A2 Pulley Injuries: Everything Climbers Need to Know (STRAINS, TEARS, & SURGERY)

[@HoopersBeta]

For more info (like sets and reps for treatment), see the full write-up here: www.hoopersbeta.com/library/a2-pulley-manual-for-climbers

[@gmanojyadav89]

Keep up the good work guys

[@reigneduardo6732]

instablaster

[@willmurrin9344]

This channel is full of the best climbing videos on the internet. Thank you for all the hard work you clearly put into these. I'll buy a shirt to support you all!

[@HoopersBeta]

@@willmurrin9344 thank you for the support!

[@UrsantaHoHoHo]

hi there, how's it going? Could you explain why I popped my A3 pulley today during a 3finger open drag side pull? it wasn't a crimp at all!! i specifically did a drag to minimize the risk, but it happened anyways. Please provide insights to this question for me, thank you so much.

[@jonnyra1535]

This is one of, if not the most helpful videos I’ve ever watched on KZbin. THANK YOU!!!

[@m.droberts5206]

Ditto that

[@dflyindutchman1]

For sure! Well done!

[@theDomCorporation]

I know people constantly say it but you deserve so much more recognition.. Such regular high quality content should have way more views!

[@bboyHarrypotter]

dude you make really high quality videos. this is awesome

[@iaml4388]

Hey Dr Hoops, I think I just experienced my first A2 pulley injury and I just wanted to thank you for providing this outstanding level of climber specific information. You guys are doing an amazing job and really helping out everyone in the community. Hugs your way

[@HoopersBeta]

Thank you for the comment! Sorry to hear about your injury but I hope this information helps you in your recovery!

[@JustGoUpTheySay]

I have heard pops a couple times and was always worried about injury, always heard it was indicative of a pully tear. glad to hear it can be like cracking your knuckles.

[@MrKittiemoo]

This video was a good wake up call for me to be patient with my strain. Fingers take a long time to build strength and that’s something I don’t like to believe 😂. It is good to have an in depth explanation/plan on what I can do to get back to full strength safely and effectively!

[@HoopersBeta]

Awesome! Yes, one of the most challenging components of training is exactly that: patience. The body takes much more time than the mind wants to allow it :) Stay strong, stay safe, and happy climbing!

[@Life4Jump]

Dr.Hooper , I wish i found this video a few months ago when i suffered my first climbing injury . After watching the whole thing and some other videos of you I feel so much wiser and I got so much more understanding of the whole thing . I want to thank you so much for putting tons of work and effort to create high-quality content and generally sharing your knowledge with us !!

[@FancyWafflesFTW]

Thanks Jason and Emile for such an in-depth video!

[@adrianodesouza4129]

Popped a pulley yesterday, this video is a lifesaver, not just with the gold mine of information but also the reassurance that I can overcome this injury! Makes me proud to support the channel with my membership! ♥️

[@REstrACIA]

Extremely helpful information. I saw an Orthopedic Hand Surgeon who is also a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery. They were genuinely impressed with how accurately I understood the injury and the healing process.

[@natehall8837]

PT here who is just getting into climbing, coming from the jiujitsu world. Can already tell that I'm gonna love your videos!

[@robertdavis1783]

Did a less-than-controlled dynamic grab to a crimp and heard a quiet little “pop” on my left ring finger yesterday. Time for rehab! Luckily it seems on the mild strain side, but will be extra carefully following the schedule laid out here. One thing I’m surprised no one ever mentions: one arm climb training! I occasionally do this even when I feel normal, as it gives you an opportunity to laser in on precise footwork and balancey, slabby problems. Pretty much rockets me down to the easiest, lowest boulders in the gym, but it sure beats not going at all!

[@SirCharcoal]

This is the most enlightening thing I've seen on pulley injuries ever! Thank you so much for doing this. I've had a tender A2 pulley for about 8 months, and it's only gotten better during lockdown because my (board) climbing is much more controlled and volume much lower I've also started stretching my inflexible wrists. Which I imagine is stretching my FDP tendons now I look at your video, and helping massively with blood flow (fingers turn red afterwards) by counteracting my suspected shortened FDP.

[@HoopersBeta]

This is awesome! Glad you found it useful. Have you checked out our other video on forearm stretching to make sure you're getting everything covered?

[@SirCharcoal]

@@HoopersBeta I'll check it out!

