Felt Something Pop in my Hand
Hand, finger, and wrist injuries that happen all of a sudden happen a lot. Even though most of the things we don’t cause problems, wear and tear, injuries, or overuse can cause symptoms. Usually, these things aren’t too bad and get better on their own. Surgery may be needed for more serious ones.
The most common ways to hurt your finger, hand, or wrist are:
- Sports.
- Things to do for fun
- At work.
- home improvement projects (especially when using machinery).
- Fights.
- Falls.
Finger, hand, and wrist injuries are more likely to happen in contact sports like wrestling, football, and soccer. The same is true for sports like biking, in-line skating, skiing, snowboarding, and skateboarding, where you move faster. Other sports, like gymnastics, that put weight on the hands and arms raise the risk of getting hurt. Sports that use hand equipment, like ski poles, hockey or lacrosse sticks, or racquets, also have a higher risk of injury.
Most injuries to a child’s finger, hand, or wrist happen during sports, play, or falls. When a child gets hurt at the end of a long bone near a joint, it could damage the growth plate (physis), so they should always see a doctor.
When we get older, we lose muscle mass and bone strength. This is called osteopenia, and it makes older people more likely to get hurt or break a bone. Balance problems and trouble seeing also make people more likely to hurt themselves by accident.
Acute (sudden) injuries
Acute injuries happen when a hand, finger, or wrist is bent, twisted, or jerked in a way that isn’t normal. This can happen from a direct blow, a fall, or any action that causes a hand, finger, or wrist to move in a strange way. Acute injuries include:
BRUISES
Bruises usually happen when there is some kind of forceful contact between the skin and bones. Most of the time, these things hurt and change the colour of the skin where they happen. Most of the time, bruises get better on their own.
SPRAINS
When ligaments, which are soft tissues, are hurt, this is called a sprain. Bones are held together by their ligaments. People often think that sprains are broken bones because the same injury can cause both a sprain and a fracture in the same place. First-degree, second-degree, and third-degree sprains are based on how bad the symptoms are.
The ligament is stretched but not torn in a first-degree sprain. Most of the time, the pain and swelling are mild to moderate. The joint is tight and doesn’t move around. The joint moves as it should, but it usually hurts.
With a second-degree sprain, the ligament is torn in two places. When the injury happens, you may hear or feel a pop or snap. Pain and swelling that are moderate to severe make it hard to move. The joint might be a little or a lot loose and look bruised.
When you get a third-degree sprain, you hear a pop or snap, and the ligament is completely torn. The symptoms of a full tear are sometimes less obvious than those of a partial tear. They include mild to severe pain, swelling, and bruises. When you try to move a joint, it feels loose or wobbly and makes a grating sound. At the site of a full tear, you may feel tingling or numbness and see a bulge.
Depending on how badly the ligaments are hurt, the symptoms will be different. Most sprains will cause pain and swelling to some degree. Moderate to severe injuries can also cause instability and trouble moving, which can make even the simplest daily tasks difficult.
How to treat it will depend on how bad it is. Most mild to moderate problems get better with time and a method called RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE) is an easy way to remember this treatment. As soon as possible after a sprain, this treatment should be used to reduce pain and swelling, help the body heal, and keep it flexible.
- Rest. Rest and cover the hurt or sore spot. Stop, change, or take a break from any activity that hurts or makes you sore.
- Ice. Pain and swelling are eased by the cold. Put ice or a cold pack on the area right away to stop or reduce swelling. Use it three or more times a day for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. If the swelling is gone after 48 to 72 hours, you can put heat on the area. Never put ice or heat on your skin directly. Instead, put a towel between the cold or hot pack and your skin.
- Compression. Putting an elastic bandage (like an Ace bandage) on an injured or sore area helps reduce swelling. Don’t wrap it too tightly, because that can make the area below it swell. Check the wrap and look for signs that the bandage is too tight in the area below it, such as numbness, tingling, increased pain, coolness, or swelling. Loosen the bandage if it gets too tight. If you think you might need compression for more than 48 to 72 hours, talk to your doctor to make sure there isn’t something more serious going on.
- Elevation. Whether you are sitting or lying down, use pillows to raise the injured area while you apply ice. Keeping the area above or at the same level as your heart will help reduce swelling.
Nonsteroidal over-the-counter pain relievers like Advil or Motrin (ibuprofen) and Aleve or Naprosyn (naproxen) help relieve pain and swelling.
Small sprains often heal well at home, but if the injury is more serious, your doctor may put your hand in a cast or splint, which limits how it moves. For moderate to severe sprains, you might also need physical therapy, painkillers, or even surgery to fix and reconnect the damaged tissues.
The length of time it takes to heal from a sprain depends on the person’s age, health, where the injury happened, and how bad it is.
SKIER’S THUMB
This hurts the ligament in the thumb (the ulnar collateral ligament, abbreviated as the UCL). Most of the time, this happens when skiers fall while holding their poles. Stretching, partial tears and full tears are all types of injuries. Treatment will be based on how bad the injury is. Gamekeeper’s thumb is another name for a skier’s thumb.
