During a beautiful weekend of Skaha climbing over Thanksgiving, I began to notice a pain in the middle joint of my right index finger. Of course, I ignored it. But this week, I had to cut my gym session short because the joint was painful and swelling. Wanting to avoid the over-two-year recovery period I had with my achilles and plantar fascia problems (which lasted so long mainly because I ignored them for over a year), I have decided to actually take action, which unfortunately involves not climbing for a little while. Boo.
But I’m not alone. Beth Rodden, climber-girl superstar, has had the same injury. It’s called a collateral ligament strain (which I know thanks to this article). Granted, she sustained her injury while working a 5.13b in Yosemite, and I got mine on a crimpy 5.9 in Skaha. Nonetheless, I now feel we are connected due to our shared experiences.
Ok, her experience included a “certified hand therapist”, while mine will be limited to ice and tape. But whatever. Her blog post about how she recovered is a helpful read. Check it out here.