Pulley injury (A2, climbing) — 8-week BPC log, return to full crimp
6 posts
Posting this as a structured log because I couldn't find one when I tore my A2.
Injury: grade 2 A2 pulley strain, right ring finger, climbing a crimpy boulder. Audible pop, swelling within an hour. Self-diagnosed, didn't image — pulled back to half crimp only, taped.
Protocol:
- BPC-157, 500mcg Sub-Q, once daily, over the palmar base of the affected finger
- 8 weeks continuous
- Rehab: H-taping, no crimping, hangboard with open hand only at 50% bodyweight, progressing
Weekly notes:
- W1-2: swelling down ~70%, pain on light pinch dropped from 5/10 to 2/10
- W3-4: half crimp at low load pain-free, full crimp still tender
- W5-6: full crimp with open grip bias at 60% bodyweight, no pop, mild stiffness morning of
- W7-8: full crimp at 80% bodyweight, tape off, no pain
Post-cycle (current, week 14): back to climbing V6-V7 which was my pre-injury level. Occasional stiffness morning after hard sessions, nothing I'd call pain.
Local Sub-Q at the finger base wasn't glamorous — 31g pin, very small bleb, rotated between palmar base and dorsal base each day. Not painful to pin.
Biggest variable I can't control for: the no-crimp rehab was legit and I'd been lazy about finger rehab for years. The 8 weeks of BPC coincided with the first real rehab I've ever done on these fingers. So.
9 Replies
50 posts
Clean log. The 'I also did real rehab for the first time' caveat is what separates a useful report from a hype post. Thank you for being honest about it.
- BPC-157 · 250 mcg · 2x/day local · sub-Q
- TB-500 · 2 mg · weekly · sub-Q
31 posts
A2 is one of the injuries where the local Sub-Q argument is strongest — the tissue is right there under thin skin, the depot is effectively on the pulley. Good application.
27 posts
Saving this. Have a chronic mild A4 tweak that's been whispering at me for 6 months. Going to copy the protocol.
10 posts
How did you handle pinning at the finger base without hitting a tendon sheath? 31g still seems close to stuff you don't want to hit.
6 posts
@back_on_the_mat shallow angle, Sub-Q only, bleb raised just under the skin. 31g half-inch, go in at 10-15 degrees to skin and stop as soon as you're past the dermis. You're making a skin wheal, not going deep.
115 posts
For context: 8 weeks is inside the natural healing window for a grade 2 pulley. Your return-to-climb timeline is in the range of good rehab without pharmacological help. Not saying BPC did nothing, saying the delta over standard-of-care is the hard thing to pin down.
6 posts
@showmethestudy totally fair. I can't run the counterfactual. If I tear the other side I'll do rehab only and compare, but I hope I don't.
12 posts
Finger pulley logs are rare and useful. Would love more structured ones like this — week by week notes, clear load progression, not just 'I'm healed.'
- IGF-1 LR3 · 30 mcg · post-workout · sub-Q
- CJC-1295 no DAC · 100 mcg · pre-bed · sub-Q
- Ipamorelin · 200 mcg · pre-bed · sub-Q
- MGF (PEG) · 200 mcg · post-workout · sub-Q
7 posts
Lurker speaking up — this is the kind of content that keeps me on this site instead of Reddit. Structured, honest, self-aware about variables. Bookmarking.