This stretch is great to do after doing some self massage on your hand when your hand feels tight or crampy. The deep inner hand muscles can get quite tight when doing high repetitions and especially with high loads with your hands and fingers. In the clinic we see many rock climbers that come in with various finger and hand injuries that also have elbow injuries related to this.

Start by making a closed crimp grip with the joints of your fingers, but avoid closing your hand so you don’t make a fist. Then place the meaty part above the heel of your opposite hand under the finger tips of your hand to be stretched, wrap your fingers over the knuckles of the hand and flex that wrist to extend what’s called the proximal Metacarpal joints.

This will give you a deep stretch into the hand. Hold this for 30 - 60 seconds doing 3 sets on each side.

If you’re unsure about the technique or have uncertainty about what you’re doing, consult your local Physiotherapist before continuing. 

Having good contact strength is one of the most important things to have as an avid and competitive rock climber. Knowing how to help yourself in the recovery of your hand after a good climbing session is just as important as knowing how to train to increase that strength. This will help you reduce and prevent injuries which can help you be a stronger climber.

Start by grasping the webspace of your hand between your thumb and index finger with your other thumb and index finger. Then applying pressure, use your thumb to massage the top portion of the webspace of your hand. Turn the hand over and apply pressure to the palm side of the hand pushing out those knots.

Then, push with deep pressure and massage out the lumbrical muscles that sit in between each finger space on the palm side of the hand. All these spots can get really tight! Spend about 60 seconds on each of them for a total of 5 minutes doing some self massage after each work out session. 

Unlike other bigger muscles in your body, the hand doesn’t have redundant blood supply. So this means a little bit of this after each workout can go a long way for increasing blood supply and helping over worked muscles recover better and faster, so you can be better and stronger on your next climbs. If you’re unsure about the technique or have uncertainty about what you’re doing, consult your local Physiotherapist before continuing.