Although the palm is extremely complex, with many intrinsic muscles and tendons, climbing injuries affecting this area are relatively few. This article focuses on a few common injuries and best practice for treatment.
Category: Ask Dr J
ASK DR J – ISSUE 255 – CURSES, CRAMPS!
Cramps can strike anywhere, anytime but is there a way to avoid or minimise them without falling for a snake oil cure?
ASK DR J – ISSUE 223 – DODGY ELBOWS REVISITED
This is an updated version of probably the most widely read article in climbing media history! Why? Because if you’re excited about climbing, chances are you will at some point try a little too hard for a little too long and your elbows wont like it one little bit.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 228 – BLOWN TENDONS, TORN TOES, AND A SOLID INKLING
It’s all about appendages in this issue; pulley rupture, torn flexor tendons in the forearm from pocket pulling, and damaged toe tendons from a bad landing while bouldering.
ASK DR J – VIDEO – ELBOWS EXPLAINED
In this article hear firsthand from Dr Julian as he talks through the ins and outs of climbing related elbow injury and rehabilitation.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 225 – BAD TO THE BONE BUSTED HAND AND A HEART FOR CLIMBING
Diagnosing a wrist fracture is not as easy as ordering an x-ray – some of them simply don’t show up! And just how do you return to form after having your breast-bone cut in half to fix a leaky heart valve? Good question!!
ASK DR J – ISSUE 220 – STEPPING UP SNAPPED ANKLE TENDON, LUMBAR BONE SPURS & BAD DISCS
Heard a pop in your ankle while high-stepping? That would probably be the peroneal retinaculum snapping! Is bouldering bad for low back pain? That depends on how high you go!
ASK DR J – ISSUE 227 – MORE QUACKERY ELBOW TREATMENTS TO AVOID
Do PRP injections work for, well, anything at all? Unlikely. Rather, have a read of Issue 223 and do the work required to get your elbow tendons in order. What if your elbows are just plainly breaking down? Surgery? Retirement? Dr J answers the big questions.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 219 – BUNIONS AND ROCKSHOES & DOES FREEZING MAKE YOUR FINGERS STRONGER?
Why do bunions form and what can a climber do? Cut holes in your shoes! And will climbing in freezing conditions make you more fit?
ASK DR J – ISSUE 217 – EXPLODED SHOULDERS AND FINGER CYSTS
Shoulder dislocation for a climber is akin to a porn star with a fractured penis – BAD! Assemble your rehab team with care and consideration. How about finger numbness from whacking a nerve? It’s certainly possible.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 216 – ANKLE REPLACEMENTS AND DO-IT-YOURSELF MEDICINE
Another broken talus! So if it all goes south, is an ankle replacement a good option? And what to do if your toe is throbbing as if to the beat of a Zulu drum.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 215 – POP GOES THE FINGER – PULLEY AND MENISCUS INJURIES
Can you climb with a pulley injury that goes ‘pop’? That depends on your definition of climbing? How about a meniscus tear in the knee? No thanks, I’d rather not.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 214 – BREAKING BAD – TURNING A TALUS INTO TALUS
Will breaking the neck of the talus bone in your ankle lead to it dying (avascular necrosis)? Probably not, but maybe yes. Pregnant?? Best have a read before you take that trip to Bishop.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 213 – BULGING DISCS, TINGLING FINGERS AND HELLACIOUS PAIN
Neck pain or lumbar pain from a disc bulge, not to mention all the pain referral, can take the gloss of life. Will Vitamin C help, Red Bull’s? Surgery?
ASK DR J – ISSUE 212 – MY WRIST HURTS – CLEANING INJURY SIDELINES DEVELOPER
De Quervain’s tenosynovitis in a climber from brushing too much, a neck disc bulge versus inversion boots, and a toe fungus versus everything you can throw at it this side of an axe.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 211 – WHY ICING SLOWS HEALING AND THE IMBALANCE MYTH
Icing as a therapeutic intervention is no longer in the building. That said, it will take a good 20 years for everyone to realize. Dr J also talks about a rice bucket protocol that’s meant to cure all your forearm ailments.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 209 – THE BAD NEWS ABOUT ARTHRITIS
You know what? If you climb long enough you will get osteoarthritis in your fingers. Period. And Will Alpha Brain help your climbing? If it does nothing else, it will make you climber harder.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 208 – BURSTING BICEPS
In this issue we look at how a ruptured bicep insertion can result in elbow pain, and how electro gimmickry for blood perfusion will only bleed you of money.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 207 – TENDON TRUTHS
Tennis elbow. Bugger! Read here, but for more info read Dodgie Elbows Revisited, Ask Dr J (201) and check out the Frying Pan protocol in the videos section. Golly gosh, and then there is the Voddoo floss band for elbow tendonosis, and compression garments to make the legs of an old man jealous.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 206 – BLOWN KNEES, SHOULDER WOES AND GORGEOUS RESCUERS
Ever heard a loud crack come from your knee while heel hooking? Read on! We also take a look at why one shoulder blade might be winging more than a run-a-way frisby, and how dislocating your collar bone from the sternum can be a right piss off. Unless, of course, your rescuer is smokin’ hot!
