Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment of Finger Flexor Pulley Injuries in Climbers – a Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction: Climbing, which has recently become very popular, causes significant loads on the upper limbs, especially the fin-gers, which often leads to a closed traumatic rupture of the finger flexor pulleys. Objective: The aim of this review was to analyse the causes, diagnosis and treatment of finger flexor pulley injuries in climbers. Material and methods: The literature was searched using the EBSCO Discovery Service and GoogleScholar multi-search en-gines, as well as ScienceDirect, Web of Science and SpringerLink databases. Results: The search allowed for the selection of 13 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Conclusions: Analysis of the literature revealed that the main factor predisposing to traumatic injuries of the finger flexor pulleys in climbers is the use of a closed crimp, during which high forces act on the pulley system. Diagnosis of such damage should be based on imaging examination, primarily, as recommended by the authors of the analysed publications, via dynam-ic ultrasound. Conservative treatment should include physiotherapeutic interventions, as well as protection of the pulleys with a thermoplastic orthosis or taping, and, if necessary, temporary immobilisation. Following surgery, rehabilitation should be similar to conservative treatment, but its duration extended. Treatment must always be individually selected to the patient’s condition. The present analysis of literature indicates the need for further research, especially among larger groups of subjects, in order to consolidate the current knowledge about the management of injuries to the flexor pulleys of the fingers.