Jammed finger swollen three weeks later

January 2, 2007 10:16 AM

Jammed my thumb playing basketball, does it need an x-ray?

The night it happened, after basketball was over, my thumb promptly swelled up to maybe 2x its normal size. The skin was quite tight and it was throbbing steadily. Day two, things started to settle down a bit, the throbbing ended. After a couple days I could pretty much move it normally, except because of the swelling, some range of motion is lost...

Anyway, the injury happened three weeks ago, and my thumb is still about 1.5x as big as its counterpart on the other hand. It's still straight and in no pain, just the swelling has me concerned. Is it normal for swelling to last this long? Also, there is a "sweet spot" on each side of the knuckle, that if I squeeze, I can provoke pain (not much).

Anyway, a visit to the x-ray will cost some money, so if it's not likely broken or fractured, I'd just as soon pass. Thanks!

posted by knave to health (4 comments total)

You probably have a fracture which would explain the "sweet spot" and the prolonged swelling.

Some of the medical experts can chime in, but you really should see a doctor. You'll probably get a thumb splint and some meds to take care of the swelling.

Hopefully there is no infection, I don't know that there would be unless the skin was broken.

Your doc may want an X-Ray (added cost), but unless the bone needs to be set there probably isn't a compelling reason to spend the money, unless you just want the peace of mind.

If you don't have health insurance (who does these days?) then you may do well going to an "urgent care" type place. When I thought I broke my arm (ahem... skateboarding) I went to one and got out for about $200 or so dollars with an X-Ray. For pain relief the doc was nice enough to give me a hand full of individually packaged samples rather than a expensive prescription - but then again he was really sympathetic to my broke ass. YMMV.
posted by wfrgms at 11:11 AM on January 2, 2007

Oh yeah, I'm told that deep purple bruising that looks like its way under the skin can also be a sign of a fracture... but that may or may not be accurate.
posted by wfrgms at 11:12 AM on January 2, 2007

Thanks for the feedback... There was no bruising at any point in this injury, but I'm one who rarely bruises.
posted by knave at 11:17 AM on January 2, 2007

I've had pretty bad "jams", also from playing basketball...and I've had a fracture. My experience with the fracture was that there was bruising and discoloration...

My worst finger jams only lasted a couple weeks, so three weeks seems like a long time, but maybe this prolonged swelling is due to the severity of the jam.

My other experience with fractures is that, if they are minor, the doctor usually recommends nothing except perhaps something to reduce swelling...since most minor fractures will heal properly on their own.
posted by kingtaj at 12:08 PM on January 2, 2007