ASK DR J – ISSUE 205 – NERVE TENSION, STRESSED OUT FINGERS, SHOULDER PAIN?
ASK DR J – ISSUE 204 – TALUS TROUBLE
Can you climb on an osteochondral fracture before the doctor says? NO! How about blunt trauma to the inside of your knee? Possibly, possibly not. Dodgie Elbow? For sure, if you’re doing the right exercises (check out Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223]).
ASK DR J – ISSUE 203 – BATTLING PAIN
Sore finger joints, sore shoulder joints and a sore knee joint. – These are the days of our lives!
ASK DR J – ISSUE 201 – THE TENNIS ELBOW CURE
How about using a frying pan to fix your tennis elbow? Dr J gives you the “how to”. Also, some simple stretches to help with carpal tunnel syndrome and a strained brachioradialis.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 200 – MIND THE BOLLOCKS
Is a swollen tackle box a hydrocele (swollen scrotum), varicocele (dodgy veins), spermatocele (a school of wayward swimmers) and or a tumors (badness)? Is a hose clamp better than tape for supplementing the strength of a strained pulley? How long should a wrist injury like a TFCC strain be immobilized for? Such great questions in this episode of Ask Dr J.
ASK DR J – ISSUE 199 – Arthritis, Inevitable?
Is pain in the base of your thumb arthritis? Maybe. Is bilateral shoulder pain rotator cuff tendonosis? Probably, but the ‘maybe not’ side of the argument definitely warrants further investigation. Oh, and another dude with elbow tendonosis resulting from shear exuberant enthusiasm. Also check out Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223].
Ask Dr J – Issue 198 – NSAIDS: Killing you softly with their love
A hysterical aversion to even the lowest end of the pain spectrum is driving the tsunami of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug abuse. Is it an egg laid by the pharmaceutical giants? In other news, a climber suffers a labral tear in his shoulder, and a young lass poses the question of whether to get her ankle fused following a horrid break and eight surgeries.
Ask Dr J – Issue 197 – “I hate rock climbers”. Cripes!
The long run on wrist injuries continues in this installment of Ask Dr J – a TFCC tear, a pinch of bone necrosis and a surgeon who shall here after be referred to as Captain Tactless. Let me say this straight – injectable therapies like PRP injections for anything at all is about as therapeutically effective as Joan Rivers would be as Secretary Of State. For elbow tendonosis try an eccentric weight program (Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223]).
Ask Dr J – Issue 196 – Out For Life?
Looking down the barrel of a third operation to repair ligament and triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) damage in your wrist is a solid reason to question your choice of sports. Additionally, we take a squiz at the pitfalls of caffeine withdrawal. Here’s an idea – don’t stop!
Ask Dr J – Issue 195 – Sex and Elbows
Opioid pain medication can knock your testosterone levels to somewhere south of your ankles. So does taking testosterone supplements affect your climbing? Oh, and here’s a surprise, another elbow with medial epicondylosis. How about surgery for that? Also check out Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223].
Ask Dr J – Issue 194 – Love The Sloper
Crimping is associated with pulley injuries. Slopers are associated with wrist injuries, namely damage to that pesky little thing called the triangular fibrocartilage complex, or TFCC for short. Our second question is from . dude who ruptured a finger tendon. Holy leaping short-arses, Batman! Yes Robin, you heard me. Ruptured. Finger. Tendon. Can’t say I have ever seen one in real life.
Ask Dr J – Issue 193 – Practitioner Love
I’m pretty sure Molly has a crush on me. This is the second time she has written in, although this time it is about a chondral fracture in her knee from a bouldering fall rather than the last time when she had to grab her bum because she tore her hamstring insertion. Palm pain from pocket pulling? It’s probably a lumbrical tear, and yet another practical use for the Dr J Test.
Ask Dr J – Issue 192 – Ankle Mayhem
Having dislocated an ankle while bouldering, Dr J can empathize. Will it ever be normal? No. Like sands through the hour glass, we discuss elbow tendonosis yet again. Also check out Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223].
Ask Dr J – Issue 191 – Snap, Crackle, Wrist
In this issue Dr J takes a look at cartilage damage in the wrist (triangular fibrocartilage complex, or TFCC for short), the real and potential dilemmas of being struck by rock-fall, and how an enormous man called Gatito, meaning kitten, is the very definition of why a smashed ankle doesn’t necessarily need to hold you back.
Ask Dr J – Issue 190 – Getting It Back
Ask Dr J – Issue 189 – Ruined!
Does hypermobility lead to tendonosis? No, that’s a croc of shit. Read on. Have a look at Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223] for an in depth look at elbow tendonosis rehab. And we look at yet another story of “ You will never climb again”. I mean, really, people climb with no legs, this guy only has a bit of his patella missing.
Ask Dr J – Issue 188 – Pushing Limits and Breaking Bones
Dr J, having suffered the ignominy of a blown hammy en route, looks at how best to approach rehab and your return to climbing. Broken Finger? Yep had one of them as well.
