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Cortisone 11-Jun-2011 At 9:31:15 AM Dave.k

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I had a cortisone injection for an inflamed A2 pulley, middle finger.

The docs diagnosed it as tenosynovitis. The injury was a combination of trauma (I whacked the joint onto the sharp edge of a climbing hold) and subsequent overuse.

After a couple of months, the A2 gained a hard ringband that could be easily felt under the skin right near the proximal joint.

The doc flooded the area under the skin with a 1/2 dose of cortisone mixed with aqueous solution. I splinted the finger for 1 week and then went bouldering in the gramps right after. Obviously I should of given it more time, but the trip was planned.

The finger magically felt superhuman, and I was pulling very hard on tiny crimps of unclimbed projects. Finger felt 100%.

A month later, I unrelatedly hurt the ring finger next to it. My climbing went back to recovery mode for 6-8 weeks, and as the ring finger got better, the middle finger that had the cortisone injection had obviously lapsed back to how it was before the injection. Yeah, it got worse when all I had done was super easy climbing and therapeutic exercise to aid the finger next to it.

In the end, after talking to many people, I discovered that cortisone helps only in the short term for about 2 weeks to 4 months with *no* lasting effect. The benefit I presume is that it can aid recovery by giving a kick start to the healing process, or perhaps reduce inflammation temporarily that is restricting healing blood flow... this kind of thing.

Imagine your body is a bogged car, and sometimes it just need a push to get back on its way. The push is cortisone. If you hit the gas to soon, you'll just get bogged again or slide back, wheels spinning, to the same spot. Ease the power back on instead and you'll be on your merry way.

Anyway, if you get a cortisone injection, totally focus the next 2-6 weeks on therapy with no strenuous loading - and don't be tempted to just go out cranking, otherwise you will have wasted everything that it was good for.

My conclusions are anecdotal only, so please keep that in mind.