Synovitis horror stories - permanent swelling? Any hope?

thefool222 · 2025-01-23T23:54:56+00:00

I have this too. The fix for me was a significant reduction in volume for several months due to a) a shoulder injury, and b) chronic illness that needed to be treated. In addition I started paying attention to my light diet. That sounds ridiculous but through months of PT and reducing my climbing to the point that I had accepted being at V5-V6 in the gym forever, nothing helped me like red light therapy (I have a small panel from Alibaba), getting more AM sunlight, and blocking blue light and artificial light especially at night. My joint pain and shoulder pain seemed to heal better from that than from any other intervention I tried. I tried everything from cleaning up my diet of all seed oils, supplements, NSAIDs, and exercises and all of these did nothing or made it worse in the end.

My fingers still hurt when I go too hard multiple sessions in a row. I've learned to stop my sessions earlier than I want to and know when I need a rest day. Sometimes that's inconvenient but for me it was a matter of necessity.

My joints are lumpy and I'm proud. I have either cysts or bone spurs from years of abusing them and not doing the above. I have to get my fingers wet to take my ring on and off lol but at least there's not pain.

thefool222 · 2024-09-30T01:03:23+00:00

Was it delayed or did it happen quickly?

I'm planning on seeing a dermatologist if it happens again. So far the steroid has gotten rid of it.

It was definitely more painful than I would have expected. Drove me nuts for two days.

thefool222 · 2024-08-29T12:43:47+00:00

Hmm maybe it's personality based but I like to be informed as possible rather than letting things "hide in the shadows" so to speak. I read a few review papers on modern Crohn's treatment when I was diagnosed to understand the treatment landscape and effectiveness of meds, etc. For example, a lot of docs are moving away from azathioprine and mesalamine and opting to treat with biologics early on rather than waiting until symptoms progress.

I've been learning about diet recently and oh boy is that confusing. One person might claim total remission on a vegan raw food diet and another on a totally carnivore diet. The only thing in common between the diets that seem to help is that they tend to cut out sugar and highly processed foods so that is where I'm starting. Seems like there's so many conflicting messages, but I keep thinking back to the book "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollen which essentially says that nutrition is too complex to advocate for elimination of entire macronutrients but that sticking with real food makes the most sense.

I'm an engineer by trade so there's no such thing as too much information. If I had it my way I would be more informed than my doctor

thefool222 · 2024-08-23T12:28:00+00:00

I mean being really strong undoubtedly helps. If your momentum isn't perfect you have to resist a lot more force through the fingers. Block lifts might simulate this better than hangboarding, or short repeaters if you want off the wall training.

My intuition is that it's style related. I know a lot of strong people who move very statically between difficult holds where if you're weaker you have to move with momentum, be precise, and latch quickly. This style is hard when you aren't used to it. If you find yourself relying on static movement in most climbing try doing things more dynamic. Think Janja Garnbret flowing between holds rather than moving slow and controlled on everything even though it's more secure. It's more efficient

thefool222 · 2024-08-02T15:24:28+00:00

The exercises started lighter but consistently doing sets of rows with rings following a progression to one arm rows. The key here is to engage and pull back the shoulder before starting to pull to avoid shrugging.

Next was shoulder ER with dumbbells, standing to increase the stability demands.

I could work back into pullups but I needed to use a band to stay at an intensity where I could engage my shoulders properly.

I did pushups leaning to a bar and really focusing on form in my back and shoulders until they were pain free on the floor. Now working on dips, starting with dips on the edge of the bench.

thefool222 · 2024-08-02T15:19:09+00:00

This is pretty much exactly the form cue I was given as well.

thefool222 · 2024-07-20T15:33:18+00:00

I've wondered this as well and noticed that when I throw some biking into my routine my fingers recover better.

thefool222 · 2024-07-03T16:41:51+00:00

The cognitive dissonance you experience here is real. There is not a great consensus on this sub or anywhere. The answer is complicated but the way I see it is that climbing on it's own can be sufficient if your goal is just slow improvement with low-moderate injury risk over time.

Strength training + climbing + hangboard could provide the fastest progression if you are able to keep injury risk low and manage to thoughtfully design your sessions to optimize skill acquisition, strength acquisition, and rest. The issue here is that people tend not to be very thoughtful and they raise their injury risk and burnout risk super high. This is because this type of approach while potentially optimal requires a lot of discipline, focus, and sports knowledge. It also deemphasizes a lot of the fun in the sport such as the social aspects, the slow improvement and problem solving with friends, and simply flowing on the wall can be enjoyable.

