Hand pain- ideas?

tN4rg · Post by **tN4rg** » January 17th, 2005, 7:23 pm

Christmas Eve I went sledding down a hill in my front yard, at the end of said hill is a ditch about three feet wide, and about one and a half feet deep, after successfully jumping the ditch and landing on the road, my back was somewhat sore, and my hand felt a tinge of pain. Now my backpain is gone, and my hand is still screwed up.

When any amount of pressure is applied to it, (ie while doing pushups) It tends to erupt in pain. It's only around the base of my thumb, and only hurts when pressure is applied. I can usually muster a measley 40 pushups (laugh if you want) but as of a last attempt I could only do 20 or so. I'm tempted to go to the doctor, but my mother suggests that it's a muscle pull and that it'll go away.

My sister can do more pushups than me, this I will not stand for.

-Advice?

knightcat · Post by **knightcat** » January 17th, 2005, 7:26 pm

Get to the doc and have it checked out......sounds to me like it could be a stress fracture, but i am not a doctor, get it checked out

tN4rg · Post by **tN4rg** » January 17th, 2005, 7:44 pm

Thank you Ranger knightcat and Ranger Fish, to the doct0r.

FireFinder · Post by **FireFinder** » January 17th, 2005, 7:56 pm

I'm not a doc/medic. This information is worth what you paid for it.

I've had numerous wrist injuries from mountain biking, and playing sports. The worst one manifested itself in the inability to bear weight, and got the run around from a couple of docs. Two months of physical therapy later for my "soft tissue injury" I saw a sports medicine doc, and got a bone scan. Diagnosis? Fracture of a carpal bone.

You can possibly have a scaphoid (navicular) fracture (which is the snuff box as Ranger Fish pointed out), or a compression fracture of one of the carpal bones. Xrays may not show anything for up to two weeks.

Scaphoid fractures are nasty, depending on where the break is. The bone has a pretty poor blood supply, and can even require surgery. Treatment for a scaphoid fracture is usually a short-arm thumb spica if its even suspected that you have one until radiological findings indicate otherwise.

Get thee to a doctor. Preferrably a sports medicine type.

Rock Island Ranger · January 17th, 2005, 8:08 pm

You know, Im all for being helpful but what the hell, none of us can determine what injury the boy had on a web page. But, damned if they dont ask. And you have to ask yourself....why the hell do they ask. I mean, what the fucking fuck? We shoot, kill and maime, Doctors do that dianosis shit

And son, the very minute my Sister could out pushup me, Id be at the Doctors, house, Condo, office, Motel room with his affair...but I would see a Doctor.

tN4rg · Post by **tN4rg** » January 17th, 2005, 8:59 pm

I thank all who have replied, and have thus determined, that I should go see a doctor.

Ranger Abell9, I asked myself that question as well. "Why should I ask Rangers, as well as other enlisted or retired fighting men about a pain I have in the base of my thumb?"

So far I have no real idea, but I figured that you men would have better advice for me than I would have for myself, which turns out to be the case.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » January 17th, 2005, 9:01 pm

If you cut that fucker off the pain from your hand will go away.

tN4rg · Post by **tN4rg** » January 17th, 2005, 9:20 pm

Spartan wrote:If you cut that fucker off the pain from your hand will go away.

Ranger Abell9, forgive me. I spoke too soon. :D

Steadfast · Post by **Steadfast** » January 17th, 2005, 9:26 pm

Spartan wrote:If you cut that fucker off the pain from your hand will go away.

Not necessarily Spartan. Ghost pain can linger even when the original limb/finger/head is no longer there.

tN4rg · Post by **tN4rg** » January 24th, 2005, 9:08 pm

Sitrep: For those who may have been wondering..

As is turns out, nothing is broken in my hand, and as others have guessed, the injury was in the anatomical snuff-box. Apparently I have a torn muscle / ligament, thinking ligament.

Anyway, I should be back to doing pushups and all that fun stuff by next week.

ChipOnShoulder · Post by **ChipOnShoulder** » January 27th, 2005, 9:27 pm

ghost pain is very real!!!

I don't remember the exact terminology but the patient's brain tells the past effected limb that it is fractured resulting in all of the symptoms of a recent fracture LIKE WITHIN THE FIRST MINUTES!! I thought it was bullshit when I first started out as a medic but there was a Ranger in my company that had the "ghost pains". Sure as shit one night in the old barracks he came running down the hall towards my room, screaming in pain from a broken arm with all of the swelling and bruising but no fracture!!! It seems to happen every few months.

It is rare but it does exist!!!

rgrdo · Post by **rgrdo** » February 3rd, 2005, 2:12 am

Hang on brother....

Anatomical snuff box = scaphoid fx until proven otherwise...ligaments/tendons possibly....

Alot of times you will have trauma in that area and the x-ray will be normal. You have the patient come back in 7-10 days and re-x-ray. If it is fx'ed, a thin line of Calcium will be laid down along the fx site, showing the fx

The problem is the Scaphoid has a very bad blood supply to it (avascular), which means depending on the location of the fx- Proximal, middle-distal, it can create major problems...like the bone dying and causing chronic pain/arthiritis.

Look it up on line and read.....scaphoid fractures...

Recap -
Scaphoid until proven otherwise...
Re-x-ray in 7-10 days.
Keep the wrist/hand in a wrist splint until 2nd set of x-rays to confirm initial dx.

If it is fractured, thumb spica cast x 6-10 weeks, re-assess...

Any problems, drop a line stat...leaving soon

ArmyRanger.com

Hand pain- ideas?

Hand pain- ideas?

go to the DOC