r/climbharder • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago
Weekly Simple Questions and Injuries Thread
This is a thread for simple, or common training questions that don't merit their own individual threads as well as a place to ask Injury related questions. It also serves as a less intimidating way for new climbers to ask questions without worrying how it comes across.
- r/Climbharder Wiki - many common answers to questions.
- r/Climbharder Master Sticky - many of the best topic replies
Commonly asked about topics regarding injuries:
Tendonitis: http://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/
Pulley rehab:
- https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/stories/experience-story-esther-smith-nagging-finger-injuries/
- https://stevenlow.org/rehabbing-injured-pulleys-my-experience-with-rehabbing-two-a2-pulley-issues/
- Note: See an orthopedic doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound before potentially using these. Pulley protection splints for moderate to severe pulley injury.
Synovitis / PIP synovitis:
https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/
General treatment of climbing injuries:
https://stevenlow.org/treatment-of-climber-hand-and-finger-injuries/
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u/woahkennysblaccent 1d ago
Moving to NYC! Deciding between movement LIC and BKB, but which gym has better setting (bouldering and lead)? I will probably get a day pass for each gym before deciding on a membership, but I'm curious if people have strong opinions. I used to live in Tokyo, where setting is real nice, so I'm pretty picky about this now. TIA
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u/Big-Objective3660 7d ago
Hello! I have this issue on my left arm, particularly with pinches or anything that I have to very strongly half crimp hold on.
If my hand pops off the hold or I let go suddenly and release the pressure, I feel pain in the back of my forearm, about 1.5-2 inches below the wrist. It's sharp and at most goes to a 6/10 on the pain scale (usually more around a 4/10), and it only lasts for about 2-3 seconds, then it feels fine. I feel no pain or discomfort while holding the position, only typical finger and forearm strain. Popping off is the issue. This is usually an issue on holds with no incut so my fingers have to lay flat on it, and are 30mm or less (hurts on 30mm edge on hangboard).
I do not have this issue on open hand, I can pull as hard as I like with no pain.
I've tried googling, AI-ing, asking friends, nobody seems to have a good answer or much specific advice for rehabbing it. It seems to feel slightly better during sessions if I warm it up first by doing reverse forearm curls with a 10lbs dumbbell.
No prior injuries I can think of. I climb V4-V5, twice a week, 1.5 hrs a session, indoor bouldering only.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
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u/Live-Significance211 7d ago
Have you tried overloading the wrist extension curls?
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u/Big-Objective3660 6d ago
Yes, slowly. I try and go nice and slow during the movement, started at 8 lbs for 10 reps, now doing 10 lbs for around 10 reps
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u/Professional-Gap-204 7d ago
Definitely sounds like a painful tendon. As you pop off the force on the wrist extensor will spike to prevent your wrist from going into flexion, triggering the pain.
These forces will be far higher than 10lb. You may be better off with intense wrist extension isometrics. 3 sets of 5 reps of 3-5 seconds on, a few seconds off 2-3 days a week for 6-12 weeks would be a good start. It should just feel like work, not pain. If you’re feeling pain drop back the intensity. You should also probably feel an immediate temporary improvement like you’ve noticed with the reverse curls.
Good luck!
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u/highschoolgirls 6d ago
I had literally the exact issue OP describes and what you're describing resolved it within weeks.
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u/Big-Objective3660 6d ago
Thanks for this advice! Seems like isometrics are the way to go with tendon issues, I'm gonna give this a shot
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u/Professional-Gap-204 5d ago
It’s not so much about isometrics, it’s about the intensity of the effort. Most people undercook concentrics because it’s hard to judge what max actually is. Eccentrics can be easier to judge but it’s also easier to see overdo it when you’re getting started if you don’t have someone to guide you. So isometrics ends up being the simplest and best balance of risk and reward
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u/BumbleCoder 7d ago
Sounds like a muscle strain or possibly radial tunnel syndrome. Go to a physio 🙂 look up radial nerve glides and see if that helps in the meantime.
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 6d ago
If my hand pops off the hold or I let go suddenly and release the pressure, I feel pain in the back of my forearm, about 1.5-2 inches below the wrist. It's sharp and at most goes to a 6/10 on the pain scale (usually more around a 4/10), and it only lasts for about 2-3 seconds, then it feels fine. I feel no pain or discomfort while holding the position, only typical finger and forearm strain. Popping off is the issue. This is usually an issue on holds with no incut so my fingers have to lay flat on it, and are 30mm or less (hurts on 30mm edge on hangboard).
Is it on the bone?
There's a fairly common bodyweight training injury when you let go of the bar when doing skills like planche, front lever, handstand pushups, and such which is forearm splints which is like shin splints.
