"middle" phalange hair line fracture

[buju357]

Hi
3 days ago after being servery antagonized I punched a wooden cupboard. x rays showed a "middle" phalange hair line fracture on all 3 middle fingers. the 3 knuckles are slightly painful , there was some swelling in the fingers and metacarpal but has mostly gone now , the 3 affected fingers are able to move freely with no "deformities" , I have full feeling through the length of the fingers and no tingling.
The 3 finders have been in a splint for 3 days now. I work in the computer field and these splints are really starting to anoy me ...lol

question:
how long must the splint stay on ?

[Tom Plamondon PA-C]

Hello,
The spint is used to protect the bones and joints from further damage and to allow time for healing.

It will take 3-6 weeks for the bone to heal. Maintaining full and normal hand range of motion will be important so gentle range of motion exercises may begin at week 2-3. However check with your physician before starting any exercise with the hand.

Whether you can type without the splint will depend on the extent of the fracture and the amount of pain and swelling both during and after the activity. Your hand will tell you if the activity is too much too soon. Again, check with your physician before doing activity without the splint.

Thanks for writing in and hope your hand gets to feeling better.

ps How's the wooden cupboard?

[buju357]

hi

thanks for the reply , yes , you are right , my fingers did "tell" me when they where ready , I actually only wore the splint for 1 week , I couldn't stand it any longer than that , but after 2 weeks the fingers are healing well most of the swelling has gone down but the knuckles are still a bit sore , but getting better every day , I have been taking arnica tablets and I really do believe that this speeds up recovery. I have placed the hand on "light duty" and use my left hand for activities that require strength.
btw , the cupboard is fixed , you could hardly tell that it was damaged. (from now on Im keeping my temper under control !)