The Love/Hate Relationship between Finger Tendons and Climbing

So thus far in 2014 I have strained my right ring finger twice. Once in mid January and again mid May. That first one was kind of a downer as most of the season had been spent breaking through that V5 plateau and finally pushing into V7. The second was a bit unexpected but didn't keep me from continuing to climb hard within a matter of a few days. The funny thing however is that, in both instances, I didn't experience those typical emotional stages a lot of us go through after similar injuries;

• Denial - we keep climbing
• Anger - it hurts more but we just tape it up and keep climbing anyway, fighting through the pain
• Disappointment - we rest for a few days because it hurts too much at this ponit, then try to return to hard climbing much too soon, resulting in re-injury
• Sadness/Depression - we just have to stop now because we can't even hold a glass of water without pain

Sound familiar? Yeah it's pretty much a DEATH MARCH toward being out of the game for several months, even running the risk of permanent injury!

...A Death March never ends well, no matter how adorable or cute it may look on the surface...

Despite having followed that recipe for disaster over the years, I've finally just accepted the fact that I AM NOT SPECIAL, I AM NOT SOME MUTANT WITH INCREDIBLE CRIMPING STRENGTH, ETC.. I'm just an average guy who, without proper warm up and stretching prior to hard climbing, will undoubtedly get injured! With that, recovering from a finger injury does NOT go beyond the normal facets most must utilize to heal from such injuries.
That said, I've managed to get right back to climbing hard within an exact and highly predictable time-frame. In fact, after recovering from that first one in January, I managed to send my first V8 outdoors by mid April, on no less than an overhanging crimp traverse problem (anything consistently crimpy is my anti-style)! Even after the most recent strain, I was back to pulling lead and clocking in 1000+ feet of roped climbing at Sender One in about a week's time.
Now how did I accomplish this despite the severe finger strains/sprains? I did this by doing what many of us probably already know. In fact, I'm sure a lot of you reading this have already tried my approach and may just be looking for validation. Well I'm more than happy to validate! Those who haven't tried this approach, I'm happy to say that it has helped keep me off the long-term injured list for over a year now. In fact, had I known how simple this all really was, I would have managed to recover from numerous finger injuries over the years, and wouldn't have plateaued at V5 for so many of them.
My approach is based on Dave MacLeod's article on finger injuries and layoffs. This is NOT some miracle way of curing finger injuries or a sure-fire way to heal them faster. What my system does is give you an extremely accurate time table to full recovery, depending on severity. No blindly telling you to rest until it doesn't hurt or any of that BS, because we know that simply does not work.

1. Week 1 - STOP CLIMBING!!! Yeah pretty much the first week has an obvious action; NO ACTION AT ALL! Reason being is that you need to let the swelling go down. Depending on the severity, this could take a day or three or a full week. In any case, just rest. A week isn't gonna hurt you. The main thing is to bring down the swelling, which can be done in a variety of ways:
   
   • Icing it - I recommend a bucket, 5-6 big ice cubes, a towel and good TV show while you freeze your hand to a point of numbness for about 30 mins (that tip from my aunt who's been running her own medical practice for the better part of 30 years.)
   • Ice Water/Hot Water - This is a typical approach to training recovery that is used to promote blood flow throughout the body using 30 seconds of freezing cold water then submersion into hot water for about 2-3 minutes. For our purposes, just have two buckets on hand. The hot water should be hot enough that you have to get used to it but not so hot that it burns you.
   • Vitamin I - AKA Ibuprofen. I don't necessarily recommend this but it is the most convenient form of anti-inflammation.
   • DMSO - I got this tip from Jimmy Webb, who used it to rehab a severe tendon injury a few years back. There is speculation that it is simply a placebo, but I have used it on minor finger strains and attained full strength in a matter of 1-2 days.
   Again, the key thing during the first week is to bring the swelling down, which may only take a few days. Once the swelling is down and the finger can bend without discomfort, you are ready for Week 2....
   
