Last Rugby Game of the Season! featuring: Stitches in my Hand! play/not play?

July 27, 2009 6:59 AM

I have stitches in my hand, and am wondering if it's a bad idea to play my rugby game tonight. Feedback from ruggers and others alike more than welcome :)

YANMD, but --
so at our game on Saturday, I tore the web between my middle and ring finger on my right hand. I usually play inside centre, so have to catch the ball a lot, and just plain old caught it wrong. There are seven stitches holding it back together.

Our last game of the season is tonight, and I really want to play. The doctor on Saturday said she thought it'd be fine, but in retrospect, it's possible she doesn't really get what rugby is (that I'll be throwing ppl around, getting stepped on, etc).

Have any of you played with stitches before? Is this a really stupid idea to play? Is my judgement being clouded by the really-wanna-play factor?

posted by crawfo to health & fitness (14 comments total)

well, if you're okay with the chances of the stitches ripping out, then play. i'd assume you are because you play rugby.

my advice--tape it well. maybe tape your middle and ring fingers together.
posted by lester at 7:03 AM on July 27

Throw some athletic tape over the stitches and go play. Unless you can't walk, there should be no reason that you sit on the sidelines the last game of your season. Stitches be damned.
posted by Gravitus at 7:11 AM on July 27

The very worst thing that can happen is that you'd need to be re-stitched, and/or you'd get an infection. Both are treatable. Tape it and go for it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:14 AM on July 27

Rub some dirt in it. Worst case scenario you get blood binned and hopefully you have someone on the sidelines to stitch it back up.
posted by Loto at 7:15 AM on July 27

Also, consider wearing a glove, like a wide receiver in American football. You can tape the glove down so it couldn't be pulled off.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:15 AM on July 27

Glove ideas here.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:16 AM on July 27

As someone who had stitches in their hand and played rugby, I'd say go for it. When I was in a similar situation, I just slapped on a Second Skin band-aid over my stitches (I only had five, from a broken beer bottle, I know, I know, I'm a classy lady) and made sure it was completely covered and that I wouldn't rip the stitches out when I was taking off the bandage.

Good luck! Don't bleed everywhere.

Actually... on second thought - bleed everywhere! It'll confuse the other team.
posted by banannafish at 7:28 AM on July 27

Tape n' go. I would just tape the two fingers together - I did similar things many times when I played. Wrap a half-width of tape a few time around between the joint and the first knuckle and then another few wraps with another piece up towards the end (though below the pad of your finger). The second wraps are important so you don't torque the tape off during the game. Or just wrap them their whole length.

Gloves are probably a bad idea - too much potential for failure. Make sure you practice catching (and more importantly) throwing the ball enough to get the feel for it.
posted by mikel at 8:17 AM on July 27

I'm surprised a rugby player
a. went to the doctor.
b. is considering skipping a game from some stitches in the hand.

Definitely go and crush some skulls =] 'nthing the tape the fingers together below the knuckle method. Just bring some extra tape in case it gets ripped off with the action\sweat.
posted by zephyr_words at 9:21 AM on July 27

Can you tape the two fingers together?
posted by kestrel251 at 9:29 AM on July 27

Tape them together - it won't majorly affect your ability to pass, catch, handoff etc., and will minimise the risk of ripping the stitches out. Do it before you warm up though, so you know it's not too tight.
posted by djgh at 1:01 PM on July 27

Superglue the wound (or use 'liquid band-aid', which uses the same active ingredient, at least in my area).
posted by astrochimp at 4:34 PM on July 27

For the love of God, man, Jamie Roberts played on (at centre) for something like 18 minutes with a fractured skull! Taping it up will likely be fine, and enjoy the possibility of an easily-achieved blood substitute ;)

(Good luck!)
posted by kalimac at 4:49 PM on July 27

oh man, thanks so much everyone -- just got back in, and it was awesome. thanks for indulging my worries! everyone's comments went a long way in revving me up :)

went with some sterile wound pad thingy + tape and lots of it. and then got threw in at prop!!! HA!

again, thanks a ton everyone. and banannafish, you might just be my new hero.
posted by crawfo at 7:37 PM on July 27