MALLET FINGER TENDONS THAT GET HURT
Mallet finger, which is also called baseball finger or drop finger, hurts the tendons in the fingers. Tendons are the soft tissues that connect bones to muscles. This usually happens to baseball players when they try to catch a ball and the tip of their finger is hit with a certain amount of force. Most of the time, this causes a tendon to tear, which causes pain and swelling.
In four to six weeks, the splints will make the finger straight again. Surgery might be needed in the worst cases.
PULLED MUSCLE STRAINS
Most strains happen when muscles are stretched too far. They can be big or small, like a torn muscle or tendon. Depending on how bad a strain is, it can have any of the following symptoms:
- Pain.
- Tenderness (which worsens with movement) (which worsens with movement).
- Swelling.
- Bruising.
- Muscles can’t move as much.
- A bump where a complete tear is
Strains that aren’t too bad usually heal well at home, but strains that are too bad need to be treated by a doctor. For serious injuries, muscles may need surgery to be fixed. Also, like sprains, serious strains could eventually cause long-term pain, limited movement, deformity, and permanent damage.
Broken bones (fractures)
Fractures are breaks in the bones, which can be as small as a hairline crack or as big as the bone breaking into two or more pieces. Fractures can happen along with other injuries like sprains, strains, or dislocations.
When bones break, these things happen:
- Pain.
- When the broken bone is moved, the pain gets worse.
- Swelling.
- Bruising.
- It sounds like popping or snapping when the damage happens.
- There isn’t much going on.
- moving bones where there are no joints (for example, a bend in the arm between the elbow and wrist).
- The bone was sticking out of the skin.
- The wound showed a bone.
In the worst cases, called compound fractures, the broken bone may push through the skin around it.
Fractures need to be checked out by a doctor and treated. Most of the time, broken bones are put in devices that limit movement to help them heal and keep them from getting hurt again. Some fractures may require surgery. This is especially true when something complicated happens, like a compound break, which could make someone more likely to get sick.
Recovery time will depend on a lot of different things. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on how old you are, your health, the type of fracture, and where and how bad the break is. Treatment may be harder because of other injuries.
DISLOCATIONS
When a bone is pulled or pushed out of place and no longer fits with the other bones that make up a joint, this is called a dislocation. They happen when a joint is hit directly, falls, or twists quickly. If a person’s joints aren’t stable, even everyday activities can cause them to move out of place.
Most treatments focus on putting the bone back where it belongs. Most of the time, putting a dislocated finger in a splint or cast will help it move back into place in a few weeks. In the worst cases, surgery may be needed to move things around.
Even if the bone pops back into place, a dislocation can still be a problem. Soft tissues can stretch or tear in or around a joint. These include ligaments, tendons, muscles, cartilage, and the joint capsule. Damage can happen to nerves and blood vessels. Bone can break off at the base of the joint and get stuck inside the joint. Fractures that go all the way into the joint can be caused by dislocations.
A crushing injury can cause compartment syndrome.
Compartment syndrome happens when muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and bones swell up in a small space (a compartment) where they don’t have room to grow. When arteries, veins, and nerves are pressed on, it causes a lot of pain, slows blood flow to muscles and nerves, and can cause permanent damage to the tissue.
Most of the time, compartment syndrome is caused by decreased blood flow, an injury, bleeding, or a buildup of fluid. Compartment syndrome needs emergency medical care right away to keep tissues from dying and causing permanent damage.
Chronic compartment syndrome can happen to people who do a lot more physical activity than usual, like long-distance runners or new military recruits.
Steps to Follow
Anyone who hurts their finger, hand, or wrist should go to the hospital right away. As there could be long-term damage, time is of the essence. When medical help is delayed, the damage from an injury gets much worse. Cuts and hand injuries of any size need advanced care to avoid infection or loss of function.
When the following things happen to the hand, you usually need to see a doctor right away:
- Severe bleeding.
- Numbness.
- Loss of the ability to move or work
- a lot of pain.
- clearly a defect.
- signs of sickness (tenderness, local warmth, redness, swelling, pus, or fever).
- Structures below the surface are shown (tendons, bones, joints, arteries, veins, or nerves).
It’s important to see a doctor right away if you have any severe bleeding, numbness, visible deformities, infection symptoms, deep cuts, or burns.
You can go to the only urgent care centre in Tampa Bay that specialises in orthopaedics if you hurt a bone, joint, or muscle out of the blue. Our South Tampa and Brandon stores are open during regular business hours and for longer hours Monday through Saturday. Broken bones, strains and sprains, sports injuries, foot or ankle injuries, shoulder injuries, knee injuries, hand or wrist injuries, and back pain can all be treated right away.
Orthopaedic urgent care at the Florida Orthopaedic Institute is faster and less expensive than going to the hospital emergency room. You can just walk in, or you can call ahead to sign up first. Come to Florida Orthopaedic Institute’s Urgent Care if you want to get care faster and for less money than you would in an emergency room. You don’t need an appointment, and people of all ages are welcome.
READ MORE ARTICLES:
