“Did I break my middle finger?”
I am a 13-year-old female and I think I broke my middle finger. Every day when I play basketball in the gym, the basketball comes back at me hitting the tip of my middle finger bending it to its limit. It is now pretty swollen, bruised, and if I even move it just barely, it hurts, it feels like it's burning and stinging. I and my friend both think it is a fracture or break. What do you think it is? And what do you suggest I do about it?
Female | 13 years old
Complaint duration: 1 month
Medications: Iron pill
Conditions: None
5 Answers
You are right at the age of your growth plates closing, so getting X-rays to rule out fracture and see if there is a torn ligament (MRI) may be necessary. Splinting/cast may be needed.
Please make sure your parents are aware of your injury. Do you need an evaluation from an orthopedist or hand specialist.
Get an x-ray
Visit urgent care ASAP.
Is it the very tip or distal phalanx that is painful? Are you able to fully extend the long finger? Your diagnosis is a Mallet finger or bony Mallet injury. A simple X-ray at an orthopedic office will easily show which it is. A Stax splint should be applied to the finger so it won’t heal in a droop position.
Dr. Mudano
Dr. Mudano
