Hand Injury

March 31, 2013 7:10 AM

I fell badly yesterday, and ever since my right hand has been alternating between quite painful and fine. Do I really need to go to the doctor on Easter Sunday?

Med History: broken my right wrist twice, and have RSI.

So I fell, and now there's a bruise in the palm of my right hand. Can't twist/grip anything. Very, very limited range of motion--when I try to extend my fingers out, my pinkie down through the palm is hurting. Something definitely feels weird in the palm of my hand, at times to a truly painful extent.

BUT it does not feel broken, nor did it swell. I also have a wrist brace, and have been wearing that. Aside from ice and ibuprofen, is there really a need to to go the doctor? And any ideas as to what, exactly, might be wrong?

posted by tooloudinhere to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

I would not be at all surprised to find out that you have broken a metacarpal bone. I had bad palm bruising when I broke a bone in my hand - I thought it had just been dislocated.

It's bad timing, but if it were me, I would go to wherever I could get an x-ray and see if it needed any treatment.
posted by knapah at 7:22 AM on March 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yes- see a doctor. I fell off a bike a couple of years ago, and had very similar pain. I thought I had just sprained my wrist. I went to the ER to see about my head (I was feeling a bit dizzy), and they checked me out, told me my head was fine, and then x-rayed my hand and found that I had fractured a metacarpal. Any time you don't have full range of motion for a joint, a break may be indicated.

It could just be that you have bruising which is putting pressure on part of your hand, but you will still want to get it checked out. The longer you leave a break, the harder it is to treat.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:54 AM on March 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: ER it is then. Thank you.
posted by tooloudinhere at 8:08 AM on March 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

A delay of a day for anything other than an open fracture (compound) won't make a difference. If you can't rest until you know, an urgent care will be cheaper, assuming you are in the US.
posted by karlos at 8:26 AM on March 31, 2013 [4 favorites]

I'd probably go to an urgent clinic or wait until tomorrow. But then again, it's your hand! FYI: does it hurt on your forearm at all? Kind of in the side near your elbow? If so it could be a small fracture in your radial head. It makes gripping and turning your arm really difficult or painful. And it's sometimes hard to diagnose.
posted by barnone at 8:55 AM on March 31, 2013

I would wait until Monday. I once got bitten by a dog and broke my wrist. Told ER doctor I thought it was broken. Could move it, twist it, grip things ,etc. He said no. I asked to have it x-rayed and made a $20 bet with doc. Best $20 I ever earned. You can have broken a bone without the swelling.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:19 AM on March 31, 2013

Response by poster: Went; just a sprain. Will be typing one-handed for a week. Thanks all.
posted by tooloudinhere at 2:52 PM on March 31, 2013 [2 favorites]