Adam Rufa - 9/28/2006

Question
Hi Adam,

While playing in a basketball game, I blocked a power layup with only my index finger.  It immediately felt like i jammed it pretty bad; however, after a few minutes it had swollen up quickly and became numb almost immediately.  I put some ice on it and then when i awoke this morning, i noticed a "sac-like" bump on the top of my 1st knuckle.  I am assuming this is similar to a knee injury where you get fluid surrounding the joint.  But I'm also having a slight pain in the wrist area.  It's very slight but somewhat painful and makes me wince.  My question is have I jammed it or could i have broken my knuckle or my finger.  I've never broke anything, so i don't know how that feels.  I can tell you that when I push on the sac-like bump my finger goes numb.  Any help you could give would be great.

Thanks,
Ryan from Indiana

Answer
Ryan,

Unfortunately there is no good way to rule out a fracture without an x-ray. Pain from a sprain or break can feel similar and are difficult to differentiate without imaging. It sounds like you have a pretty good injury and you should probably go into the MD and get it checked out.

Usually a fractured finger will be treated with several weeks of spliniting.

Adam