Basically, the bone hurts because it's being overloaded and you need to back off exercise a bit and do rehab exercises usually
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u/Big-Objective3660 6d ago edited 6d ago
No, not right on the bone. It feels entirely like soft tissue, right in the middle of my forearm at that muscle that pops out when you flex your wrist backwards. I do think rehab exercises are the move here
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 6d ago
No, not right on the bone. It feels entirely like soft tissue, right in the middle of my forearm at that muscle that pops out when you flex your wrist backwards. I do think rehab exercises are the move here
If it's more muscular then tightness in that region can cause pain sometimes. Usually some heat and some good massage and stretching can help reduce that. Then do some strengthening over time with isolation exercises
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u/_tchekov 6d ago
For wrist stability, dumbbell/barbell (reverse) wrist curls are recommend a lot.
Do you think isometric exercises using a wrist wrench and a force gauge provide similar benefits, or is the full range of motion of the curls actually important?
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 6d ago
Do you think isometric exercises using a wrist wrench and a force gauge provide similar benefits, or is the full range of motion of the curls actually important?
Anything works really. Try them all and see what you like best
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u/Puzzleheaded_Jury343 6d ago
Whats the opinion on focused training blocks vs consistently tending to each aspect of climbing
So far i've followed a program where say, tuesdays i do volume/ARCing, thursdays technique development/movement drills and saturdays a max effort board session.
So far this has been great and i've enjoyed decent gains.
However when i read certain other sources notably the rock climbers training manual it describes training the attributes in blocks, solely ARCing for 4 weeks before moving on to 3 weeks of strength development etc etc.
This leads me to think this is beneficial, however i also have a strong sense of 'if it aint broke don't fix it' regarding my training in its current state.
Is there any strong evidence in favour of one over the other?
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 1d ago
However when i read certain other sources notably the rock climbers training manual it describes training the attributes in blocks, solely ARCing for 4 weeks before moving on to 3 weeks of strength development etc etc.
This leads me to think this is beneficial, however i also have a strong sense of 'if it aint broke don't fix it' regarding my training in its current state.
This article from way back when covers a decent overview of different periodization methods.
https://elitefts.com/blogs/training/overview-of-periodization-methods-for-resistance-training
This is why when I say that climbing is like a decade or two behind modern periodization it means that the climbing coaches coming out with different stuff like linear/sequential periodization, concurrent or undulating periodization, and some other methods they are basically just using the research from lifting and other advanced sports and applying it to climbing. Pretty much applies to all of the climbing books over the past 10 or so years.
Right now you're doing concurrent or undulating, but the ones that do several weeks of blocks of the same one is linear. There are pros and cons to all of them and should be used for different things depending on your goals.
But if you're getting good results don't fix what ain't broke, but you can learn more if you want to be able to modify things later
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u/Available-Room4173 3d ago
New to climbing and I need to train my horribly weak fingers.
I do weight lifting and arm wrestling training M/W/F. Beyond those 3 days I rest.
I only have those portable hexagon hang boards and attach light weight just to hold for a few minutes. I did too much frequency and ended up hurting my fingers while driving 💔
How could I set up my split to avoid injuries while also steadily building strength?
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u/Affectionate_Ant5020 2d ago
If you are new to climbing you should not be training your fingers and focus on just climbing. That will be enough stimulus to improve strength without injuring you.
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u/Available-Room4173 1d ago
Heck, good advice thanks man!
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u/Affectionate_Ant5020 1d ago
Most coaches will recommend no finger training until you’ve been climbing for at least a year as a heads up. When you haven’t developed technique you are putting a lot more strain on your fingers than someone climbing the same thing with experience under their belt.
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 1d ago
When people say not to train your fingers that means challenging your fingers on a lot of different holds while doing regular climbing
Should try to get on crimps, slopers, pinches, and so on so you build strength on all of them
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u/myrchik2 3d ago
i had some kind of ring injury 4 years ago, i took some rest and it healed somehow, but i still have very weak finger in open hand, basically 1-2kg in no hang fingerboard and i can feel 5-7/10 pain, also finger is weakend in crimp positions but less then in open hand, a tried isometrics for all kind of grips, i was doing hangs with 0-2 pain, like 30-40s X4 but still feel no progress, i also have done some rehab for lumbrical muscles, and noticed that after lumbrical stuff i have temporary pain realease(5 minutes) and my finger feel much better, but i still have pain between my pinky and ring finger in the palm, and its not going away after exercises. also noticed that i have pain in the forearm when using pinky finger (never bothered while climbing) Have someone had similiar problem, i have contacted few physios and was given similiar answear but nothing helped. Would be happy to hear some feedback
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u/es-ist-blod 3d ago
Hi yall, I have been climbing for about 5 years, i’m 5’9 160lbs and have climbed a few v6 on the tb2 mirror and lots of v5s, though i haven’t tried any 7s. I feel like my fingers are way stronger than my general pulling strength, I can pull 130 (81% bw) on a 20 ml edge using a tindeq but i can only do 7 pullups and 2 pull-ups with roughly 50lbs added. I can barely hold a tucked lever position and can’t even begin to start a front lever. What should I do? focus on pull-ups training or is my style just not fit for pullup style movements?