2. Week 2 - Nothing harder than 5.8/V0 Yes I know that's a tough thing to do. But you're just getting back on the wall! Be glad it's only been less than a week and not longer! Your discipline and willpower from Week 1 brought you to this point so let's keep it up and stay focused on your recovery!
   Week 2 is as crucial as Week 1 in that now you have to test your finger to see how much it can take (within reason). There are a few key points to note here:
   
   • Since the swelling is down, we can now start restrengthening the tendon. This is possible so early in the recovery phase because the same facets the body uses to get stronger are the same ones it uses to heal from injuries. Ergo, mild training/usage at this point will expedite the healing process, not hinder it.
   • It's gonna HURT!!! Your finger is STILL healing, so yes of course it's gonna be sore as hell. On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest level of pain and 1 being no pain or discomfort at all, you should probably be between a 5-6 about this time. This is completely natural and will start to subside over the coming weeks.
   • Climb slowly, statically, and deliberately. This means no dynos, no dynamic movement, keep all four points on until you are ready to move, maintain balance at all times...basically climb the way you SHOULD rather than some bro douche bag campusing through every move on that V1 (lame). Make use of efficient footwork and overall technique.
   • Nothing but V0 JUGS. I can't stress this point hard enough. And no this isn't "your definition" of jugs; literally nothing smaller than a V0 jug for this week. Just so that we are on the same page, here's a picture of a JUG; anything smaller is unacceptable at this stage:
   
   • Avoid putting direct pressure on the tendon. If you're grabbing a jug and it's pushing into the injured area, readjust your grip. Be cognizant of those pain/soreness signals at all times.
   • This may be totally obvious, but keep an open grip at all times i.e. no closed crimping...closed crimping is probably what got you in this mess in the first place, so how about you stop that crap all together until such a time when you're actually strong enough to open crimp that shit...
   • Stay off steep walls and overhangs...that will come in the following weeks so take it easy on that for the time being!
   • DO NOT TAPE IT. That cannot be stressed enough. Let the finger get stronger again naturally; taping it will prevent that from happening. Just don't do it.
   After about a week of easy climbing, take an honest assessment of your finger; does it still hurt just as bad as the beginning of Week 1 or does it feel a lot better than a week before? Make that assessment a few hours after your session, when your body isn't flush with adrenaline. If it's still really bad, take a 2-3 days off and repeat Week 1. Otherwise if you've stayed disciplined about Week 1 and Week 2, your finger should feel a heck of a lot better, leaving you ready to start up Week 3...
   
3. Week 3 - 5.9-5.10/V1-V2 So about this time your pain level should be between 2-4, meaning you should still be experiencing some weird tingling or discomforting feeling. However compared to the first week, it should feel much better and closer to full strength. This week marks a bit of a jump as you should allow yourself to hold on to full pad edges, slopers and big pinches. Slight overhangs would be great for this as well but continue to avoid steep overhangs and roof problems. Otherwise follow the same exact regime as Week 2 but up the ante to 5.9-5.10/V1-V2. If your previous max level was V4 or below, just repeat Week 1 as you want to stay well below your max during this week.
   Once you've completed Week 3, take an honest re-assessment of both your pain and current strength levels. If your pain level is above a 4, repeat Week 2. Else if you're below a 4, then congratulations!!! You're ready to move on to Week 4.
   
4. Week 4 - 5.10+/V3-V5 This of course is dependent on your original strength levels. If you were at most a V4 climber, just repeat Week 3 again as you still want to stay below your max. Otherwise step it up another grade notch while keeping it significantly under your maximum level (by at least 2 grades). As of this writing my max is V8/9, but even in Week 4 I will still keep it V5 and below. This is NOT the time to push yourself and pull hard....not yet. That should come next week; so just one last week of easy climbing.
   At the end of this week, take another honest assessment of your finger. Make that assessment a few hours after your session, when your body isn't flush with adrenaline. If some slight soreness should still be there, don't sweat it; still perfectly natural to experience some continued soreness for another couple of weeks. But notice now that you should be climbing much stronger than you were just a few weeks back.
   

After Week 4, continue on in a gradual uptick in difficulty per week until you get back to your maximum climbing level. By the time you do, you'll notice that most of the soreness or weird tingle feeling is gone and that your open grip strength should be back to normal. Rest when it feels like it may be getting sore again. Otherwise if you've followed this process exactly as stated, the most you'll be off the wall is 1-2 weeks, and you'll be back to full strength in about a month's time. Much better than sitting out half or an entire season!
Now, if the above process does not yield the expected results, please do not hesitate to contact a medical professional and have your finger checked out! The above absolutely assumes you did not completely rupture or snap the tendon in half or anything else that may require x-rays or surgery! Play it smart; if you think you might need medical attention, err on the side of caution and get some!
I'd love to hear what has worked for you, what hasn't, etc. Have you tried this process before or something similar? Have you made the mistake of taking way too long of a break after similar injuries? Share your thoughts.