It has been exactly 4 months since I stopped climbing. I have been to two specialists who have both diagnosed me with chronic tenosynovitis (inflammation of my tendon sheaths). I found out that the original clinical term for this was tendovaginitis...you can see why they decided to change the name. I asked the nurse why it was originally called that and she paused then said "Because when your tendon sheaths are swollen, they sort of fold together and are squishy"... Which also makes me wonder what doctor would ever make the conclusion that inflammation in the tendon sheath should be called tendovaginitis? ... Anyways the new name "tenosynovitis" comes from the word "synovial" as in the type of fluid that builds up in the tendon sheath. I guess if you want to change the original name, tenosynovitis is the second best....I may still call it tendovaginitis...
I have tried climbing only a couple of times since December and it all ends in pain. The first specialist I saw suggested I try massage therapy and acupuncture. The second doctor I saw specializes in inflammation disorders and tendon injuries. He suggested I wear coban, an elastic adhesive tape, and some plastic "pulley protectors". He thinks that by protecting the pulleys, the swelling in those areas will displace itself. I have to wear those things 24/7 for 8 weeks...then after that time period I can try climbing again. However I will have to wear the coban and plastic pulleys for many more months to come. So for now I am wearing these bionic finger protectors and I am going to try acupuncture in a few weeks.
These are my bionic fingers!
 |
| Fingers with coban |
 |
| My plastic pulleys! |
 |
| Day 3 of pulley protection...swelling gone down?? |
