[Finger anatomy series 3/3] 3.The Proximal Interphalangeal joint or PIPNow that you know about the flexor tendons, the function of the pulleys and where they tend to pull, you should be able to guess why the PIP joint is so important!The PIP is the main joint that dictates the forces along the pulleys due to the position and angle of pull from the forces of the tendons.Demonstrated here is more of a hanging grip or an open handed grip. The angle of the PIP in this image is quite large and thus the resultant forces on the pulleys is minimal !! The SMALLER angle in the PIP = GREATER forces on the pulleys! Take this into consideration when thinking about how you grip your holds! I&;ll demonstrate with some more pictures in the following posts!

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[Finger anatomy series 2/3] 2. Annular Pulleys These puppies prevent your finger from doing something known as bowstringing. These pulleys are fibrous bands that are used to maintain the contact of the finger tendon along the bone. What they do is transmit the force of the tendon into different angles of pull. Without them our hands wouldn&;t function very well and would look very weird. Bowstringing occurs when there has been a COMPLETE pulley rupture. With climbing the A2, A4 and A3 are most commonly injured!A2 is the largest of them all and attaches directly to bone. This one takes the brunt of the work when we go to climb or crimp!A3 attaches to whats known as the volar plate – it doesn&;t really attach directly to the bone! This is super super important when ADOLESCENTS or younger adults are climbing as an injury here can PERMANENTLY affect a GROWTH PLATE! It can potentially cause dramatic issues for their future. A rule of is if an adolescent complains of finger injury – SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP. A4 attaches to the bone directly as well closer to the finger tip and is much smaller than the A2. How can you use this to help? Put less strain on your pulleys! Warm up with progressive bodyweight when crimping. Slow and steady wins the race. Feel free and content with any questions or concerns but up next is the PIP and how to crimp safer and stronger!

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The finger is comprised of a number of joints, muscles, tendons, and many pulleys!Visualized here is your index finger! In the next posts we will will focus on 3 things: Flexor tendonsAnnular pulleysProximal Interphalangeal joint (PIP)There are many other components to the finger that are important to climbing. Injuries to these areas such as the joint capsules of each phalanx, each knuckle (capsule tissue injuries/capsulitis), the lumbrical muscles (another finger muscle injury source!) and the volar plates. (super super important for ADOLESCENT climbers! Attn: coaches) stay tuned.

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