[@verbalwound5874]

Hi Dr.Hooper, I'm just leaving this comment to tell you how much I appreciate these videos. I'm just a student who's mad into climbing and I can't afford to go see a doctor every time I did something stupid on the wall and hurt my fingers, not to mention due to rock climbing being a "less popular" sport in my country, climbing-related injuries are rare and afaik there are no specialist doctors who seem to know how exactly to treat these very specific injuries! Your videos are a godsend in my climbing journey and I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this sport as much as I do without them. Just last week I had a pulley injury and I did a lot of reading online but was still half confused about my injury until I came across your video, you have done a marvelous job from explaining the bone structure to showing how to diagnose the severity of the injury, I am confident on my injury level and have a recovery plan in mind after finishing your video. Seriously, what you provide even money won't buy me where I am from. Once again, thank you for these videos. I hope to be able to show some support to you by purchasing your merch!

[@HoopersBeta]

Thanks so much for the kind words. Glad to be of service!

[@vanillavonchivalry6657]

Keep these videos coming and this channel is going to take off big time.

[@yevhenii.khlopin]

And two yers later after the last finger injury I'm back to this video again. Thank you guys for this priceless information ❤

[@edferrri]

i injured my middle finger A2 while overcrimping outdoors. heard the pop. I cried for two hole days after but this video made me feel much better. Thank you

[@DorangeArnaud]

I clearly needed that video 9months ago, complete and clear informations !

[@mediapixelfangirl5165]

I’m mad this video didn’t exist 3 years ago when I initially injured my A2. Good thing it’s here now for the A2, A5, FDP injuries 🥴

[@melvinchua5683]

hey man, just wanna say thank you for producing such a video for us climbers. Its really informative and answered so many burning questions I've been trying to ask but got vague to no answers from. Hope to recover soon and get back climbing :)

[@HoopersBeta]

Absolutely! Thanks for your kind words. Hope you can get back to climber quickly!

[@stu1wyatt]

This is brilliant content , started climbing 4 months back and just had two horrible pops in my fingers when doing a tougher climb. I've gone from knowing literally nothing about fingers to knowing what an A2 pulley injury is and how to deal with. Thanks again

[@HoopersBeta]

Sorry to hear about the injuries! Glad you found this video useful, though!

[@alexpetrov13]

I had some A2 pulley injuries on 4 of my fingers so far and I remember watching you giving advice to the geek climber. Especially the farmer weighted crimps. Low intensity higher volume every day, just to keep that blood flow and stimulus. Also H-taping while climbing. And I had great success. I kept climbing, taping, doing the farmer weighted crimps every day when not climbing and my fingers healed without having to stop climbing. I know it's a totaly personal experience but man, now that's always my go to method of finger rehab. It's amazing how well it works for me. Thank you. Your advice is much appreciated.

[@HoopersBeta]

So glad to hear it worked for you! Thanks for the support :)

[@GeremiaGerosa]

Amazing content. I was so scared and disoriented at first when this happened to me. I'm so glad I found this!!!

[@tylerheitmann1758]

best summary i've seen, answered all of my questions

[@Rex1994ify]

THANK YOU. Im a physiotherapist from spain who started to climbing couple months ago, and now i’ve realized i love this sport. So I decided to investigate by myself about what is the scientific evidence of climbing in internet (pubmed and all that stuff) and i found this video and this channel, i can only say WOW. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, this is an awesome content, i’ve learned a lot in only 40 minutes. So again, thank you so much,

[@HoopersBeta]

Thanks so much, we very much appreciate the support! Makes all the hard work worth it :) Hope our other videos provide similar value to you!

[@DavidMartinBouldering]

The self-assessment part was super helpful. Seems like I have a A2 or A3 strain/partial tear. Thank you so much for this amazing information 🙏

[@Rickshaw_Bohammer]

I loaded my R middle and ring finger too much. A deep cross over to the left landing those two R fingers in an open position gave me a sharp pain (perhaps a mild pop, music was playing loud) and a short one foot fall to the ground on a 45 board. Left me with pain/soreness in the palm below the affected fingers, mostly ring, down to the ulnar attachment to my wrist area. Thanks for the video, as I self diagnosed a mild strain of the FDP!

[@HoopersBeta]

Sorry to hear of your injury but happy that this vid was helpful! Hoping you recover well!

[@jibson2]

best content on youtube for pulley injuries

[@harrydonaldson7295]

As a physiotherapy student this information was a brilliant resource to sum up pulley injuries, thanks.

