Ultimately, injury rehabilitation is a complicated topic and anything other than minor tweaks it is definitely worth seeking the advice of a medical expert.  However, to give you some general advice, here’s an article from Rock and Ice by British climber and coach Neil Gresham in which he lays out a basic timeline you can follow when coming back from an injury.

“Ping! You tried that problem 12 times; tweaked your finger, pulled a pulley. You rest for a month, Google it, ice it and stretch it, put in the occasional very light climbing session.”

“The critical stage comes when most of the pain has gone but the injury still feels weak and vulnerable. You’re desperate to step things up but nervous about re-injuring. The standard advice is simply to use pain levels as a guide, yet this way always feels subjective and open to misinterpretation and hazard.” – Neil Gresham

Guidelines for Coming Back from Injury

As Gresham notes, different injuries require different amounts of time to heal.  However, in his article, Gresham gives you a general schedule you can follow when coming back to climbing after an injury. While his schedule definitely shouldn’t take precedence over any medical advice you have received, what it does do is give you some guidelines about how long and how intense your climbing should be as you are getting back into the sport. Ultimately, not overdoing it can be the hardest part of coming back from injury. The article does a great job of taking some of the guess work out of when enough is enough.

Click through below to read Gresham’s other tips and recommendations in more detail!

Full Article: Neil Gresham – Coming Back From Injury

(photo courtesy of rockandice.com)

Other Articles You Might Like:

• TBP 076 :: Esther Smith on How to Heal Your Finger Injury
• Splitter Choss: Training With a Finger Injury
• How I Came Back Stronger After A Finger Injury
  
• Injury Free Bouldering – 15 Tips with Neil Gresham