• This topic has 60 replies, 31 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by Alex.
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  • I need some happy 'broken fingers don't take long to heal' stories!
  • Alex
    Full Member

    Friday night getting into the van, hand round the A pillar, driver slams the door 🙁 Not his fault, I should’t have put my fingers in harms way! Anyway rode two more rocky days in the Lakes (last one on a fat bike) and it didn’t hurt too much but was clearly wonky.

    So X-ray this morning and th bone is broken at top knuckle. Tendon fine. Currently in single finger splint. Nurse reckons 6-8 week to heal. Seeing Orthopaedic doc tomorrow to see if they want to do anything else (as the bone is kind of hanging off to the side so it might not graft

    Can’t see how to hold a bar with a finger splint but willing to experiment. Really don’t want to not ride for 6 weeks esp this time of year. I have a feeling the answer is ‘6 weeks, suck it up’ but….

    mikewsmith
    Free Member
    Alex
    Full Member

    Oh no. I did that once when I had a shoulder injury. Never Again. I’ll go running instead. Assuming my knee gets better. It’s great this getting older/falling to bits thing 🙁

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    lol they will keep you fit…

    Quite like the humour

    Alex
    Full Member

    that means I’d have to find my road bike. Lent it to someone a while back. Can’t quite remember who!

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    My wife broke the top of her left index finger in August 2015.

    Luckily we live near one of the top NHS specialist hand units in the country.

    Three (at least?) operations. Numerous complications. Stray bits of stitching and wire left in. Very close call with full blown sepsis.

    The finger is still broken. It only hurts if she catches it on something. But she doesn’t have full use of that arm/hand anyway due to her existing disability, so how often is that likely to happen? 🙄

    👿

    HTH

    amedias
    Free Member

    I broke my thumb once (caught in shifter as I went over the bars), turns out opposable thumbs are actually quite useful things to have 🙁

    healed up eventually, but took it’s time, and still doesn’t quite work like it used to…

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    and still doesn’t quite work like it used to…

    Both thumbs now…. and one finger tip that doesn’t bend all the way.

    Do the physio!

    Alex
    Full Member

    Not quite the positive reaction I was hoping for 😉 I guess i got lucky as apart from it pointing down (as bone is broken) and being a bit painful if I knocked the knuckle, it didn’t hurt much. I’m now thinking when they reset it and it heals it might be a bit less flexible.

    On the downside it’s my drinking hand, on the upside it\s not my braking finger!

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    not being the braking finger is a positive as the vibration is a killer!

    thenorthwind
    Full Member

    I broke my finger about 18 months ago. It’s mostly fine now, apart from sticking out at a funny angle, but does stiffen up in the cold or on long days on the bike and hurts a bit. Good job it’s only the little finger on my left hand.

    I didn’t go to the hospital til a doctor friend saw it and told me I should, during which time I did some jobs I knew I wouldn’t be able to do with a splint, e.g. drilling with a hammer drill to put some shelves up. I road to and from the hospital (mainly one-handed) and continued to commute. It encouraged me to fix my commuter’s front brake properly.

    I advise you rest it as much as possible and do everything the doctor says.

    Do as I say, not as I do.

    v666ern
    Free Member

    your SO selfish, what about your poor bikes in this…someone needs to ride them otherwise they’ll be obsolete by the time you get back

    dibs on the fattie 😆

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I broke mine.

    I also boke my arm by bending an old plate in there to fix a previous break, and ripped out a load of the screws. The finger was the least of my worries.

    I was more angry about the finger though, as until that point I had a prefect record of only breaking the same (left radius) three times!

    Alex
    Full Member

    Blimey it’s like victim support in here!

    @TNW – if I can drive, I can work. I can drive with the splint on so hopefully no worse than that. I only ever used the first two fingers for typing anyway.. also means I can be excused from any washing up 🙂

    @v – good of you to be thinking of the bikes. Picked the perfect time to fit some new forks to the Stache. I reckon if I’m riding anything it’s going to be the fattie – nice and slow..

