Welcome!

A2 PULLEY INJURY REHABILITATION PROGRAM

The first step to recovery is acknowledging your injury in the first place, so you’re well on your way! Here, we’ll walk you through what you need to do to take care of your pulley and get back to the crag strong, healthy, and pain-free.

PULLEY INJURIES: THE BASICS

  • If you don’t feel like you have a solid grasp on what a pulley is or how it works, take a quick look at these finger anatomy basics so that you can better get a feel for what’s going on in there.

  • A pulley injury occurs when the load on the finger exceeds the pulley’s ability to resist that load. When this happens, the pulley will stretch, tear, or rupture, causing the tendon to partially (or completely, in the case of rupture) pull away from the bone.

    In climbers, we often see A2 pulley injuries happen while pulling on a full crimp and/or when a foot slips, creating excess force against the pulley. A tell-tale sign of a pulley rupture is an audible “pop” at the time of injury.

  • • Most commonly occurs over the ring finger along the A2 pulley (but can occur in any finger)

    • Tenderness to the touch along the injured pulley

    • Swelling or inflammation, bruising or redness, or just a feeling of stiffness in the finger that is mostly present in the area of the pulley

    • Stiffness, pain or difficulty bending the finger

    • Pain with active grip, especially crimping

  • If you’re exhibiting any of the signs and symptoms outlined above but aren’t sure how severe your pulley injury is, find out with our Pulley Injury Self-Assessment Quiz.

Ready to get started?

If you already know your rehab category, choose the severity of your pulley diagnosis below to be taken to the correct section of the program.

(Please make sure to read this disclaimer first)

Severe
Moderate
Mild

If you don’t know how severe your pulley injury is, we recommend getting a professional diagnosis. But if you’re looking for something to do in the meantime, we’ve developed a fun and easy way for you to get an idea for yourself.

Take the A2 pulley injury quiz
 
 FULL PULLEY INJURY PROGRAM OVERVIEW

  • The goal of this phase is to allow the pulley to reattach or form a union back onto the bone before we start loading it.

    Only required for severe pulley injuries.

    Duration: 3-6 weeks

  • At this stage, the pulley may be re-attached, but those attachments are still healing and might not be strong enough to resist a deforming load. In this phase, we start to load the pulleys thoughtfully in order to bolster the healing time and the strength of a given pulley.

    Required for severe and moderate pulley injuries.

    Duration: 2-3 weeks

  • The goal of this phase is to load the finger. This is the most fun phase, but also the most tricky, because the pulley may be healed but the finger still isn’t strong. It’s the DANGER ZONE. Many people re-injure themselves in this phase.

    Required for any pulley injury.

    Duration: 2-3 weeks

  • Yay! You’ve arrived. Healed pulley, you’ve built your base and you are ready to (gradually) return to climbing normally! The goal of this phase is to reintroduce climbing movements that challenge the finger and your mind. This phase is the return to intuitive movement and performance.

  • Once you’re all healed, these are the things you can continue to do on a regular basis to avoid re-injury and make sure your pulleys stay strong and healthy.