“Broken finger treatment?”
Male | 38 years old
Complaint duration: 3wks
Medications: Antibiotics complete. None currently
Conditions: Broken distal phalanx/collateral tendon
5 Answers
Yes, splinting with no movement will increase stiffness. YOU MUST FULLY MOVE THE BIG KNUCKLE AT THE BASE OF YOUR FINGER - THE METACARPAL PHALANGEAL JOINT. THEN, almost as important, move the small joint in the middle of your finger, the proximal interphalangeal joint. You can move these joints EVEN IF IT HURTS BECAUSE YOU ARE STRETCHING OUT SCAR and the 3rd repetition will hurt less because the scar is stretched a little! Take Ibuprofen 200 mg up to 3 tabs if your kidneys are good and no stomach/heart burn, etc. Plus Tylenol to help with the pain. Less important is the joint near your broken bone. Move that one as well, but more gently because you may slow down the fracture healing, which is not too much of a problem because that bone is small.