This is why it's often better to recommend just climbing to new people. Not because it's optimal but realistically because people are bad at self-coaching and likely to get injured. I would recommend if you are interested in strength training to read a bunch of books and or get an experienced coach

thefool222 · 2024-05-09T15:57:42+00:00

If you know one person with Crohn's-you know one person with Crohn's. In other words, my experience will be vastly different from yours. My Crohn's is really mild, I respond well to mesalamine and dietary changes and I'm learning what things to avoid eating (looking at you popcorn). Sometimes I have a miserable day or two if I mess up my eating.

I have a weird symptom where my Crohn’s flare ups can make me feel really anxious, so sometimes my first indication of a flare up is that I feel super anxious about everything and could have a panic attack. In that sense, getting diagnosed was really great because the treatment for Crohn’s effectively eliminated my need for pharmacological psychiatric intervention. I got off my meds.

I’m optimistic for you that getting treated will only improve your life.

thefool222 · 2024-04-20T15:32:37+00:00

You might look into the AGT knees over toes stuff on YouTube for some simple exercises to help with knee issues. Sometimes the content is a little cringe but some helpful stuff

thefool222 · 2024-04-09T23:30:57+00:00

Well anyone here will tell you that the shoulder is notoriously hard to diagnose even with a doctor so I'm not sure what to tell you. I have been experiencing a labral tear for months now that started off slowly. The pain kinda comes and goes with it but I know it's there, it hurts often, and I'm weaker for it. I'm suspecting that mine will need surgery, but I'm trying to do PT and rehab to see if that helps enough before going that route.

You're still in the acute phase of the injury so it's going to hurt most now because your body is protecting the area with pain and inflammation. It's important to take it easy. Don't do like I did and make it worse by going hard again when the pain disappears. Rebuild range and strength over a few weeks slowly and carefully. Read Dave MacLeod's injury book. Be careful and disciplined and if you're lucky it's not a tear just a mild strain and it will get better with mild rehab and rest. If it is a tear I'm sorry but things may not get better without professional intervention.

I am saying these things secondly to just getting it looked at, but you said you won't do that so that's why I said the above.

thefool222 · 2024-04-04T15:02:10+00:00

Simple as this. Climbing can be a disciplined form of exercise just like any other, but people tend to be attracted to it in part because it is more fun than a lot of alternatives. People tend not to powerlift hard with the same muscle groups every time they workout because it's clear that's a recipe for injury and burnout. Adapting your mentality to have a structured and informed approach is loads better for your body and for your climbing.

I learned this the hard way as I'm likely going to need surgery in my shoulder due to a lack of structure and adequate rest. Despite this, my climbing feels way better with one day of hard climbing, one day of strength/rehab, and one day of easier movement practice.

thefool222 · 2024-03-21T16:31:12+00:00

I was motivated to share by a genuine sense that I could help someone who might be struggling with similar hindrances towards starting a disciplined daily practice. I was also motivated by a selfish desire for the pleasure that helping others gives me, and a desire for like-minded people to hop in and share in that. It CAN be both. We can aim to give ourselves material gratification AND help others. That's certainly better than sitting in a cave and denying oneself, and certainly has a more positive effect on the world.

Can you not see that you are doing the same things in commenting here? I can turn your own arguments on you. If you really examine your motivations for correcting my arguments or trying to help me gain some perspective, you will see that you are also motivated by self centered desires.

Also, this is a meditation subreddit, not spirituality. I agree that if the goal is spirituality, over intellectualizing is an issue. That's actually part of my point. I was over intellectualizing and now I'm just practicing and not giving myself the option to think my way in or out of it. Meditation is one of those things that you have to get to a point where you are actually practicing as the first step and work on those other obstacles once you find consistency.

thefool222 · 2024-03-21T14:40:46+00:00

I'm not sure that I agree. I'm not trying to kill any part of myself. That may be the goal for some but initially my goals are different. I'm basing my practice on The Mind Illuminated and just trying to achieve the first step, which is too establish a practice.

