bad it gets, that's all.
Numbness isn't good! You will lose some small amount of touch sensitivity due to calluses, but numbness is an indication of something more worrisome.
The only time I had this happen to my hands was when I repeatedly climbed a fist-sized overhanging crack at the gym over several weeks of time. I stopped doing that when my pinkie finger got numb, I guess b/c there was a nerve being squeezed at the base of it. The numbness lasted for couple weeks, and went away.
The only other numbness I ever had was in the back of my calf and three outside toes that was caused by a back trauma after a fall. I still had feeling in my toes and calf, and could move them just fine, it was just the surface that felt weird-- as if it was numbed by anestetic injection. It was most notable when I was shaving my legs b/c I was moving the razor over the calf, and had absolutely no feel of it. That one lasted for several months, and I was geting used to the idea that it would always be there, but then it went away. Yay for nerve regeneration, I guess.
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lena_chita
Moderator
Jan 15, 2009, 6:46 PM
Post #28 of 36
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clee03m wrote: lena_chita wrote: It isn't just the hands ,either. I seem to have developed prominent veins on my forearms, and sometimes they look kinda swollen and thick, which in combination with muscles that stand out pretty well (since I have no sub-cutaneous fat), it enhances the man-look. I corrected that for ya! 
Thanks! How do you know that I haven't gained some since you saw me last? 
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clausti
Jan 15, 2009, 7:34 PM
Post #29 of 36
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Registered: Oct 5, 2004
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lena_chita wrote: clee03m wrote: lena_chita wrote: It isn't just the hands ,either. I seem to have developed prominent veins on my forearms, and sometimes they look kinda swollen and thick, which in combination with muscles that stand out pretty well (since I have no sub-cutaneous fat), it enhances the man-look. I corrected that for ya! Thanks! How do you know that I haven't gained some since you saw me last?
i will vouch for a more recent visual of your lack of sub-cu 
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marebear
Jan 16, 2009, 11:46 PM
Post #30 of 36
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Registered: May 15, 2008
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In reply to: I've gotten numb spots on my toes, but never my fingers. And even the toes go back to feeling normal after a few days sans tight rock shoes/loose ice boots.
The ends of my big toes are numb now and stay numb for the entire winter because they are in snowboard and ski boots so often. The feeling comes back and stays in the spring. My roommate, whose father is a doctor, has the same problem. We asked her dad about it and he said there wasn't much to worry about... though we didn't get a diagnosis of what causes it.
I suffered a major impact on my shin from a rail last winter and had a spot go numb for months, the feeling eventually came back. I'm guessing it's some sort of defense mechanism related to trauma...?
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tigerlilly
Jan 17, 2009, 1:30 AM
Post #31 of 36
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Registered: Nov 2, 2006
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marebear wrote: I suffered a major impact on my shin from a rail last winter and had a spot go numb for months, the feeling eventually came back. I'm guessing it's some sort of defense mechanism related to trauma...?
Damaged nerves can heal/regrow, but it's a very slow process. About a cm/month or something like that. Could be yours just had to grow back after that impact. I still have some dead zones with little or no sensation on my left hand following a wrist fracture and two surgeries to fix it. After 5 years, I guess they aren't coming back. I cut myself once on the side of my ring finger and said to myself, "gee, that should hurt, but it doesn't." I check my left paw occasionally when climbing now.
Kathy
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iamthewallress
Jan 18, 2009, 5:03 AM
Post #32 of 36
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Registered: Jan 2, 2003
Posts: 2463
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Caliclimber girl...you may find that climbing makes your hands bigger...at least in terms of thickness as the muscles get bigger and your joints swell. At least that has happened to me. I can barely get my high school class ring past my first nuckle anymore.
I think that my hands look gnarly but female. Like nasty, shredded woman hands.
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acacongua
Jan 21, 2009, 1:48 PM
Post #33 of 36
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Registered: Feb 14, 2003
Posts: 657
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I have strong-looking women's hands - scarred, veins exuding, larger fingers, larger palm.
I hate the cuticles though. 
Oh, and a tip for those wanting great exfoliation -
1 run to your kitchen
2 dump ~1 Tb of sugar in your hand, douse it with some cooking oil (I use grapeseed or safflower because they don't stink)
3 rub the hands together, taking care to rub the sugar/oil all over.
4. Rinse and feel the softness.
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blondgecko
Moderator
Jan 24, 2009, 9:20 AM
Post #34 of 36
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Registered: Jul 2, 2004
Posts: 7666
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I'm not a girl, and I'm probably going to cop a bit of crap for this, but... moisturizer is your friend. I just get a big, cheap pump-pack of Sorbolene cream.
Before I started using it, I used to continually peel skin, develop painful cracks, and have calluses that would randomly decide to slide off as I was pulling on a hold. Then I changed my habits: washed the chalk off ASAP at the end of the day, and very liberally slather my hands with Sorbolene. I found that the first "squirt" from the pump pack would absorb very quickly, and my hands would still be dry afterwards. The second generally took 2-3 minutes to fully absorb.
Anyway, the upshot: despite climbing as hard as (or harder than) before, three nights a week at the gym plus outside on most weekends, I never once developed peeling skin, calluses were small and relatively soft and never came off, and my fingertips stayed soft but gradually became much, much tougher. In fact, I'm convinced that this was part of the reason for my improving quite a bit around the time: more supple fingertips conform better to surfaces, and so increase friction.
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iamthewallress
Jan 25, 2009, 5:11 AM
Post #35 of 36
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Registered: Jan 2, 2003
Posts: 2463
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blondgecko...Were you stick having problems w/ your hands after you'd been climbing a few times a week for > a year? (Pre-lotion)
I remember a lot of sloughing as my body adjusted to the new skin needs, but after a while, I got a thick skin that rarely peels unless I road trip someplace where it takes an extra hard hit. When I take a bit of a break or slow down, I'm apt to also slough a bit. Otherwise, those pantyhose snaggers are a memory.
Roughed up forearms and gobies however...
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blondgecko
Moderator
Jan 25, 2009, 7:15 AM
Post #36 of 36
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Registered: Jul 2, 2004
Posts: 7666
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I've always been a bit on-again, off-again about climbing - hard for a few months, then not much for a while. So, I can't really answer that one.
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