Tag Archives: finger pain

“Jersey Finger”—You Got a Problem with That?

What is “jersey finger”? Well, it has nothing to do with the state of New Jersey. Jersey finger refers to an injury that occurs most frequently in a football or rugby game. One athlete grasps another’s shirt, or jersey, to make a tackle, and the finger gets caught in the shirt. The flexor tendon, which […]

Physical Therapy for Skier’s Thumb

Thumb injuries are quite common, especially among skiers. During a fall, a skier’s thumb can easily catch against the ski pole, resulting in a tear of the ligament that stabilizes the thumb. This ligament, known as the ulnar collateral ligament normally keeps the thumb from pointing too far away from the hand. When it is […]

Put Your Finger on Flexor Tendon Recovery

Flexor tendon surgery involves the tendons in charge of bending the fingers or thumbs into the palm of your hand. These tendons let you grip a pencil and hold a fork and knife. That is why your hand must be allowed to heal properly after flexor tendon surgery. The awkward-looking splint you have to wear […]

Baseball Finger: The Injury You Don’t Catch

You hear the crack of the bat and see the ball coming your way, but when you reach for the catch, the ball jams your outstretched middle finger. You’ve just caught baseball finger, also known as mallet finger. Mallet finger can result from any situation in which the tip of the finger is jammed by […]

Unjamming a Jammed Finger

Many people have dislocated a finger at some point in their lives. While these minor injuries often occur while playing sports such as basketball, they can also be the result of falling onto an outstretched hand or catching your finger between two objects. Jammed fingers can be extremely painful and require immediate treatment to aid […]

A Tale of Two Tendons: de Quervain Syndrome

de Quervain syndrome, also called de Quervain tenosynovitis (DQT), is a problem in people who make a repetitive motion with their hand, wrist and thumb. The motion can be involved with pursuits ranging from trimming bushes to factory work to typing to tennis. Fritz de Quervain, a Swiss surgeon, is credited with identifying the syndrome […]

Jersey Finger: It’s Not What You Think

Jersey finger is a hand injury common among athletes who participate in tackle sports such as football and rugby. It occurs when a player grabs an opponent, entangling his or her finger in the jersey. As a result, the finger tip, or distal interphalangeal joint, is hyperextended, and the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) tendon attaching […]

“Unbending” Dupuytren’s Contracture

Most often occurring in men of Northern European descent older than 40 years of age, Dupuytren’s contracture results in the inability to bend the fingers, usually the ring and little fingers. Genetic factors are thought to play a role in Dupuytren’s disease; however, currently no link has been established. Risk factors may include manual labor […]

Shake Hands with Dupuytren’s Contracture

What did Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Samuel Beckett have in common? The answer is Dupuytren’s contracture, a progressive, slow-moving condition that affects the connective fibrous tissue in the hand. Thatcher was the odd person in this group, since the condition normally strikes men of Northern European descent over the age of 50 and is […]