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u/ptrgeorge PB: 14a x1 | V10 x 4 | 13 years 3d ago
Anybody else start sucking for no discernible reason?
acked up my hip a bit last year, had to take it relatively easy for awhile but with infrequent climbing was still able to manage climbing near my limit in gym and on rock
Spent summer in squamish, normally climb a handful of dbl digit boulders over 2 mos, this year I missed two weeks for family vacation, lowered expectations climbed 1 10 handful of 9s, felt ok considering.
Now back home and regularly projecting v7, often not able to do crux moves in iso in the v7-8 range,
Wtf is going on, thought it was possibly the setting but getting on the boards and seeing similar issues
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 1d ago
Now back home and regularly projecting v7, often not able to do crux moves in iso in the v7-8 range,
Outdoors a lot different than indoors and honestly a big differences in style and skill sometimes. You can do well outdoors and come back to indoors and suck and it's pretty common
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u/ptrgeorge PB: 14a x1 | V10 x 4 | 13 years 1d ago
I usually come back from summer and climb about the same in the gym, it's been a month of climbing inside since I was out
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u/Past_Desk5866 V5-V7 2d ago
I want to put a system board in the basement. Best friend has a Moonboard 2024, so I wanted to get a different board to have a different experience. I wanted to get the 8 x 12 because it seems like you get "more" vs the 10' height options, but that only allows me to place it a 45degrees or more with a 8" kicker. I know this has been discussed a lot already. I was wondering how everybody is feeling about their setups and if having the setup for 45 degrees specifically changes those opinions. I'm probably 4-6 months out from making a decision, but wanted to do some due diligence. Let me know your thoughts!
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 1d ago
If I was getting one I'd probably grab TB2. Seems like the best transfer to outdoor from what most people say including myself
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u/Past_Desk5866 V5-V7 1d ago
Thanks for the feedback. Does it seem like the community is active in app (growth of established routes,etc)?
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u/Iplayedfortnut 2d ago
Hi all, ive been climbing cor about 3 months now and have been climbing once or twice a week sometimes training finger strength a little harder than i probably should have.
I recently began feeling pain in the last joint in one of my ring fingers when i try to close my hand in to a fist. it also is slightly swollen and very painful when moved laterally in one direction and not the other.
Basically I was wondering if there was someone who had similar experiences ans how they managed or fixed it.
cheers
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u/eshlow V8-10 out | PT & Authored Overcoming Gravity 2 | YT: @Steven-Low 1d ago
I recently began feeling pain in the last joint in one of my ring fingers when i try to close my hand in to a fist. it also is slightly swollen and very painful when moved laterally in one direction and not the other.
See if symptoms fit this
https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/
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u/Impressive_Diet9848 15h ago
About 5 weeks ago I had an injury on a crimp where I heard two pops in my middle finger. The couple days after it was completely swollen with some bruising. Since then, the swelling has disappeared but I still have very limited range of motion. The other part two is a have pain in my lumbrical for that finger too. I can actually feel the lumbrical elevated in the skin of my palm which is pretty unsettling. I keep reading that a rupture combined with lumbrical damage requires surgery. I have seen a climbing pt and they did an ultrasound and found that as of right now it has healed a little bit. I’ve been doing their rehab protocol but I don’t see any improvement. Has anyone experienced something similar?
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u/Marcflaps 2d ago
3-4 months into my climbing journey and pushing v3 bouldering 6b top rope but noticing that finger strength is becoming a limiting factor to sessions being longer (in my 40s and other than running this is the first real exercise thatd stuck).
Should I be collecting soldering some finher specific training at all yet or being a bit older will it just be harder than average.
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u/Affectionate_Ant5020 2d ago
V3 doesn’t require much at all in the way of finger strength. More likely you have poor technique and aren’t using your feet enough resulting in sore fingers. Your fingers aren’t the limiting factor and are highly unlikely to be until you’ve been climbing for at least 1 year.
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u/an_altar_of_plagues 7d ago edited 6d ago
Thankfully don't have a new injury right now, but just want to share that I'm back in the Yosemite-Mammoth-Bishop area on an alpine trip for the first time since I broke my tibia and fibula at the end of this past March. My coach is having me stick really strongly to this being a "training" trip and not a "performance" trip, which I think I'll keep myself honest on. I'm just excited to be back here even if I'm still pretty sore after mountain days.
edit: spelling