Ask Dr J – Issue 187 – Cracked Tip Smackdown
There are actually people who don’t use chalk. It true, no joke. And they climb HARD! So if chalk is messing with your skin, simples, don’t use it. We also take a look at what could be the cause of lumps forming on your fingers.
Ask Dr J – Issue 185 – Bouldering? In your dreams!
ACL rehab and when you can return to climbing is first cab off the rank in this Ask Dr J column. After that we head north to the shoulder and discuss how to approach a SLAP lesion (a type of cartilage tear), and what to do when your bicep tendon pulls anchor and sails down to your elbow.
Ask Dr J – Issue 184 – Chin In, Tits Out
Why do some climbers look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame? Can you climb with herniated discs in your back, and is banging your head in a car door more therapeutic than spinal surgery? What happens when an A2 pulley passes through the Land of Overtraining? This and other fantastical anecdotes in the Book Of Dr J.
Ask Dr J – Issue 183 – Boobie Trapped with a Titanium Spear
Could dragging your scrotum on the ground help you avoid injury? Yes! Swollen fingers; how zee Germans helped advance our understanding of radial nerve impingement in the forearm; and what not to do in politics and war (namely shaving the sides of your mustachio).
Ask Dr J – Issue 182 – Strong to the Core
Does being told that you should give up climbing actually mean you should give up climbing? Of course not, you silly dill-brain. That just means you ask someone else! Dr J discusses ripped abdominals, trigger happy thumb (not so happy), and what is the Dr J Test?
Ask Dr J – Issue 181 – Big Boots and Tantric Pole Dancing
In this issue Dr J looks at the causes of Pseudogout (as opposed to Gout) and how little you can do for it, getting back into the swing of things after a full knee reconstruction, and why Levaquin, an antibiotic from the fluroquinolone family come with an FDA Black Box warning for tendon pathologies.
Ask Dr J – Issue 180 – SHOCKING!
Read all about it – Broken toes that don’t heal and why supplements probably wont help, electrical modalities that don’t work (aside from vibrators), and why cortisone is the new cocaine – get your copy right here, right now.
Ask Dr J – Issue 179 – What does Obama’s vegie patch and your elbow have in common?
Pinky pain that makes no sense, biceps tendonosis and, yet again, that dreaded lurgy – elbow tendonosis (also covered in Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223]).
Ask Dr J – Issue 178 – Taping and the Cycle of Ignorance
Is H-taping the new way forward for protecting pulley injuries in climbers? And exactly how does chopping a finger off affect your rock climbing? Dr J ponders all the big topics in this update of ASK Dr J.
Ask Dr J – Issue 176 – Uncomfortably numb
Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) is like a bad relationship: painful, too long and, for the avid rockateer, soul destroying; what to do? Though not common in climbers, how does one solve the rather recalcitrant carpal tunnel syndrome? And we look at a rather tricky case of elbow tendonosis (also covered in Dodgy Elbows [issue 156], and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited [issue 223]).
Ask Dr J – Issue 175 – Dust in your gun, and things that go POP!
Ever heard of a condition called Trigger Finger (not the George Bush variety)? It will cause your finger to lock into your palm. Dr J also looks at what to do with AC joint separation (AKA shoulder separation), climbers and pulley injuries (A2, A3 and A4), and cartilage (labrum) damage in the shoulder.
Ask Dr J – Issue 174 – Tabsco Fiasco
This column shed light on that dreaded painful elbow (medial epicondylosis), stress fractures in the ulna bone of the forearm, and what to do with a dislocated biceps tendon. For a more comprehensive look at elbow tendonosis, refer to the articles titled Dodgy Elbows (issue 156), and the more recent update, Dodgy Elbows Revisited (issue 223).
Ask Dr J – Issue 173 – Burning joints at the Alter of Hedonism
Dr J looks at some possible answers for why a finger joint has become inflamed and sore; and what is that lump that has formed in your finger?
Ask Dr J – Issue 172 – A Viral Affair
This month Dr J explains how an itty bitty virus can cause debilitating shoulder pain, and how riding a bike can make your little finger go numb. As well, Dr J looks at one of the more common climbing injuries that can cause palm and/or forearm pain and puts forth the Dr J Test for diagnosing this injury.
Ask Dr J – Issue 171 – A Wristed Development
Dr J has a squiz at swelling around the wrist (De Quervain’s tenosynovitis), wrist instability and triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tears.
Ask Dr J – Issue 170 – The ‘Paris Hilton Test’ of Worthiness
In this column we ponder the topic of who has higher bone density, boulderers versus climbers, a case of elbow tendonosis, and whether drinking from your plastic water bottle is making your sperm swim in circles.
Ask Dr J – Issue 169 – Samurai sex for dummies
Does stretching achieve anything more than improve your bedroom repertoire? As well, that age old problem of belayer’s neck
Ask Dr J – Issue 167 – Peace, love and a happy world
Dr J looks at the possible causes of neck pain and finger numbness (thoracic outlet syndrome, cervical disc bulge), and how the Viking genome causes those pesky lumps in your palm (Dupuytren’s contracture).