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Post by willblack on Aug 29, 2016 15:54:30 GMT -7
Last Thursday I was ARCing and at the end of my session I managed to get a pretty gnarly flapper just barely below the PIP joint on my right ring finger. I work as the head route setter at two small climbing gyms in Western NC, and I chose to tape my finger loosely with a couple wraps of medical tape when I had to forerun some new lead routes the next night. That night I ran 5 new lead routes, including a couple that were around my limit, but none of the routes were particularly fingery. When we finished running the routes I took the tape off of my finger and noticed the familiar pain of a finger injury. It got worse the next day, but has since completely gone away. I spend a lot of time forerunning difficult routes and I've pulled on much smaller holds than the ones on the routes I ran the other night with no issues, so I have to wonder if maybe the tape led to blood flow occlusion in that finger, or possibly inhibited normal movement of the joint. Thoughts?
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 29, 2016 20:15:12 GMT -7
In the past I've experienced pain akin to a bruise in my connective tissue (pulleys in particular) from tight tape jobs. I think what's going on here is the pressure from the tape irritates the pulley(s). It seems that narrower and tighter wraps are more problematic. IME the pain usually goes away in a couple days.
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Post by willblack on Aug 30, 2016 17:18:46 GMT -7
Glad I'm not the only one who has experienced this. Seems to cast doubt on the dogma that taping is helpful for recovering from finger injuries
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 31, 2016 8:21:25 GMT -7
Ya, I used to be a chronic pulley taper, but over the years I've gotten the feeling that the tape does as much harm as good. Now I generally avoid taping, but I will tape on occasion if I feel something a move is especially threatening. When I do tape, I make sure to keep the tape strip nice and wide.
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gregw
New Member
Posts: 7 
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Post by gregw on Sept 6, 2016 10:08:10 GMT -7
Do you now recommend against H-taping?
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Post by MarkAnderson on Sept 7, 2016 8:45:45 GMT -7
Not in general. It depends on the climber though. Personally, I think its best for me to minimize the use of tape, and when I do use it, I try to keep the wraps wide, so the pressure on my connective tissue is reduced.
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