Finger injuries end grips, and grips are the sport. If you grapple or climb or train grip-heavy lifts, you know the moment: a finger caught in a gi sleeve, a pocket crimp that popped, a thumb bent back in a scramble, a jammed joint that never quite straightened out. Taped fingers become part of the uniform, the affected grip quietly drops out of your game, and you adjust around the injury instead of fixing it. We treat these injuries across grapplers and climbers and lifters at ActiveX Physio in Singapore.
Should you just tape it and train on?
You have probably taped it and buddy-strapped it and kept training, because that is what everyone in your gym does. Sometimes that works. Often the finger heals stiff or weak or unstable, and six months later it still will not tolerate the grip it used to own. We assess which structure is actually involved, since a pulley strain, a collateral ligament sprain, and a volar plate injury all present as "jammed finger" but heal on different rules. We also test grip strength across positions, the finger's tolerance for the loads your sport applies, and whether the wrist and forearm are compensating upstream. An injury that changed your grip six months ago is usually still shaping how you play today.
How do finger injuries heal properly?
On the right dose. Fingers respond well to load applied at the right dose and poorly to both complete rest and premature abuse, so we manage the dose: protective taping or splinting positioned to let you keep training where possible, graded tendon and ligament loading as the tissue tolerates it, and grip-specific strength built back toward gi grips, crimps, or hook grips at the intensities competition demands. Where a splint is needed, we set an honest timeframe for it rather than leaving you strapped up indefinitely.
Who can help
Any of our physiotherapists can assess and treat finger and hand injuries. If your fingers take their beating on the mats, Daniel Ng is a BJJ competitor himself and knows exactly which grips your rehab has to survive.