Fractured Finger
What Is A Fractured Finger?
Within your hand, you have 27 bones, 14 of which make up your fingers. When you fracture a finger bone, your entire hand can move out of alignment.
What Are The Causes Of A Broken Finger?
Common causes of finger fractures include:
- Sport injuries
- Breaking a fall
- Getting stepped on
- Hitting a hard object
- Catching your fingers in a door
These accidental injuries can cause long-term problems in how your hand functions if left untreated.
Bones can fracture in several ways, such as straight across your finger bone, in a spiral shape, or you may shatter your bone into several pieces. It’s important to tell Dr. Nance exactly how you injured your finger so she can create the right treatment plan.
What Are The Symptoms Of A Fractured Finger?
Common indications of a finger fracture include:
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Tenderness
- Deformity
- Decrease in movement
What Are The Risk Factors Of A Broken Finger?
The fingers are the most easily broken parts of the hand, and finger fractures are a common injury for athletes and manual laborers. Sports that involve the highest risk of broken fingers include basketball, volleyball, and football. Weakened bones from osteoporosis can also increase your risk of breaking a finger.
How Is A Broken Finger Diagnosed?
Dr. Nance will take an X-ray of the affected hand to look for breaks in the bone or for dislocation of the joints. Prompt diagnosis will help determine if the fracture requires splinting, therapy, or surgery.
What Are The Possible Treatments For A Fractured Finger?
Fingertip crush injuries are a very common reason to visit the emergency room. Fingertips are often caught in doors or slammed by windows. Fingertip injuries can range from bruising to nail bed lacerations to fractured bones to amputations. Dr. Nance will often address these injuries immediately at a hospital emergency room. If you are evaluated at an outside ER it is still important to have close follow up with Dr. Nance to check for additional injuries and make sure there is no infection.
