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.

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.

First off, just looking at those pictures...Ouch. I hope they don't hurt you OP.

Some suggestions I can think of:

1. Hiking if there are any places near you and you can get to them.
2. Woodworking? Not sure if you can do it because of your hands.
3. 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.
4. 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 !fitness@lemmy.world community.

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!

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.

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?)

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).