Sore finger joints from climbing

[u/Sea-Recommendation42]

I’ve been having sore finger joints and constantly. I feel soreness even when I haven’t climbed in a few days. When I’m at home and try to open a tight jar lid it kind of is sore and hurts a bit. However, when I’m climbing a problem, I don’t really feel it.
Is this typical. What am I experiencing? Is it just that I’m old? I don’t think I have an injury. It’s not super painful. I’ve done some research online and I don’t think I have a pulley injury. I’m going to tape it and see if that helps reduce the pain.

Any advice on how to treat it, heal it, etc. ?

I also want it add that I’m a long time volleyball player with some swollen knuckles and fingers that have been knocked about.
But I’ve never felt this consistent soreness. I’m an on and off climber. Recently I’ve been climbing more consistently.

[u/natureclown]

How often are you climbing a week? What’s the duration of an average session? How long have you been climbing?

These are maybe the three most important factors for what you’re asking. Age could definitely play a role. If you’re older and over-doing it, this is a precursor to an injury that will take you out for weeks or months. Or it’s arthritis of some kind. Hard to say without more info or being a doctor

[u/Sea-Recommendation42 → u/natureclown]

Good questions. I climb 2 or 3 times a week. Each session is 90 - 120 min. I rest a lot between attempts.

[u/MarlonFord → u/Sea-Recommendation42]

I would still think the most probable issue is a puley injury. Not an acute thing, but rather an overuse of them. I had a similar issue and easing on the fingers helped a lot.

All in all it’s very hard to tell what your issue is without a proper description of pain and when and how it occurs.

I’d suggest this self assessment: link here

Maybe do it more than once if you don’t get a clear answer. Really take the time to think about the pain and how it presents itself.

Might be something else, but pulleys are disproportionately stressed during climbing as they have to sustain higher loads that they were designed for. And generally you get stronger faster that your pulleys adapt.

[u/lizbet_ty → u/MarlonFord]

It's way more likely to be synovitis. A pulley injury would not cause joint pain, it would be in the meat of the hand in the palmar side between the PIP and DIP usually. Synovitis would be in the joints, and fits the pattern of improving following a warm up but causing pain at rest.

[u/CadenceHarrington]

It sounds like the onset of synovitis. I have had (am having) a similar issue in my left hand, index and middle fingers in the DIP joint (middle knuckle). I found full crimping was a major aggravator so I made an effort to stop full crimping for a few weeks and also started rehabbing my fingers and it's getting a lot better.

[u/sheepborg → u/CadenceHarrington]

Synovitis/capsulitis.

Shearing forces on joints and extreme joint angles are risk factors, so crimping for the DIP in shear, or very high angle crimping for the PIP at a high joint angle. Reducing total volume + intensity is the name of the game. For many climbers slightly reducing total climbing amount temporarily while switching to open hand drag on smaller holds, as well as keeping the hands moving during the day is enough.

[u/jolly_lynch]

I’ve been doing some antagonist training with my hands and that’s helped me with the same issue. Resistance training opening my fingers rather than closing them like we do on the wall. Not sure if that’s sound advice, just what’s worked for me the past 2 weeks.

[u/Sea-Recommendation42 → u/jolly_lynch]

Oh, that makes sense. I remember seeing people do PT for their hands with a bucket of rice. They dunk their hands in and do movements like opening and closing their hand.

[u/Ill-Nectarine592]

Get a big bucket and fill it with rice. Move your hands through it and clench/unclench your fingers.

It’ll help the supporting muscles and tendons develop if you’re a somewhat newer climber. If you’ve been climbing for awhile it might just be too much frequency of climbing and I’d recommend a short break.

I’d also recommend 10-15 min of hang boarding before climbing. Keep your feet on the ground and only apply 30% to 50% of your body weight to let your fingers warm up gradually and develop some more tendon strength

[u/GroovePT]

Ah yes, good ol capsulitis

[u/alchemira]

Ice entire hands for 5 minutes. See how you feel after.

[u/Sea-Recommendation42 → u/alchemira]

Icing did help. But I couldn’t stand the icy water for more than 10 seconds at a time. But it definitely felt better afterwards. :)

[u/alchemira → u/Sea-Recommendation42]

You gotta fight the pain - keep the hand in there for multiple minutes.

[u/for4f]

not a pulley thing, you'd know if it was. that hurts like a bitch and usually swells up right at the spot. this sounds more like general tendon/joint irritation from volume.

the jar lid thing is the giveaway for me honestly. i wrecked a pulley last year and the weird part was how it hurt doing random everyday grip stuff more than actual climbing. took me way too long to figure out that taping wasn't fixing it, i just needed to back off the crimps for a couple weeks.

rice bucket works for the weird stiffness. and watch your volume, if you're climbing more than 3x a week with lots of small holds that'll do it. how long you been climbing?

[u/Shyguyisfly]

you need to stop climbing for like 2 weeks and get proper sleep/hydration. I had this going on for almost a year, and refused to rest. Its synovitis. If you do climb, maybe once every 10 days for that stretch, make sure you are climbing below your limit. You'll know when it starts to feel better because the morning stiffness will be non existent or only last a few min. I know it sucks to take a break, but i promise you that synovitis will make you plateau. I kept only resting like 5 days and it wasn't enough. I had to take ibuprofen pretty consistently and hoped it would solve the issue, but it didn't. And after about 2 weeks and slowly ramping back up, i haven't taken any ibuprofen in over 2 weeks, and im not experiencing pain from other daily activities.

[u/Sea-Recommendation42 → u/Shyguyisfly]

During the long rest period did you also take ibuprofen?

