I use ice water to help ease the pain. I just grab a large peiceof tupperware and full it with water and ice. Put my hands in it for about ten minutes, then out for fifteen, and repeat. As for resting and strengthening, yes those are both good ideas. The last thing you want to do is pull your finger! Haha

Hey Donny, Take it from me whose fingers are always taped! I found that warming up before climbing, as in any sport, especially climbing is worth it. Simple stretching of the fingers and wrists will supply more blood circulation and help prevent micro-tears. Climbing while not warm-up increases a tear or pull much more easily. After an injury is best for ice, but only for the first few times, try cooling down exercises even after climbing is done. Hope that helps!

Perhaps it’s me, but are you talking about sore finger tips? If so, it’s just a matter of getting used to it. There will be times when the holds (whether on plastic or actual rock) are particularly gritty and/or rough. That’s when I get sore tips. If you’re talking about sore tendons, then warming up, icing, and such help.

Hey Donny, Always warm up and stretch! After not listening to my body and the pain that was occuring on numerous occasions, I have ended up with a handful of injuries in the past. Subsequently, I have always taken at least 20 minutes to warm up. Tom can verify this, he hated waiting for me to warm up before we climbed. Essentially, listen to your body. The pain is occuring for a reason. It’s your body saying “Hey there! You’re doing some damage here and need to cut back a bit so I can heal…Listen up or I’ll make sure you have no other choice but to cut back on climbing (i.e. torn tendons etc…)”

Ice initially and after any inflamation is gone a combo of ice followed immediately by heat works well. The reason for this is that tendons get a very poor supply of blood, which is essential to healing. The ice/heat combo helps create a larger than normal blood flow to the injured area, thus helping heal quicker.

Lastly, slow and steady progress up the grade ladder is the way to go. Don’t jump on those V7’s if you are only consistnetly sending V4’s. Your muscles will get stronger much quicker than your tendons and this can lead to problems… Although you feel strong enough to send that V7, your tendons, which anchor your muscles to the bone may be weaker. So what happens when you’re cranking that V-Hard problem is that your tendons start tearing because your muscles can put WAY more force on them than they are ready to hold. To put it another way, the “ship” is too strong for the “anchors”. Be patient and let your tendons get to where your muscles are.

Hope this helps!