[@omjingo]

Im a CHT and really love your approach to pulley injuries especially for climbers. Most climbers are a bit more eager to return to climbing after an injury and really need a good compromise between getting that climbing itch taken care of as well as good quality healing. Nice Job and thank you for this!

[@HoopersBeta]

CHT's are great! I'm fortunate to get to speak with a couple of them all week :) Appreciate your feedback.

[@alastor0325]

the best video about a2 pulley I've ever watched, thank you so much!

[@bartd8516]

Bouldering is becoming very popular especially here in The Netherlands. This video is super helpfull, thanks! From my unfortunate experience after full pulley A2 rupture: don’t (H) tape fingers that are not injured in order to prevent pulley injury! Ive been H taping my weak right middle finger, actually keeping it weak and had a pulley sprain on that taped finger. Have fun bouldering guys and be safe!

[@masonh5077]

I recently experienced a finger injury but could not place where or what hurt exactly. I realized this was because I had no real understanding of the structures of the hand, but now that I've watched this I think it was most likely a strain of the A3 and with that in mind have been able to single the pain down to that area. This video has helped a lot!

[@HoopersBeta]

Awesome! Glad it was helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[@maxidlab]

Excellent video. Systematic approach. From someone who's had (and has a new) A2 pulley injury + is a physician = this video is top tier.

[@HoopersBeta]

Thank you! Best of luck with the rehab

[@Lusskkaaa]

MAAAN !! I was searching about this injury like 2 weeks ago !! I searched a lot about this .... I am feeling a minor pain exactly at the A2 pulley location after grabbing something with too much strenght ! It has NO swelling, and I think I am probably at the begining of a partial rupture process ... I'`m doing ice and I'm also using a tape to avoid the flexion of the finger . It is really frustrating having this injury because it seems it never recovers (but I think I will get better at some point).. And the last time I climbed was 3 months ago .... The problem is that these structures (pulleys, ligaments) dont have a good regeneration capacity, which is the BIG problem and also the main reason why you have to be so careful when treating this type of lesion . if you suspect that you have a pulley injury like this, REST ! Don't put force at the finger !! It's like I always say , ''it takes 1 second to have an injury, and 1 year to recover from it'. Thanks for the videos bro ! You're a great professional !

[@HoopersBeta]

Thanks for supporting the channel and I'm glad you enjoy the videos! Yes, connective tissue is waayyy slower to recover. Have patience is key! But key into the "retraining" section so you can see how safely loading the tissue can speed if your healing time! Cheers

[@gabrielcamacho2862]

This was great information. Keep the good work.

[@ethanmahc]

Awesome. Will be recommending this video to my friends.

[@Xavier-xb7is]

This is so fucking valuable, what a charming man this guy

[@dave_vanvliet]

Great video! So many questions I've had were just answered.

[@Ascentyon]

Please say/overlay the measurements in kgs also.

[@HoopersBeta]

You're absolutely right! Will start doing that in future videos. Thanks for catching us there.

[@JoseReyes-xy2uf]

This video should have more views ! Very informational ! Thank you ! Subscribed !

[@HoopersBeta]

Thank you! We appreciate the support

[@JTurfie]

Wow, this is amazing content! Keep up the good work!

[@GiorgosPlanar]

This is great. Thank you so much for the hard work and love put in this video. I am already a subscriber but what brought me to the specific video is a middle finger pulley injury I suffered exactly one month ago. A long covid quarantine prevented me from having it properly evaluated by a professional but I am 99% sure it is a A2 pulley because i had a similar injury in the past (same finger-other hand) plus i have characteristic tenderness in the base of the finger, and pain whiile crimping which has gradually improved from really bad to fairly ok. But the WEIRD thing with this injury is that swelling has not imporved in a month. Seriously the finger is still as swollen as on day 1 and every morning it feels that it is going to burst. I am religiously performing my gliders, pen rolles and use an accupuncture massage ring since week 2 but failed to see any improvement. I am finally having an ultrasound in two days but the thing is getting on my morale. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

[@avnerduchovni6675]

Thank you SO much. I really like your videos. You are great. Informative, focused, high quality, awkward, but not too awkward. Just how I like it. In this video you helped me with promoting my health. I was able to diagnose myself, and make an appointment to a professional to make sure I was right. Thanks!