    @tinas – nasty, very nasty!

    I’ll see what the leech-man says. I might just not ask the bike question. In case I don’t like the answer…

    Alex
    Full Member

    Oh and I think there might be a DH uplift pass going in the classifieds after tomorrow. June 4th at Antur? I think that’s probably somewhere on the line between optimistic and deluded.

    vickypea
    Free Member

    I (probably) broke my little finger when I fell off my road bike going round a bend on ice. The finger got bashed between the handlebar and road. It was quite painful, swelled up, and went purple and black but as it wasn’t sticking in the wrong direction I just let nature take its course. It’s slightly misshapen and won’t straighten properly, but otherwise fine.

    Alex
    Full Member

    sounds similar in terms of a crush injury. Problem is mine is now about the same shape as a t5 a pillar 😉 One of my kids has described the current splint as ‘like a dog cone of shame’. It’s starting to feel like that!

    v666ern
    Free Member

    like a dog cone of shame

    reported to mods to get this added next to your name 😆 😆 😆

    Alex
    Full Member

    A badge of dishonour 🙁

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    My cricket bust finger never healed and hangs off sideways, in a permanent tea drinking pose.

    I have bust several others (goalkeeper / wicketkeeper) and they all fixed OK, so you might be lucky 😉

    Jason
    Free Member

    I broke the tip of my left little finger in a crash a couple of years ago. Basically the bone fractured where the tendon joins at the top. After the crash i couldn’t straighten the finger and it turned a nice shade of purple. I ignored it for a few days, but it didn’t improve, I think a session in the swimming pool actually made it worse…. An x-ray showed the damage and I had to wear a splint to keep it straight for about 6 weeks. The worst bit was straightening it to put it in the splint.

    I did ride my bike a bit with the splint on, but found it a bit painful as my little finger couldn’t grip the bar and was unsupported so bounced about a bit. A couple of years later and it is fine, with full movement.

    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    I’d imagine a single finger splint will heal in ~6 weeks.

    I can testify to complete hand casts being more messy! Cast was too tight, lost all movement in all fingers, not just the two broken metacarpals. Ended up staying at Odstock Road specialist unit every Mon-Fri for 5 weeks, they did an amazing job! Two and a half months off in total, but I did have other issues as well after my RTA.

    Alex
    Full Member

    Bloody hell, I’m opening this thread with some trepidation now! Some horror stories in here.

    I’ve taken the 6 weeks thing and tried to ignore any other possibilities. I quite like the splint I have now, it reminds me of Jason from Friday 13th Franchise…

    geuben
    Free Member

    Currently in week 6 of having a fractured/cracked finger, where the tendon attaches. Not riding is killing me! Hoping the OT says I can move to a night time only splint when I go see them tomorrow.

    preciousmetals
    Free Member

    I have two broken fingers in my right (dominant) hand and one of them has two fixed screws.

    It took lots of self physio time to get them to a point where I could wrap round grips but they are awkward to use on the best sections of trails (read: DHs).
    Screws if you have any are uncomfortable in hot or cold weather I find.

    It’s a sodding pita as before I could lift heavy timber and bike downhill without discomfort and lack of strength.
    It really is frustrating and I often lift things which I shouldn’t.

    All the best with your finger 🙂
    Oh and chicks dig scars and dare I say bionic fingers 😛 😯

    Alex
    Full Member

    Dont start talking about metal work! Maybe I’ll hack the whole thing off and run with 3!

    thepurist
    Full Member

    Bust some fancy bone attached to my little finger back in December 2011, slipped on a wet root, landed in a puddle and when I got up my hand felt crunchy. The break healed fine but they couldn’t do anything about the soft tissue damage to the neighbouring finger (2nd finger right hand). They just used a finger splint to keep the little finger immobile alongside that one, but by the time I went back in the 2nd finger was pretty much locked solid. Still can’t bend that properly, can’t make a fist and have no grip strength in that hand. And wet roots really mess with my head.

