Back in September, I fell awkwardly playing hockey and broke something in a thumb joint on my right hand. Last night, I blocked a shot, and I’m thinking that I my have broken the pinky on the same hand. Maybe not, but it’s a good enough excuse to finally go have the thumb looked at.
Q. What are they doing for broken fingers these days?
I haven’t noticed many people walking around with old fashioned casts, and I’m hoping to avoid the kind of monstrous cast I had when I smashed the pinky on my left hand back in kindergarten.
So, what’s the last medical practice for broken fingers and thumbs?
As a (field) hockey and football goalkeeper I have broken at least four fingers (that I know for sure, I gave up having X-rays after that) - the standard response from the doc was to splint and bandage it to the finger next door and tell me to get on with it. I do have one finger that is noticeably crooked as a result, so perhaps it’s not always ideal…
Yeah. I caught a crack in the sidewalk and busted a couple of bones in my hand and never worried about it, and I’m tempted to write off the pinky as well. Smashing the other one put an end to my dreams of playing guitar at an early age (no knuckle, can’t bridge the strings), but the goofy thumb really gets in the way when there are jars to open.
[quote=“Taffy”]As a (field) hockey and football goalkeeper I have broken at least four fingers (that I know for sure, I gave up having X-rays after that) - the standard response from the doc was to splint and bandage it to the finger next door and tell me to get on with it. I do have one finger that is noticeably crooked as a result, so perhaps it’s not always ideal…
As for thumbs, I couldn’t say.[/quote]
I guess you could splint it and bandage it to your other thumb. :homer:
splint and immobilise for two weeks is your likely minimum, depending on the kind of break. that said, a break that goes through the joint surface has to be managed differently to a simple break away from the joint, and a crush break is different again. treatment would range from pins to nothing.
if it’s not serious leave the pinky alone but you should have the thumb looked at. it is under tension a lot and can twist into unusual positions as it heals. if it at the joint, then you can develop fusion of the joint, not good in a thumb.
good luck!
Bashed the heck out of my hand, but didn’t actually break anything.
And some tricky acupressure thingy seems to have addressed the pinched nerves that were making my thumb so twitchy.
I think it depends on the nature of the break. Chips and hairline fractures on minor digits are probably treated differently from major fractures on the first three digits. I got a minor fracture near my first thumb joint in karate and didn’t have it checked on until it was still hurting 2 months later, and the doc didn’t want to do anything to it. I broke my little toe the same way, and the doc just taped it to the next toe; but I made a hard leather mit for my toes so I could keep sparring.
I got a minor fracture near my first thumb joint in karate and didn’t have it checked on until it was still hurting 2 months later, and the doc didn’t want to do