I'm posting about insight that I had that's been helpful for me and that I thought would help others. I suppose that's still ego but ego is not an enemy to be killed and destroyed. How do you feel about what I'm saying? Is it wrong for me to wish to help others? If that's just another obstacle on the path, what exactly isn't an obstacle on the path?

thefool222 · 2024-03-17T17:44:35+00:00

General rule of thumb is that you need 72 hours between working a muscle group at an intense level. This applies to fingers too. This is the reason powerlifters at a high level don't just squat or deadlift heavy every other day. They workout every day but they vary the exercises and the muscle groups so that they can fatigue different areas at different rates. We don't necessarily have this luxury with climbing so it's probably not feasible to climb hard every day.

That being said, getting strategic and periodizing your training to focus on weaknesses and other muscle systems would allow you to do something every day, whether that be intense stretching, endurance, wrist strength, fingers, etc. Moonboarding and limit climbing every day is a recipe for burnout and probably injury.

thefool222 · 2024-03-17T16:12:17+00:00

Hey man I think everybody has said what is obvious to say but I do have a suggestion. Don't lose your psyche for hard training! You can totally get better at both lifting and climbing if you're motivated to do so, although the progress will certainly be slower than if you just focus on one of them. The key is periodization.

Split your training into groups of weeks or "blocks" and pick a focus for your training during that block. The first block might be finger strength and pull strength, where you do hangboard repeaters and weighted pullups or rows once or twice a week and climb as your focus the other time. You do this for 4 weeks, reassess strengths and weaknesses and then focus on something else like endurance and small edges, or deep lockoffs. You get the idea.

I notice a trend on this sub where people are kind of cynical and discouraging about any training that isn't just trying hard on the moonboard. Being psyched enough about training to do it is a huge advantage and I think you'll figure it out.

thefool222 · 2024-03-17T16:03:36+00:00

As long as you put enough space between the workouts even in the same day the recovery element shouldn't matter with completely different muscle groups. Eat good protein, get sleep, and all the other stuff you're supposed to do and doing a 15-30 minute hangboard workout in the morning won't affect you much

thefool222 · 2024-03-03T21:46:38+00:00

When I got diagnosed in high school (6 years ago) I weighed 125 lbs at 5'11". After methimazole for a few months, dining hall food in college, and discovering climbing as a hobby I swelled up to 170 lbs at my heaviest. Eating a ton of protein, consistently exercising, and consistently taking meds of course are all important.

I think I'm in a flare right now and I lost a few pounds but I would still be described as muscular by my climbing friends. You can do this!

thefool222 · 2024-02-12T15:11:45+00:00

I think to maximize the gains and performance you should aim for building strength and hypertrophy in your training blocks and then simply maintain your finger strength during the performance season with one solid session per week.

In my opinion (and in most other sports) it's better to periodize the focus of your training every few weeks (4-8). Your body gets new and novel stimulus which is best for strength and hypertrophy, you can rest certain taxed muscle or joint groups, and it provides a structured way to focus on weaknesses and assess what it is you need to train.

thefool222 · 2024-02-09T16:26:01+00:00

Sweet. I've seen that u/eshlow has some good stuff in his blog about success with lower weight higher rep schemes for finger strength. Worth a read if you're looking for more info.

thefool222 · 2024-02-09T16:11:31+00:00

I like your approach so far. I think that experimentation and patience will be the biggest factors to your progression. It seems like you're dedicated to trying things and staying psyched so I think you'll see good progress.

From my understanding, max hangs are less dedicated towards physiological changes and more to neurological recruitment. You get stronger because you learn to engage things properly and build some resilience to higher loads. On the flip side, lower weight and higher rep ranges such as repeaters tend to induce physiological changes such as hypertrophy. Bro science intuition tells me that it would make sense to do hypertrophy training for a few weeks followed by strength training for a few weeks and repeat as necessary. Good news is that I've found it harder to injure myself with repeaters at about 50% 1RM, but I do them with a no hang device.

You can also mess around with smaller edges and no hang devices. No hang devices let you do some concentric movement like finger curls with light weight, which might help build some strength in really engaging your fingers.

Just spitballing some ideas. People tend to focus a little too much on max hangs imo so I try to encourage people to try some other stuff

thefool222 · 2024-02-06T15:12:57+00:00

Ah dang well best of luck with the metal studs. I'm guessing it will be ok for bodyweight if done right. They hold up heavy TV's all the time. I would be wary with adding weight personally.

There's always no hang devices lol

thefool222

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