As you age, joint pain is normal and expected. However, rock climbers and those who live active lifestyles have an interesting type of joint pain to deal with: finger pain.
Rock climbing finger joint pain is common in the ring and middle fingers. You may feel your finger joints pop while you are climbing. Next, the pain, swelling, and bruising set in. An injury may also make it harder to grip.
Why does rock climbing finger pain happen? How can you manage your pain and find relief? Keep reading our guide for everything you need to know to deal with rock climbing finger joint pain as you age.
Why Does Rock Climbing Finger Joint Pain Happen?
When you rock climb, your fingers experience unusual stress that they don’t feel from other activities. You’re putting stress, weight, and force on them that takes a toll on the joints.
The joints are especially stressed when your feet slip and you have to catch yourself with your hands.
The easiest way to understand the causes of pain is to understand that your fingers are a pulley system. The ligaments and tendons that cause your fingers to bend and grip runs under a pulley that connects them to the bones.
Each finger has five pulley systems, and the A2 pulley is the one that is most likely to get injured. This pulley is located in the part of your finger that is closest to your palm.
The A2 pulley strain is the most common rock climbing finger injury, but here are also other finger injuries you should know about as well, including:
- Trigger finger
- Flexor tendon care
- Collateral ligament strains
The good news is that rock climbing finger pain is treatable, and it doesn’t have to stop you from doing what you love.
Pain Relief, Treatment, and Management
When you’re dealing with rock climbing finger pain, there are three ways to approach your healing:
- Pain relief
- Pain treatment
- Pain management
Depending on how severely your fingers are injured, you may need a combination of all of these techniques.
You can accomplish pain relief on your own simply by resting your fingers for at least 48 hours after a rock climbing excursion. You can also apply ice to help with the bruising and swelling.
If your pain lingers, you need to look into more effective treatments. Continue to rest and use natural pain relievers like the Copper and Healing World’s Best Cream.
Once you treat the pain, you need to find ways to manage it so that you can continue rock climbing. First, practice some finger stretches that will help you avoid further injuries.
When you go rock climbing, make sure you stretch first. You can also wrap your fingers in supportive tape to give them more strength.
Treat Finger Pain With Copper and Healing
You don’t have to suffer or give up your favourite sport because of pain. At Copper products online our natural copper-based products offer the relief you need for rock climbing finger joint pain.
Contact us today to learn more about our products, or check out our wide range of products here.