[@seeingshapesfilms2706]

Thank you! This was incredibly useful and well made 👊🏼🤙🏼

[@GranZebru]

Great video as usual! I like how it's structured and both timestamps and the article are really useful. What about using the rice bucket to speed up the healing process?

[@HoopersBeta]

Yeah the timestamps are super helpful! Glad you found the video to be useful. Rice bucket in which sense? For active range of motion?

[@GranZebru]

@@HoopersBeta Yes exactly, range of motion and improved blood flow. I've seen a lot of videos in which this technique is advised also for strength training. Not sure if it's effective though.

[@HoopersBeta]

It can be used as an early intervention as it provides a light amount of resistance, such as moving through water, and it would increased blood flow. But so does just squeezing your hand and opening it :) I don't find it to be as efficient because it's not as portable and easy to use as well. I prefer using puddy or other items you can take with you / do in the car. Part of effective rehab is efficient rehab. If it is a task to do it, people are less likely to do so. In summary, yeah you can totally utilize it but it's not my preferred method. *edit* sorry for the late response, sometimes once I have responded to the initial question it doesn't give me a notification the same way for follow ups.

[@GranZebru]

@@HoopersBeta Thanks for the explanation!

[@Brave_English]

@@HoopersBeta Mixing and kneading bread dough could be another great method 😄 I'm an avid bread baker, and, now that I think of it, it's probably supported my overall hand and tendon health. I'll admit I'm at a point that I should be more active in training my tendon strength, but until now, I hadn't had any finger injuries over 9 years of recreational climbing!

[@PeteD]

The foreword on the pop was very helpful. Currently trying to deal with an a2 injury after hearing a pop on the wall - no swelling or bowstringing that I can discern, and no meaningful limit to my range of motion. So I'm suspecting and hoping its a partial or strain, but that pop will haunt me even if it was a joint.

[@HoopersBeta]

It's one of the scariest sounds a climber can face for sure! Glad you were able to follow those tests and hopefully, as you said, it's just a strain or partial! Best of luck in your healthy recovery.

[@Cullzor]

Really fantastic content, thank you! I recently noticed some persistent tenderness in my ring finger A3 pulley from overtraining. After watching this I think its safe to say I have a mild strain. All this insight will be super helpful in coming up with a recovery/retraining program. Subscribed!

[@toastmartin]

Wow this is the best Video ever! Love the depth and the way of your explanations. Thank you so much.

[@jasonalbino5645]

Just a fantastic video - thank you so much for the thoughtful breakdown!

[@HoopersBeta]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for sharing the kind words.

[@martinr113]

Great video! I'm happy to have learned I have just a pulley strain and nothing more serious :) As an addition to prevention, from my recent personal experience, I should have paid attention to how much I crimp during climbing and adjusted other training accordingly. Normally, I'm doing fine with bouldering on Saturdays and hangboard training on Mondays, but two weeks ago I worked on two projects including fairly bad right hand crimps, so that the load from the Monday session was probably too much. The lesson I learned is that I should reduce crimp training (and go to slopers/open hand hangs instead) in training sessions that follow climbing days with highly above-average crimping, and also not work crimpy projects on consecutive days if they're close to my limit.

[@HoopersBeta]

This is a great adjustment! That's something we could all be aware of, yet it is a struggle. It's hard to adjust your routine when you want to stick with it, but like you mentioned, it's important to make those adjustments especially after a day that is heavy on that particular style. Great comment!

[@samuelalmeida995]

awesome content, thanks! Im facing a A2 injury

[@sagiganz]

Where have you been three months ago?! Tnx! hopefully wont ever need this valuable information , except for the prevention part - that one is key for me.

[@HoopersBeta]

Haha we'll try to time it better next time. Agreed, proper prevention is so important!!

[@Brave_English]

Thanks for the great and very in-depth video! I love your channel. I have one question/ suggestion. Because you address the role of hormones in relation to healing, could you address how the female hormone cycle impact healing? I know that most of your audience is probably men, but there's still many female climbers, and it'd be nice to know which of the scientific studies you cite consider how female bodies work. Considering the way scientific/medical research typically overlooks that our bodies work differently in many ways (beyond just reproduction) I'd like to learn more about how this affects climbing-specific training and injury prevention. From what I've learned, I'm guessing that there are a few weeks when the hormones in female bodies support faster healing, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts? Thanks again for the phenomenal content you consistently put out! :)

[@Randomize12345666]

