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FINGER INJURIES

Finger injuries are one of the worst things in the world for rock climbers.  I hope you haven’t experienced nor will ever have to experience a finger injury that required surgery.  Surgical repair is outside of the scope of this article.  But, if you are a new climber, you may want to listen up.  You CAN reduce the incidence of finger injuries by following one simple rule.  Warm up.  Yup.  It is that simple.  Warm up your fingers and you can reduce your finger strains, tweeks, and injuries.  Obviously, there are other factors that can contribute to your finger health such as diet, sleep, water, previous injury, and the like; but here, we are going to focus on warming up with hand exercisers.  My hope is that you can learn something from my experience to help you end finger injuries.

If you are going to spend money on a device to help you climb harder and healthier, make the GripMaster Pro Hand your first purchase. Since I started using the Pro Hand, I’ve stopped having finger injuries (*more at the end of the review).  I use it at my desk, in my car, at the gym and at the crag.  I don’t have any workout program that I use, I just squeeze it until my fingers and hands feel warmed up.  I think every new climber should have one or two.  They come in a couple different resistance levels 3lbs per finger up to 11lbs per finger.  I use the Heavy that comes in at 9lbs per finger.

1.  The GripMaster Pro Hand. 

• Small and versatile
• Use it at your desk or while driving
• Exercise the whole hand or individual fingers
• Warm up at the gym or at the crag
• Builds crimp strength
• Builds overall hand strength
• Well-build and long-lasting product
• Comes in many resistance levels

2.  The OPTP HandMaster Plus

• Less expensive version of the Metolius Grip Saver
• Only exerciser designed to help you balance your hand extensors (when you open your hands)
• Rehab elbow pains
• Small
• Inconvenient to put each finger in the rubber loops
• Somewhat useless squishy ball for the flexion exercises

3.  The Gravity Gripp

I want to love the Gravity Gripp.  It has the same level of “awesome” as the Pro Hand for warming up at the gym or crag.  It just feels so good to squeeze it and work it in my hand.  But, there is a huge drawback.  It doesn’t last very long.

• Small and versatile
• Use in car, at desk, at gym, at crag for awesome hand / finger warm up
• Inexpensive
• Does not last long.  The rubber seams come apart quickly.
• Excellent customer service
• Stress relief in the car

This is my first Gravity Gripp (red).  It started coming apart at the seam within the first month of using it.  I contacted customer service and they hooked me up with a new one (black).  I did continue to use my first one, and one morning, I woke up to this explosion.

**EDIT WHILE I AM WRITING THIS ARTICLE:

I emailed Gravity Gripp customer service to ask if they have any tips to extend the life of my Gravity Gripp.  My second one (black) is now beginning to come apart at the seam.  I got a response in less than an hour from their President:

Jason,

Thanks for your input.  You might be outgrowing the Gravity Gripp and I will send you our new 2lb All Pro Gripp.  It is significantly bigger than the Gravity, and I hope you will get some real benefits from this one.
Its a monster.

Let me know what you think. This ball has a cult following of athletes with extraordinary arm strength in many different sports.

Thanks.

Dominick Cirone
President

4. Dyna-Flex

• Fun
• Warms up your whole hand and forearm
• You can buy a speedometer to measure personal improvement or challenge your climbing partners.
• Some folks have some trouble getting it started

If you know me, and see me in the gym, feel free to ask to try out any of these hand exercisers.  I will have them in my climbing bag for you to try out.

Additional Wisdom

There is one more special note about your fingers that I want to emphasize from the very excellent book “One Move Too Many” by Hochholzer and Schoeffl.  There is a chart that shows the “Time of reaction to stress of different body tissues.”  Take special note that it can take more than 2 years before the tendons and ligaments of your fingers adjust to the new stress you put on them through rock climbing.

• Muscle                    after 3 weeks of training
• Heart Muscle          after 4 weeks of training
• Bone                       after 1 year of training
• Tendon                   after 1 – 2 years of training
• Ligaments             after more than 2 years of training
• Cartilage                 after 3 – 5 years of training

If you are a beginner, you really should not get on campus rungs or do weighted pull ups on crimps for many, many years.  Listen to your body.  If you feel a strain, take it easy until you are healed up.

One Reason Why I Think I Don’t Have Any More Finger Injuries

I started climbing in 2007 when I was 36 years old.  I would call myself “somewhat” athletic at that time.  I was by no means fit or in shape; subsequently losing about 20 pounds in my first 3 or 4 months of climbing.   I was the stereotypical guy trying to do every dyno problem; trying to do every feat of strength that I saw all the other climbers doing.  Lo and behold, I got my first finger strain – middle finger of my right hand.  It took over a year to completely heal.  I ended up taking a complete break from climbing that lasted about 3 months.  That was a huge bummer.  And since then, I think I have strained every finger and both thumbs in one way or another.

In 2012, a friend let me try his Pro Hand and reminded me of the importance of warming up my fingers.  So I ended up buying one.  The main way I started using it was in the car on my way to the gym.  I have about at 12 minute ride, so I am always getting a fantastic warm up before my work outs.  And since I’ve had the habit of using the Pro Hand, I have not had any major finger strains, tweeks, or injuries.

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