Hi I am new to climbing. I've been going for a few weeks. I have this constant stiffness and sore feeling in the fingers of my right hand. It's very hard to relax them, they are in a semiclenched position all the time and very tense. There is no swelling that I can see. The other day I climbed for about 10 mins and my hand just stiffened up and began to ache. I have noticed a slight pain in the lower part of my ring finger (palm side). Is this normal for a noobie or.... Not the worlds biggest problem but highly annoying...
Hey...this sounds like you could have tendonitis...even though there would normally be a swelling. Pain is never normal. Pain always is a warning signal of your body and you should stop and let things heal up. Climbing through pain is foolish and bound to have you take a longer break in the end than if you had listened to your body. Iยดm not a doctor however. With the sympthoms described, I would check a doctor or at least write to Dr. 8a, who is a med. answering questions of climbers in this forum. Even though I will probably take another bashing from my fellow climbers, I also recommend whatever book on training (there are many, One Move too Many is good from a medical point of view, Andrew Bisharath`s new book is really good) with a special focus on how not to get injured as a newbie climber. Best wishes for a speedy recovery... Chris
I meant stretch my fingers, sorry....and use Voltaren etc? I'll go to the doctors cos this pain in my fingers is annoying, I am in agony typing - hahah.
I would personally ask the doc what to do and not to do...I mean, you shouldnยดt do anything thatยดs causing pain right now. If thereยดs a swelling, you could ice it and if icing works well, just ice it anyhow. Diclofenac on fingers generally isnยดt a good option unless taken orally (thatยดs what I was told) but, again, Iยดm not a professional. Something I always recommend are Qi-Qong balls (Chinese Balls). Iยดve been climbing for ten years now and never had an injury or pain in my fingers while climbing or after. These Qi-Qong balls were recommended by a friend of mine (the guy who wrote "One Move too Many") for various reasons. They massage the fingers and the joints, increase blood flow and thus the healing process of micro injuiries and are great for warming up and down.
HiMost likely just overtraining. What Cris writes makes a lot of sense, cut back a bit, keep your hands warm even try warming them up in hot water breifly, use a foam ball or the above described chinese balls for warm up as well as cool down. Supplement the first week with 2 times 50 mg Voltaren ( or equivivalent) daily. If this doesn't take care of the problem in 2 weeks see a doctor with special sport medicine/ handsurgery knowledgeBest of luck Bjรถrn
Stiff fingers?