Archive for May, 2009

After being unable to climb for nearly three months, May 10th marked my return date to climbing at the gym. Happily, the finger and tendon in question are holding up pretty well, albeit I have changed my gym routine a bit to play things on the safe side, and to plan for future climbing adventures (read on!).

One of my cousins lives just outside of Atlanta and happens to be an enthusiastic climber. I ran into him a couple of weeks ago when he was in town, and he invited my brother and I down to do some climbing. So in preparation for that trip (probably in September), and the upcoming Lead I class at Sportrock, my brother and I have been focusing exclusively on top-roping at the gym.

I got off to an easy start, staying primarily on 5.6 – 5.8 routes, wanting to test the finger and see just what it was capable of. Fortunately, with the help of its three friends I’m not having any major strength issues in my right hand. I am taking precautionary measures and taping the finger and wrist to try and keep the tendon moving around too much. Not sure if that really does more than provide me a little piece of mind.

I’ve only been to the gym three times since my return, but already ramping things up and feeling pretty good about it. My brother and I didn’t really venture past the 5.10 plateau at the gym before I got injured, but we also weren’t taking falls on routes. For both of us, I think it was more of an endurance factor than a difficulty one. We are both bouldering in the V4/V5 range, which means we should be climbing 5.12 routes. While we could complete each move individually on a 5.12 route, doing the entire route without stopping was inconceivable.

Last night we decided to step it up a level and start climbing at our threshold. After warming up on some easier routes, we turned out focus to two routes: a 5.11 and a 5.11+.We both ended up taking one fall on the 5.11 at the crux move. We had worked the 5.11+ the other night and were familiar with the route, so we both completed that route without too many difficulties. The 5.11 was arguably more difficult, but both routes were a lot of fun.

As I mentioned, Lead I class is just around the corner (June 1st), and we are both excited to start sport climbing. Even though that date is just around the corner, I think we’d both like to be climbing 5.11s consistently by June 1st. I personally would like to have completed at least one, if not consistently completing, 5.12 climbs by the time we head to Atlanta.

I was supposed to have an MRI today at 11:45 AM. I received a call from the radiology department to confirm my appointment and inform me that I was responsible for 20% of the cost of the MRI, equaling $215.93. I wasn’t happy (even though I knew it was coming).

I started thinking about my options. I realized they were as follows:

1. Get the MRI and discover one of three things – (A) I have nothing more than an overworked tendon that just requires rest and being careful with it, (B) I have a partially torn tendon, which requires rest and being careful with it, (C) I have an injury that requires surgery (unlikely, seeing I have full range of motion and a great deal of strength still in my finger).
2. Don’t get the MRI, save $215, and allow my finger more time to rest.

So either way, I was going to need to give my finger rest and simply be careful with it. So I cancelled the MRI and I’m canceling my follow-up appointment with my doctor to go over the MRI results. I’ve sent the gym director at Sportrock an email letting her know that I don’t want to freeze my membership for the month of May.

I figured that the most I can do is continue the monitor the injury and not do anything to make it worse. What that means to me is, I can still climb, but I need to be smart about it. No dynos to the right hand, no powerful lateral movement (how I injured it in the first place), and avoid really small crimps. If I avoid those things, there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to get back in the gym and at least keep up my strength and work on my endurance. If the injury gets worse or doesn’t get any better over the next 4-6 months, then I’ll go get the MRI and find out what is going on.

So May 10th I will be back in the gym climbing, and I couldn’t be happier.