Finger injuries.... ouch.

This winter marks my 10 year anniversary of rock climbing - and what a wonderful 10 years it has been. I have to count myself among the lucky, as throughout my whole climbing career I have never sustained a finger injury.

Precious, precious fingers. Nothing but a few raw tips.

Alas, it seems my time has come. Yesterday while climbing I bumped dynamically to a crimp, quickly pulling down on the hold to turn it into a lock-off. As I pulled through the movement, I felt and heard a loud double pop in my finger - loud enough that I asked my spotters mid-climb if they heard it. Adrenaline somehow pushed me to finish the problem, but that certainly marked the end of my day. As I mentioned I have no experience with these injuries, but based on symptoms and location I think I'm dealing with a partial A4 pulley tear. Maybe a collateral ligament strain, but I believe the cause makes this less probable...

We're almost finished our time in Bishop and then we're off to visit family for a week. Not knowing how bad my finger is, I will start with one to two weeks off and gently work my way back in. There are some great articles out there with good advice on rehab for pulleys. One example is this article, which focuses on the often more severe A2 pulley injuries, but has some good tips.

But now, if anyone is interested in what a *possible* partial tear of the A4 pulley in a left ring finger sounds like..... turn your sound up and click here:

It seems good things must come to an end. Here's to waiting for the next good thing!
<3 Kim