Finger fracture

A rugby player fractured his ring finger whilst making a tackle. The fracture was re-aligned at Accident and Emergency and was splinted for a few weeks. When the splint was removed, he had stiffness and swelling in the finger and was unable to use his hand. He was a self-employed plumber and therefore needed to have a good strong grip.

On the assessment of his hand,  it was established that the fracture was well healed but the tendons on the back of the finger were stuck down to the new callus formation on the bone which was the main reason for being unable to bend his finger. There was also hard swelling present.

He was advised on ways to reduce the swelling and to start an exercise programme to get the specific tendons that were adherent to glide more freely. The exercises were designed to gain both flexion and extension of his finger joints.

A progressive flexion splint was made for him to gradually coach the finger into more flexion which he wore intermittently. As his range of movement improved, a strengthening programme was followed which included simulating activities related to his job as power and directional grips were the main functions demanded as a plumber.

After a few weeks of Hand Therapy treatment, he gained his normal range of movement and strength and quickly returned to his job.