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Post by scojo on May 24, 2016 23:12:46 GMT -7
For the past few weeks I've been having soreness in the A4s of my ring fingers. It sounds like a case of tendovaginitis. It seems to be an overuse injury, so I'm wondering if there are any grips in particular that tend to cause A4 injuries rather than the usual A2 injuries.
I've had the same issue with the A2s of my ring fingers. I tried taping for a while without much success. It eventually went away after I consciously tried to limit the amount of full crimping I was doing. I've also had this with my A4s, but last time the pain went away without any intervention.
So are there any grips/activities I should avoid (full crimp?)? Does icing help? I'm guessing scaling back my training volume would work, but since it's not too severe, I'd like to try some other remedies before resorting to that.
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Post by MarkAnderson on May 25, 2016 9:20:44 GMT -7
Are you sure it's the A4 and not something else in the DIP joint? The reason I ask is that I've had pain in the DIP joint from closed crimping, which causes the DIP to hyper-extend under intense pressure. My guess is the pain I've experienced has something to do with compressing the cartiledge between the distal and middle phalanges.
Anyway, if it is the pulley, I don't see how closed crimping could be the culprit, unless it has to do with direct pressure from the hold pushing on the pulley (in which case--just use smaller crimps, problem solved, haha). The grip most likely to strain the A4 would be an open hand grip, as for a thin 2-finger pocket.
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Post by scojo on May 25, 2016 12:50:56 GMT -7
The soreness is localized to the center of my middle phalanx; no pain in the joint itself. I've had DIP in my index finger before, and it felt different. Maybe next workout I'll try limiting the open hand grip to see if it makes a difference.
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Post by jcm on May 25, 2016 15:45:42 GMT -7
Are you sure it is soft tissue? Bone stress (stress fracture) is a possible culprit at that location. Definitely a possible outcome from too much volume.
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Post by scojo on May 25, 2016 16:48:32 GMT -7
I'm not sure. Is there an easy way to distinguish between a soft tissue and bone injury in terms of how it feels?
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Post by jcm on May 25, 2016 21:26:58 GMT -7
I'm no expert, but this guy (Julian Saunders) is: drjuliansaunders.com/stressed-out-fingers/"Most stress fractures present as pain around the middle knuckle, or more specifically about half an inch on either side. During climbing, the pain usually gets worse to the point where the climber stops, or at the very least backs up the mojo to reduce the discomfort. Injuries to the pulley apparatus have a moderate propensity to warm up, and the pain, typically on the front, decreases." |
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Post by Charlie S on May 28, 2016 19:23:44 GMT -7
The A4 is also where the FDS attaches.
I had an A4 sprain and an FDS & FDP strain back in January. The Doc was able to tell about the A4 with some increased bowstringing. The FDS and FDR injuries were determined by bending the finger at the DIP and then the PIP. The pain associated with resistance to opening was the giveaway.
In my case, no MRI or X-ray was necessary.
My injury has largely healed, but it's interesting to feel the difference between my "good" and "bad" FDS on the 2nd bone. The healed FDS has healed "fat" (I'm assuming this is scar tissue).
Some other potential giveaways for tendons may include: inability to completely close the grip in that hand, and an increased pain or inability to open jar lids.
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