Thank you so much for the video, very thorough and explains a lot . Thankfully I'm probably only at the pulley strain stage. and I definitely wrote down alot watching this

[@HoopersBeta]

Good! Glad it was helpful :)

[@Randomize12345666]

@@HoopersBeta omg are you kidding, I found out your channel just yesterday and I have no idea how I've been climbing for 6 years without knowing it before, so underrated, entertaining and knowledgeful. Thank you so much for the content

[@isaacg3175]

Thanks for the informative video. My left ring finger had it bad on a pocket hold going left on an overhang. I wasn't warmed up and "pop." I couldn't climb without some kind of pain, but not enough to stop me from going. I did some finger exercise, and has helped me recover.

[@m.droberts5206]

Thank you. A no bullshit explanation that I wish I'd received at hospital, ( a2 rupture lifting log burning stove with finger tips) Answered all the questions I didn't know needed asking. Thank you.

[@spacescienceguy]

Thanks for this! I just had my first minor finger injury (looks like an A2 pulley strain on my ring finger) while working on my project which was really frustrating. It was two days ago and the pain (minor and only when I flex my hand) seems to have peaked. I'm going to continue to rest it and ease into climbing again next week using H-tape.

[@kamilcebula6670]

This video is so informative. Thank you for this!

[@davisreynaud1287]

Really appreciate this video! I just got into climbing and my (ego)muscle is much more stubborn than my pulleys. Now my ring finger is sore as hell under load and I haven’t climbed for over a week. Rehab time

[@sam.hockley]

Awesome video, thank you! With farmer crimps, what is the ideal frequency to aim for when starting that phase of recovery? Should this be a daily set (or more), or would it be advisable to just do these 2-3 times a week interspersed with palm crimps/tendon glides?

[@fabianodedo]

Amazing content! Thank you!

[@chihuahuels]

Man this content is amazing! Thanks a lot

[@fabiopalma4429]

This is exactly what I was needing! Can't remember the last time I took so many printscreens of a video 😅

[@HoopersBeta]

haha :) happy that you found it to be helpful!

[@allezvenga7617]

Thanks for your detailed information and sharing

[@gsav811]

Incredibly helpful! Thanks a lot!!!!

[@313rcamp]

Hot damn, this was such a helpful video. Thank you all for the work you put into this!!

[@goosjer]

I am pretty sure that I have an A2 pulley strain on my ring finger, but have been climbing with it for a month. It doesn’t hurt when I’m warmed up, but when im off the wall and grab something very simple like a towel than I can suddenly feel it. After this video I decided to take at least a week off, and to return only with light climbing for a few weeks.

[@HoopersBeta]

Hopefully you can use some of the tools to retrain/test yourself and heal up nicely! Thanks for watching/commenting.

[@ake_lindblom]

Brilliant video, thank you very much!

[@alessandrovillanueva5498]

Hey! I think your videos are great and they helped me a lot to avoid injuries and to treat elbow and wrist pain. There are many videos on youtube about that but it s quiete impossible to find videos about knie injuries related to climb. I started to have some pain in my knie when i heel hook it s interesting because i can drop knie easily with no pain but by heel hook it s quiete painful. Maybe could you do a video about that? The only interesting video that i ve found on youtube is called "patterns of knie injuring among bouldering and rock climbing". It would be great if you could talk about that and how to avoid it. Cheers

[@HoopersBeta]

Knee related pain as a general inquiry is tough because the location of the pain matters, as does the activity. As you mention heel hooks vs drop knee. Two very different activities which don't have a direct correlation to each other. What you are describing, though, would likely be an issue we are just about to cover! We are making a super sweet video on hamstrings and heel hooking so be on the lookout for that soon!

[@alessandrovillanueva5498]

@@HoopersBeta can t wait to see it ^^

[@1nickschannel]

Thanks for saving my season

[@jedi_mapperp4073]

Outstanding content. My middle finger is bad sprain or partial tear, based on your chart. But I have more swelling and moderate stiffening.

[@guilhermefialho5718]

Amazing video!! It would be cool if you make a video about FDP tendon injuries now. During the Testing I might have found something wrong there. Thank you for the content and channel.

[@HoopersBeta]

Great idea for a follow up! Thanks for subscribing and supporting our channel!

[@VDB420]

Great info. Thank you for the effort!

[@SuperXicor]

Very good and informative video, Thank you

[@HoopersBeta]

Our pleasure!

