Not sure if I'm the type of person that can stay disciplined to a gradual rehab program. Stitches came out on day 13, a new V5 was sent on day 14. Also another dozen climbs v2 and under were done. The index and middle fingers were still very strong. A little drop in power in the thumb. Power was still there in the ring finger, but too much pain to pull on it. Pinky finger was at about 30% , with numbness still lingering from surgery that went from the incision all the way up the palm to the tip of the pinky. They said this will go away with time. Also a good bit of pain is coming from the ligaments of the hamate bone that are still attached. It was the steepness of the climb, not the size of the holds, that would cause the most pain.
Now for the actual rehab, since I know most of you aren't as foolish (I mean bad ass) as me. The doctors said I wouldn't need any.. They are wrong. Maybe those pussy ass baseball players didn't need any, that's probably because their grip strength isn't anywhere near ours.
This is the best way to rehab any hand related injury, because you can go as light or as hard as needed. I first warm up the hand with a heating pad for about 15 minutes before any rehab activity. Then I'll stretch it out, trying to get back to 100% range of motion. I do the majority of the rice work out, going pretty lightly with my right hand. The hard part is making the fist and rotating the wrists in the rice - I can tell that there is instability in the wrist.
I also have a full set of Theraputty, its a progressive resistance putty that is cheap and works great. I'm still on the extra soft, but its feeling good. I mash it up in my hand, paying extra attention to the pinky and ring fingers. Pushing it against the incision at first is painful, but then feels good.
Another tool i just got is a "Theraband PowerWeb Junior" (pictured below). It will help specifically to rebuild my pinky strength and range of motion. My goal is to break the record for grip strength at the doctors office when I see him again in 3 weeks.. Shouldn't be too hard ;)
There is no real set routine that I follow when I do any physical therapy. I think the best way to go at it is, "if it doesn't hurt, its not hurting it." Just go as much as pain allows. Be aware of what your body is telling you. The worst thing you can do is a set routine that might be too much for you to take, or even worse too little to build back the strength you want. My theory is, the sooner you can tell those new cells what they are there for, the stronger and faster you can come back to your sport with full force.
Today is day 21. I have full range of motion. The feeling in my palm and pinky is slowly starting to come back, and is actually accompanied by some false pain in the joints of my pinky that is pretty annoying. Two days ago I climbed two v5s and a few other warm ups, feeling fairly good. Still alot of pain on steep terrain from the remaining ligaments. I'll continue to update this blog from week to week for a while until i'm back to full POWER!!! Muahhaha
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