How long to wait?

[prenna]

So three weeks ago today my beloved girlfriend slammed my finger in a van door, breaking the tip of my left ringfinger. I've got a wire sticking out the end of the thing at the moment that gets removed a week on Monday. My question is this: How long does everyone reckon I should wait before I start grip training again (not that I've been doing any kind of training out here)? I'm hoping to throw myself into training when I'm back in the UK so hopefully I won't have to rest it for too long.

[JP]

ah damn, sorry hear that mate erm, that smile doesn't mean that i am actually smiling as i read your message

speedy recovery! I would give it a loooong time to be honest, grip training is quite a focused localised pressure, but slowly does it though, you could always train the healthy hand?

[prenna]

Yeah that's what I thought. It'll probably take me a while to be able to even move the finger freely because by the time I get the wire out it will have been held in one position for over a month.

[prenna]

Well, I had the wire taken out and have discovered I can barely move the finger. It took days to be able to fully straighten it and I can't fully bend it yet. Grip training will be a long way off yet

[JP]

dont rush it mate. Such a delicate things fingers are

[estaphuam]

Simply put: the longer you wait, the less the chances of relapse.

Get well.

[fredrikw]

well, not necessarily. you should see a physiotherapist for this I think, the trouble is that some joints get really stiff and unflexible when you're not moving them, and this could in some cases even prolong the time it takes to get back to full strength. my shoulder is a good example of this, the problem many people have with shoulder injuries is that they are too cautious, which leads to a really stiff shoulder joint and a whole set of other problems that arises. my physiotherapist has told me that for my shoulder I should do as much as I can and use the pain as my threshold.

[prenna]

dont rush it mate. Such a delicate things fingers are

When I get back (this Saturday) I'm going to start lifting sandbags with just two fingers and my thumb on my left hand. By the time my finger is healed and rehabilitated I'll be really f**king strong........well that's what I'm hoping.

I'm working out all kinds of stuff I can do to work around the injury such as one arm deadlifts with my right hand, bearhug squats of the sandbags, etc.