[@79istp]

Best info I've seen so far, big thanks! My predicament though, my symptoms seems mild except I did get a big pop. Does this sometimes happen with just a strain or partial tear, or only a full rupture (assuming it's not just cavitation)? Thanks!

[@Scbaman120]

Got back from my MRI results this morning. Talking with a friend about my partial A2 tear they sent me this video. I have now been to the doctor 3 times and received little to no information compared to this video. Honestly, the doctor should’ve just had me watch this video.

[@HoopersBeta]

Sorry to hear about your injury and experiences but I am happy that this video has helped!

[@PaNoBiNo]

Great video! Thank you so much!!

[@arthursantos9702]

Hey hooper's beta, I want to say that you made an awesome video, thank you so much for this. I want to know what you think about hangboarding and what protocol would you use for returning gradually? And I want to know also what is the puddy crimp, didn't understand how to do it.

[@arthursantos9702]

I don't know what puddy means. =S

[@Rotempunkt]

Hey there! Great video. Perhaps most comprehensive one that exists to date! Great job. I wanted to ask a question though, i have partially teared my A2 Pulley two days ago. The area is still sore when applying pressure however the protocol recommends IASTM or STM from the first week. Applying pressure by massaging is ok but not sure if i should try it yet with a butter knife or not. And also would one directly go to town on the a2 area or focus on the hand and the forearm like on the IASTM Video you guys made? Also what do you think about collagen supplementing? Thanks a lot! Appreciate your channel!

[@OutdoorAnthony]

so I am a recurring athlete on American ninja Warrior, and I just had a big pulley strain about a month and a half before competing. I’m gonna try all these exercises and see if it will heal in time. Granted, literally everything on the show is going to be a big dynamic movement. Luckily, they stray away from crimps though

[@heloisechung]

This was so thorough and educational. Thank you! And another reminder for better sleep habits, lol

[@HoopersBeta]

Thanks for the kind comment! Glad you found it to be helpful.

[@savoyclimber2575]

Hi Dr Hooper, This video is very interesting, it helps a lot to understand many things. Thanks ! I have a personal question, after 3 weeks without climbing, I climbed 2 times with one day rest between that 2 sessions, lead climbing, with good warmup I think :). After the second session, the day after, I feel a little bit of pain on the A2 pulleyside (only on one side close to the palm) Then, I did bouldering, I climbed hard (crimps, slopers...) without pain, but when I press my finger I feel a little bit of pain. I did the tests you mentionned and the only pain I feel is when I press on it. What do you think about that ?

[@jeffmiller8462]

This video has a lot of information, thank you! I had some questions about A1 pulley injuries on your thumb. I have one, and I think it might be a full rupture. I'm not sure (I think I can feel and move the tendon where the pulley should be). Would you recommend the same timelines and training routines as the A2 finger pulley rupture? Would you think I would be safe to continue to with large muscle group exercises? Is there any taping that could help reduce the stress on the A1 pulley in the thumb? In your video on trigger finger, you showed a brace for A1 finger pulleys. Would something like that work for this injury? I'm also wondering if it would be ill advised to climb with such a brace. Haha. Or, hangboard with a brace on the A1 thumb pulley. I don't know if it would put stress to the injured area. Thanks so much!

[@MP-bx3uj]

Ouch, my finger hurts…..better go see what Dr Hooper has to say about it ❤

[@HoopersBeta]

Happy to help!

[@ethanzelenjak2889]

This content is amazing

[@stretch8390]

Honestly so helpful.

[@HoopersBeta]

Awesome! Glad to hear that.

[@aminahrahman3045]

Thank you for the awesome video :)

[@yflee6038]

The quality of this video is incredible, although is a bit long :p

[@HoopersBeta]

Hah that's fair. It's in depth though at least :)

[@joji_okami]

I laughed hard at the camera panning away when you started talking about diet and sleep haha

[@HoopersBeta]

Two very volatile factors in many peoples lives :) hah

[@robbielevi8225]

Brilliant video

[@Josh_A_Lu]

Curious about the timeframing for testing: Are these results for testing immediately after injury, or is it okay to do these tests and judge accurately 1-3 days later. For me if i had done the tests the same day it would've for sure been a partial tear, but a few days later it feels not super painful and by the chart provided it could be a strain

[@robernst5515]

Thanks so much for the incredible video! I injured my finger about 6 weeks ago and this has been crucial in shaping my rehab plan. I’m near certain it’s just an A2 strain, but I scheduled an appointment with a “hand specialist” to confirm. She agrees that it’s likely a strain, but recommended a cortisone shot to facilitate healing. Any thoughts on the use of cortisone injections on pulley strains? Thanks!

