Hurt Finger

I am 27 years old and never had arthritis before.  I was riding my dirt bike and took a pretty nasty fall.  Anyway, now my middle finger is creaking in both joints.  I don't remember even jamming it on anything but it did have a ton of small cactus thorns stuck in it cause I had to use my hand to keep the rest of my body from ending up in it.  What could this be??  There is a slight pain when I move it but I am still typing fine and the range of motion is fine.  It is definitely not broken (maybe fractured).  What could this be??  Will it go away with time??  Is there anything besides pain killers and x-rays that the hospital can really do for me?  Should I brace it so that I am not moving it for awhile?  I don't have insurance but I am a trim carpenter so my hands are my life if I really need to go.  Thanks for all your help it is much appreciated.

[Enoch Choi, MD]

sounds like a bad enough fall that a fracture could have happened and you could have arthritis from that.  an XR helps evaluate for that.  it's important that you get evaluated since you depend on your hands as a carpenter.  if you don't have insurance, go see your local county health clinic, they often charge patients according to their ability to pay (sliding scale)

the risk of not getting treated is lifelong pain in that joint from complications from a fracture