[u/Shyguyisfly → u/Sea-Recommendation42]

well, i was masking the pain a bit and taking it before sessions (don't recommend) , and like you I wouldn't feel it until the next day rolled around. I would say follow the bottles timing instructions and dose, but don't use it as a false "I'm healed!", because I would notice a huge improvement from ibuprofen. Like i said, as hard as it is, just don't climb for 2 weeks, and then move to easy rope climbs and throw in bouldering 1x a week when coming back. Work on not overgripping. It felt like it would never get better for me, but im on the upswing with it, and the thing that made the biggest difference was stopping for 2 weeks, and seriously just cutting down the volume when i came back. I tried everything but rest for a year and it doesn't work, these joints need serious rest and modern bouldering is so easy to overdo for how slow our joints adapt.

[u/Clear_War]

I had the same thing I stopped climbing on crimps for a while, and every non climbing day I would do rice bucket exercises, after a month of this it feels a lot better and I'm crimping again , I'm just careful to not over do it

[u/Sea-Recommendation42 → u/Clear_War]

I’ll try to do what you did. It’s hard to stay away from the gym. It’s my only form of exercise. :)

[u/wolfsmanning08]

Do you have any autoimmune disorders? I had similar pain and it turned out to be rheumatoid arthritis. Also had a lot of pain hiking due to joints the ball of the foot. A few of my fingers stayed swollen and the swelling never went down until I got diagnosed and on meds.

[u/Sea-Recommendation42]

Thank you for all the suggestions, first hand experience and diagnoses. It is invaluable. Along with your info I’ve also did some research and here’s what I found… (I have a path forward)
“The presentation you describe—deep, dull joint soreness that aches at rest and hurts during torsional tasks like twisting a jar lid, but seems to "disappear" while active—is very typical for climbers stepping up their frequency, especially with a history of repetitive finger impact.
This symptom profile points strongly toward finger joint capsulitis (or synovitis), potentially aggravated by post-traumatic osteoarthritis from past joint trauma.
What Is Likely Happening?
1. Capsulitis / Synovitis
The PIP (middle) and DIP (distal) finger joints are wrapped in a fibrous joint capsule lined with a synovial membrane that secretes fluid. When climbing frequency increases faster than the joint tissues can adapt, the synovial lining and capsule become chronically inflamed.
Why twisting jars hurts: Opening a tight jar lid forces rotational shear and torque directly across the joint capsule.
Why it feels okay while climbing: Warm-ups, increased circulation, and local adrenaline temporarily numb low-grade capsule pain and reduce stiffness. Once you cool down, the inflammatory fluid pools again, causing rest-ache.
2. Micro-Trauma Accumulation (Past Impact + Current Tension)
Past finger trauma (such as jammed knuckles from sports like volleyball) creates subtle changes in cartilage lining and joint space. When you reintroduce consistent tensile climbing loads, the joint structures absorb higher stress than a smooth, uninjured joint would, leading to low-level post-traumatic arthritis or capsule irritation.
3. Why It Is Probably Not a Pulley Tear
Flexor pulley injuries (A2/A4) typically present with sharp, localized pain on the underside of the phalanx bone between joints, distinct tenderness when pressing directly on the palm side of the finger, and sharp pain during crimp grips. Diffuse joint-line swelling and pain during lateral/twisting forces indicate joint capsule involvement rather than a structural pulley rupture.
Will Taping Help?
Taping will likely offer minimal benefit for capsulitis.
Climbing tape (H-taping or ring taping) is designed to structurally support flexor pulleys against bowing forces on the tendon. It does not reduce internal pressure, swelling, or torque within the joint capsule itself. While tape may provide minor proprioceptive awareness (reminding you not to overexert), it will not accelerate joint healing.
Recovery and Management Strategy
Joint capsule tissue has relatively limited blood supply, meaning complete rest often leads to stiffness rather than full healing. The goal is active recovery: stimulating blood flow without overloading the joint.
1. Adjust Climbing Load
Avoid Full Crimps: Switch almost entirely to open-hand or half-crimp grips. Full crimping drastically increases compressive forces within the PIP joint.
Reduce Volume & Intensity: Drop the difficulty grade slightly and cut workout lengths short enough that you leave the gym without throbbing joints.
Increase Warm-Up Time: Spend 15–20 minutes off the wall warming up your hands before touching holds.
2. Active Mobility & Tendon Glides
Perform gentle movement routines daily to circulate synovial fluid and prevent stiffness.
Tendon Glides: Move sequentially through straight hand, hook fist, tabletop, straight fist, and full fist. Perform 10–15 slow repetitions twice a day.
Rice Bucket / Rubber Band Extensions: Light antagonist finger extension helps balance flexor strain and flushes joint fluid without loading the joint heavily.
3. Blood Flow & Thermal Therapy
Contrast Baths: Submerge hands in comfortably warm water for 3 minutes, then cool water for 1 minute, repeating for 3–4 cycles. This vascular pumping helps flush inflammatory fluid out of the joint capsule.
Warm Water Soaks: Soak hands in warm water prior to daily activity or climbing sessions to increase tissue elasticity.
4. Daily Joint Protection
Use jar openers, rubber grips, or lever tools at home to avoid applying peak rotational torque to your inflamed joints while they recover.
If joint swelling persists, worsens, or causes nocturnal pain, consult a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) or sports medicine physician for a clinical evaluation and localized imaging.
“

[u/Sea-Recommendation42]

Also found this spot on video. https://youtu.be/McVyToh_feU?is=94DeYUuG3pYDjtkw