As the title says, I’m looking for some advice about hobbies.
I struggle with depression off and on and recently it’s been quite tough to be motivated, but I tried indoor rock climbing and I’ve been going twice a week for around a month and I love it. I like the problem solving aspect and it being mixed in with physical activity, as I have a sedentary job as a software developer so it’s good to be more active.
This is where the issue is though, I have terrible hands. I have something called Dupytren’s Contracture, which essentially is extra collagen forms around the tendons and severely limits range of movement in the hands (I’ll post pictures of my hands in the comments).
So my question is would you continue this hobby even though it’s wrecking my hands and look at having another fasciotomy to get them less painful.
Or can you suggest any other physical hobbies that would also be engaging mentally to complete.
Perhaps I should have been wiser before getting hooked on this, but I’m devastated that I might not be able to do it long term.
It’s sounds counter intuitive but paddling is wonderful and easy to become addicted. I have found it’s almost meditative for me and I love being on the water. It can def lead to calluses on your palms but I don’t find a great deal of pressure on individual fingers the way climbing holds can exert. It’s uniform and you can control how hard you push yourself. It’s not like “if I don’t use 100% I’m gonna fall”.
Food for thought maybe…
Good luck finding a new adventure!
Have you talked to othet climbers about whether this is an issue that sort of goes away after some experience? If it’s going to cause you significant physical harm, I’d say look for other activities. If it’s just discomfort or something that goes away with experience, I say keep going considering you love doing it.
For sports with a problem solving aspect, I’m not sure whether sweeping is the most physical intensive activity, but curling is basically a sport that comes with a fun physics/geometry problem attached. Just don’t become a skip if you want the exercise (they don’t sweep).
Thanks for the response.
So generally if you had non fucked up hands to begin with then they would toughen up and build callouses in the places I currently have cuts.
The issues is my Dupytren’s Contracture, but as the other person said I should probably see my doctor about that.
In recreational climbing, skin calluses and surface abrasion aren’t usually much of a concern compared to tendon health. Skin heals light damage quite easily.
However, it’s not uncommon for a new (or experienced) climber to develop their muscles beyond what their own tendons can take. Since it takes tendons so long to strengthen, it’s common to need managing the risk of finger pulley tendon injuries in climbing.
Also, I do not know how these nuances apply in your context of your medical condition.
First off, just looking at those pictures…Ouch. I hope they don’t hurt you OP.
Some suggestions I can think of:
- Hiking if there are any places near you and you can get to them.
- Woodworking? Not sure if you can do it because of your hands.
- Gardening/Landscaping. I gardened this summer and while the effort was minimal since I didn’t plant much it was kind of rewarding. I’ve done a bit of landscaping (laying interlock) and it was also rewarding.
- Running and/or swimming. Not exactly mentally stimulating I know but don’t discount the endorphin boost.
If you want you can try also asking this question at the [email protected] community.
Thanks for the kind words.
The pain isn’t crazy, it’s more just very tender for a few days until I go again.
Thanks for the suggestions. Hiking is something I have been keen to do more, but that’s something I need to travel a ways to do and maybe go camping to do it.
Woodworking is something I’d love to get into but space is a not conducive for this. Same for gardening really, sadly.
Running is something I already do, as a former addict I need those endorphins to be happy, but I am taking it slowly getting back into it.
I will check out the fitness instance though.
Thanks again.
How about home improvement? If your living situation or someone close to you, like family, allows for it why don’t you look into that? You can do things like changing lights, old doors, paunting, etc. Depending on how comfortable you are you can look into some more complex projects. They can be pretty physically demanding and you’ll be active for a long time.
Best of luck in everything, hope you find something that works for you.
The puzzling part is fun, because you are constantly learning new ways to use your body. See how to balance, how to move around, etc. I have found that dancing gives a similar learning challenge. Especially the more free-form dances like salsa and bachata. It’s fun learning new moves every week during the lesson, and then try to see if you can put them to practise during a party.
And don’t worry about beeing to stiff. If you can balance around boulders, you can get your body to move around for dancing too. Just takes some practise. I currently do both, and feel like I lack dexterity more for the climbing than for the dancing.
And unlike most of the hand-friendly options mentioned already, you do have to use your hands and arms a lot. Just not in a way that puts any stress on them.
I took up indoor rock climbing a couple years ago, partly because I have a similarly sedentary job and hate most forms of exercise. I can certainly understand the draw. I go 2-3 times a week and have stuck with it for so long because it forces me to get out of my head, but also doesn’t require dealing with strangers as much. It’s just a clam, focused activity which also happens to work my body.
Unfortunately, as a hobby, rock climbing is going to work your hands and arms. I would say that, as I have gotten better, I do a better job of using body position to prevent having to hang by my hands. But, just the other day, my foot slipped and I was hanging on by my fingertips for a couple seconds. And harder climbs may require you to engage your hands more. Though again, body position and technique counts for a lot.
Best advice I can give is: talk to your doctor. They will know more about how your condition will be affected by climbing and what your options are. Certainly more than random idiots on the other side of the internet.
Thanks for the response and congrats on your climbing journey. You’ve managed to put into words which I failed to in that the biggest draw is that it allows me to escape my mind if only for an hour a few times a week.
I do plan on speaking with my doctor but being realistic it seems like a non-starter really which is disheartening.
Is this caused by rock climbing or a pre-existing condition made worse by it? I was considering giving climbing a go at some point (have to assume it’s a pre-existing condition or nobody would rock climb right?)
No this is a pre existing condition called Dupytren’s Contracture which is an hereditary condition.
I would recommend climbing as a sport, or at least giving it a shot as it’s really fun, engaging and rewarding.
I’m mainly looking to expand my social circle with some hobbies that aren’t exclusively populated with nerdy dudes
Image 1 is left hand and you can see where I had an operation on the ring finger and you can also the pinky bent at 90 degrees. As well as all my ripped skin.
Image 2/3 is right hand and the main issue is finger 2, and the arrows are pointing at a very pronounced tendon and this is the one that is causing a lot of pain and I don’t know if climbing is exasperating the issue.
Yeah, I would stop, or at the very least get a professional opinion. And stay away from hobbies that beat the shit out of your hands.
Long distance cycling might not have a crazy mental workout but it’ll wear you out. You could do more challenging hikes, or you might need to replace it with 2 hobbies, I’m just some dude on the Internet.
Take care of your hands.
Thanks for looking out dude.
I think I knew that I should stop, but just needed to hear someone else say it. That said I will have a chat with the doctor and see what they suggest.
Cycling is a good suggestion as running isn’t something I can do too often, but could mix it up. Hiking is something I want to do but I need to travel and camp really for that so not something I can use to keep my mind from going to dark places too much.
If hiking and cycling interest you, have you considered mountain biking? Do you live in an area where trying out mtb might be a possibility?
Is there a place you could row?
It probably is :( I feel like I’ve burned myself a lot trying to get back to doing things before things are healed
I have a sedentary job as a software developer so it’s good to be more active.
…
would you continue this hobby even though it’s wrecking my hands
As a software developer who also has fucked up hands, no. This is your meal ticket. Don’t mess with it. Being depressed with a job is way better than being depressed without a job and a disability.
I’ve actively avoided activities that use my hands because I don’t want to mess them up more. It sucks, but that’s where we’re at.
I don’t know what activity to recommend. I do leg-centric stuff: swimming, inline skating, snowboarding, and soccer. I don’t know if those would be good for you.
Edit: sorry. That came across as hostile. My hand situation is managed, but it still gets to me. I’m trying to say that you should take care of yourself and your hands. The short-term gain of an activity that messes you up isn’t worth it.
Exercise feels great, and I hope you find something that works for your mind and your body.
Thanks for the response and I didn’t read it as hostile at all.
I think you’re right and it makes sense really as you only get one body so may as well look after it. It’s just disheartening as this is the only thing I’ve found that allows me to escape my mind and be in the moment if only for an hour a few times a week.
you only get one body so may as well look after it
That’s a really good way of putting it.
this is the only thing I’ve found that allows me to escape my mind and be in the moment
That’s what I really like about snowboarding and inline skating - if I’m not focusing on the activity, I take a tumble, so I have to pay attention. I don’t know if either of those are something you’d enjoy, but maybe give them a shot?
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As a former tech person turned disabled person, I second this. I used to be working towards a masters in computer science. Now I can’t type or use a mouse more than occasionally in short bursts.
Don’t fuck up your hands. Life is hard with limited use of your hands.
I’m really sorry that’s how things ended up for you. Best of luck.
I appreciate that. I’ve been fortunate enough that I was able to hire attorneys to help me with insurance purposes. And yes, I have needed not one but two attorneys to deal with it. The system is broken and designed for people to fail. You don’t want to end up disabled in the US.
