Finger Injuries: How To Treat Them At Home
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You should start slowly and build up endurance slowly over time. Finger fractures often include fractured fingertips and avulsion-type fractures. A thumb sprain happens when you injure the tissues in your thumb that connect the bones in a joint. These tissues, known as ligaments, keep your bones in place when the joint moves. In your thumb, several ligaments help you grab objects, pinch, and make a fist. Consult a doctor as soon as possible if you suffer a thumb injury and suspect a fracture has occurred.
The standard time for a broken bone is six weeks, but that is variable. Do not use your finger or hand until your follow-up appointment. Use your non-injured hand for daily things like eating, bathing, and picking up objects. It's important you give your finger time to heal without any movement or disturbance of the splint. Get a referral for an orthopedic surgeon or hand surgeon. If you have a compound fracture, bad break, nerve injury, or vascular compromise , your doctor may refer you to an orthopedic surgeon or a hand surgeon.
Nonsurgical Treatment
Most children will experience immediate, intense pain upon fracturing the thumb. In the meantime, here are five signs your finger might be broken. You may need surgery for complicated breaks – for example, if it's broken in lots of places or the nerves are damaged. Take care when doing activities or using equipment that may injure your hands. Finger fracture treatment depends on the location and severity of the fracture. Your provider will also look at whether your fracture is stable or unstable.
If you suspect that you have a broken thumb, you should seek immediate medical help. Squeeze a small, soft rubber ball with your fingers and thumb for 5 seconds before releasing your grip. Cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, which has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce pain due to the sprain on your thumb. Avoid playing sports or grasping things too hard with your thumb. Any kind of strenuous activity will only aggravate the injury.
Post-Surgical Treatment
A thumb sprain involves overstretched or torn ligaments, which are tissues that connect bones at a joint. If the bones remain in a stable position with good alignment, thumb fractures generally heal well. Surgery does have some potential complications, which could include infection, wound issues, or failure of the surgery to hold alignment.
During your sessions, you might be guided through stretching, exercises, or be shown how to modify your movements to prevent reinjury. Frequently, physical therapists will send you home with handouts and tools to continue your rehab while you’re not in the office with them. After a sprain, it’s important to ice your thumb and thumb joint. The cold helps to reduce swelling, bruising, and pain. Use an ice pack or submerge your thumb in a cold bath. Ice the injury for 15-minute intervals for 24 to 48 hours.
Stretches and Exercise
With over 25 years of medical research experience, Dr. Matsko was awarded the Pittsburgh Cornell University Leadership Award for Excellence. He holds a BS in Nutritional Science from Cornell University and an MD from the Temple University School of Medicine in 2007. For most fractures, you will need up to 6 weeks of rest before you can return to sporting activity or work. This will prevent any infection, especially if you have open wounds or cuts on your finger. Keeping your finger elevated will also help to keep your finger in position and let it heal properly.
Your follow-up appointment with a doctor or hand specialist should be one week after your initial treatment. At the follow-up appointment, the physician will check that the bone fragments are still aligned and healing properly. Failure to treat a broken thumb can often result in arthritis or breaking down of the joint. This can cause chronic pain, stiffness, and swelling.
Arthritis is a common complication of a broken thumb. Some cartilage is always damaged by the injury and isn’t replaceable. This increases the chance of arthritis developing in the injured thumb joint. In about one third of breaks to the first metacarpal, there’s only a single broken fragment at the base of the bone. The surgeon inserts screws or wires through your skin to hold the broken pieces in proper position while the bone heals. It can be painful, so sedation or anesthesia may be used.
Developing strength in the hands through exercise and getting proper nutrition can also provide some protection. The bone under the nail that makes up the tip of the thumb is called the distal phalanx. The distal phalanx and proximal phalanx connect via the interphalangeal joint, which allows you to bend the tip of your thumb. This is especially true of the Bennett fracture and the Rolando fracture which occur at the joint between the 1st metacarpal and the wrist.
The splint keeps your finger straight and protects it while it heals. You’ll usually keep the splint for three to four weeks as your fractured finger heals. You’ll need to avoid strenuous activity for another two weeks afterward, but movement is usually very important at this point. Your provider may order physical therapy to help you regain motion. Here are four movements, courtesy of Tufts Medical Center, that you can do throughout the day to ease discomfort and help your recovery. A sprained thumb is sometimes called skier’s thumb because you can easily injure your thumb’s UCL if you hit your thumb at high speeds against a skiing pole.
A broken thumb usually causes more intense pain, and your thumb may look deformed or misshapen. If you’re experiencing pain, bruising and swelling in your thumb after an accident such as a fall, be sure to contact your healthcare provider. X-rays use radiation to take detailed images of your bones. Your healthcare provider may have you get X-rays of your hand and thumb to make sure your pain and swelling aren’t from a broken or fractured bone. Your provider will use X-rays to diagnose finger fractures.
Your doctor may also move the bone back into place, a procedure known as reduction. You will be given a local anesthetic to numb the area. If possible, try to slide off any rings on your finger before the finger swells. It will be much harder to remove the rings once your finger swells up and starts to feel painful. If you aren’t able to see a difference in your skin color when you press on it, try using your nail bed, instead. Gently press your fingernail, then watch how long it takes for it to turn pink again.
In severe thumb sprains, your ligament can be partially or completely torn, which often needs surgery. Treatment for thumb sprains often involves rest, using a splint and physical therapy. If you suspect that your finger might be broken, it’s best to seek medical attention to check. An urgent care centre or walk-in clinic is a good idea if there is one available, as a broken finger isn’t serious enough for accident and emergency.
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