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    Oh, I forgot to add, MrsMC has been told that the only thing they can do if she gets fed up of the pain when she knocks it to cut it off.

    HTH

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    That was an option with my pinky, but I’ve adapted sufficiently to manage to avoid it.

    It just looks ‘gommy’ (my kids’ words, not mine)

    andyrm
    Free Member

    Broke 3rd & 4th finger on right hand in a crash in Finale at the EWS final on day 1. Taped them, slit glove and taped fingers over the new DuoFinger™ and then taped one of those Vileda microsponge things on over my grip. Raced day 2, came home a week later, went to hospital and they were starting to heal.

    You’ll be fine. Sponge thing on the grip, fingers taped together, couple of nurofen before the next ride – sorted.

    kerley
    Free Member

    Broke my middle finger by ramming it into floor when knocked off my bike 10 years ago.

    3 operations and 10 years later and it still doesn’t bend more than 20 degrees at the knuckle and hurts after each ride (and you don’t want to see the finger positions I have to use to get certain chords on guitar)

    Think mine was an unlucky break though…

    crispybacon
    Free Member

    Broke the tip of my thumb playing football of all things, was put in splint for 6 weeks.

    A bit of physio & I was good to go after 8 weeks.

    The worse part was I broke it 8 days after getting my S-works 🙁 so each night when I came home it was sat there in the garage laughing at me. Also when the splint came off the muscle wastage meant I couldn’t operate the shifter 🙁 thought I might have to go gripshift instead.

    Take it easy & come back to biking when it is mended properly, if not you’ll be having trouble with it for years.

    tallmart10
    Full Member

    Hit a bridge (don’t ask) went over handlebars, broke ring finger top joint and my pride.
    Healed reasonably quickly, but finger doesn’t bend properly anymore.

    As Mikewsmith says, DO THE PHYSIO!

    timber
    Full Member

    Friend had taken his boy in after falling and hurting his arm. Nurse noticed my friend had a rather wonky finger (caught in horse bit a month earlier) after sorting his boy out. Berated him for not sorting it sooner, told his boy daddy was brave too, as she re-broke his finger and he had to stifle a whimper. About a month later he was teaching tree climbing again.

    nant
    Free Member

    Not broken. But dislocated all my fingers in a snowboarding incident. Had to drive to the hospital which was interesting. Snapped back in place and bandaged up and a day off work for a long weekend and back to work Monday. 🙂

    jamesoz
    Full Member

    In my experience with broken digits if a clean break, two weeks of cast/splint then a couple more weeks strapped to next digit, they like to get stuff moving as quickly as possible these days.
    It does vary from depending on doctor, one doctor was worried about the angle of a finger whereas another not bothered due to the battered and scarred look of the rest of my fingers/hand.

    Alex
    Full Member

    well it’s been an interesting insight into your medical histories 😉

    I’m seeing finger-quack at 1135. It did amuse me a bit when the nurse said ‘the x-rays go straight across’ but we need to fax your notes. I didn’t even know there were two working fax machines left in the UK!

    I guess it’ll depend on the broken bit of bone that’s been moved off to the side by the impact of the door. Hopefully it’s close enough to knit back without major complications.

    If I miss a few weeks riding to get it as right as possible, that’d be good outcome. I just can’t see my patience lasting that long! Especially as it’s sunny out there 🙁

    Alex
    Full Member

    Oh and if I can I’ll take some pics of the x-ray. It’s macabre but fascinating looking at broken bits of your own body!

    palmer77
    Free Member

    I’ve hesitated to post as by break wasn’t the finger, but the bit that joins the finger to the wrist. It’s been just over six weeks now since I crashed in the Arenberg forest and broke this, and I’ve been back on the bike for a couple of weeks. Initially it was too much to do anything, but I was ok on the turbo after 2 weeks.

    Lots of almonds…

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