[@HoopersBeta]

Glad you found this video to be helpful! Though, if it's just a strain and it hasn't been a chronic / long term issue an injection would not be an early treatment option I would choose.

[@robernst5515]

@@HoopersBeta Thanks for replying! This was a "hand specialist" through Kaiser, and she kept treating it like it was similar to trigger finger so I was skeptical. I wanna do the right thing and get examined by medical professionals, but it's hard when they have very little experience with common climbing injuries!

[@JackwilsonMr]

Epic Video!

[@simmions1]

Awesome video, I was actually researching specialist in my area before I saw this video and you came up. What does it mean if I have no swelling or palpitation pain but have range of motion and tissue load fingers extended pain

[@sydneyhill655]

Thanks so much for this video! Can you speak to the commonality/possibility of non-crimping hand positions for causing this injury? I've managed to injure myself in an undercling on pretty big holds in an undercling position as opposed to crimping. I'm having trouble distinguishing between A2 vs FTP. I'm mostly able to trigger a response singling out the finger in crimp or straight, and this discomfort radiates from that a2 region. In returning to climbing, getting back in the undercling or side-pull positions are a no go, most crimps are fine. You mention big muscle group training in the recovery portion of this injury. Deadlifting is something that really pisses it off, and I'm not able to deadlift anywhere near heavy (I've just now re-injured in the same way, so I'm referring to attempting to deadlifting later down the line when I was able to climb without pain again). Do you think this is an indicator of one or the other?

[@HoopersBeta]

The stress on the A2 is drastically reduced in more open hand positions (aka not crimping), so the likelihood of injuring your A2 in the positions you talk about is much lower. I would look at the FDP (which we have a video about) other structures as the cause of your pain before an A2 injury :) -Emile

[@Douglas6646]

Awesome informative video, thanks for that. I've had many pulley strains over the years in different fingers, and for my last one I discovered Esther Smith's protocol, it is very similar to yours but with one difference I thought quite important. She advises to do 2 finger pocket weighted hangs (after range of motion is recovered of course) WITH some mild pain during the hangs (just a few single rep sets of 10s with 2-3min rest between reps), but that the pain should go away within 10 minutes of ending the session. I would like to know your thoughts on this? Does pain equal harm? Would straining the pulley with a bit of discomfort heal it better, faster? Do you think it's less safe? Thanks!

[@HoopersBeta]

Good question. There is such a thing as proper pain, where you are safely loading the tissue but causing mild discomfort. This mild discomfort can trigger more adaptations. The difference I usually promote is shorter pain periods and I'm not entirely sure why 2 finger weighted hangs. That will work your FDP and indirectly your A2 a little but not recreating the strain/stress you put in it and is a challenging move for most people, especially that early on. That's why I promote the retraining with farmer crimps first before going back to climbing so you properly load the tissue in a similar scenario but safely.

[@Douglas6646]

Great, thanks man! I think the point of 2 finger open hangs (you can do them with removed weight as well, depends on your finger strength) is that it targets more specifically the injured finger. I've found that if I start hanging on a 20mm edge with all fingers it's hard to feel whether I'm loading the injured finger enough or not. However I find it a bit weird too, especially since open-hand grips don't affect the pulleys in the same way as half or full crimping, as you said!

[@pedrom.309]

thanks, what a important content!

[@HoopersBeta]

Our pleasure!

[@victoriacoleman966]

Amazing video! I had my A2 and A3 pulleys surgically repaired 4 weeks ago, I also had my extensor tendon repaired at the same time. I’m seeing an OT but she’s not done exercises for this type of injury before so I’m trying to find out as much as I can. Your video is fantastic! Would you recommend H taping when doing extensor tendon exercises? Or any direction would be great, thanks again!

[@HoopersBeta]

Sorry to hear about your injury but glad this is helping you as a resource! As for the taping, it likely isn't needed earlier on when you aren't placing much load on the tissue but it would be a mild boost once you start placing greater force to the tissue! Good luck with your rehab process, I hope you heal up well!

[@victoriacoleman966]

@@HoopersBeta Thank you for the replying! Great to find such an informative resource.