Quote:
Originally Posted by Exfso
Nine weeks ago I had my middle finger right hand crushed and it was confirmed by X-ray that I had a fracture Quote 'of the dorsal aspect of the base of distal phalanx' end quote. I saw my Orthopaedic specialist who got me to have the finger splinted and I was handed over to a hand therapist for on going treatment. 2 weeks ago I saw my Ortho specialist who said I could remove the splint and only use it at night. My hand therapist said not to remove during the day unless doing nothing with the hand. Ok so differing opinions there!! I notice that the finger is still very swollen at the joint and tending to still bend.
The original assessment by my GP was a classic Mallet crush injury-fair enough that made sense!
So still being badly swollen and damn painful I saw my GP who was somewhat taken back, sent me for a follow up X-ray and there is absolutely no change after nine bloody weeks. WTF!!!
So now it is back to the Ortho again who I cant see for another week. I think I will chop the damn thing off it is useless at present and the splint is now back on full time and performing its useless duties...  |
Peter, I worked a few years in rehab including hand therapy, so I can recall a thing or two. Here is my assessment:
Doral aspect of the base if the distal phalanx: meaning you had a fracture to the finger nail side (as opposed to the finger tip side) of your middle finger, literally under the finger nail towards the last knuckle joint.
Splinting: how is it done? Is it in a thermoplastic "sleeve" on its own or a "buddy splint" with the ring finger? Both would be OK depending if it's on your dominant hand or not. The idea is for the last finger knuckle joint to be immobilised while the fracture heals. The splint should keep the last finger joint flat, but you should do some gentle bending of the joint a few times a day to avoid fluid build up.
Healing: This can take up to 8 weeks depending on other medical conditions such as diabetes (which will delay it due to poor blood circulation to the fingers and toes).
Rehab: take a photo of your splint and post it here. If it's been two weeks or more and you don't have diabetes or blood circulation issues. You should be doing finger exercises (gentle bending, on its own without push by other hand). You can also try warm water baths to relax the joint esp at morning and night 5 mins before your finger exercises to relax the joint).
Sleep with your hand in a pillow above your chest, which will minimise swelling.
Repeat and wait, bones take time to heal!
Cheers
Bo