UCL Injury, Could use some advice please

First I will introduce myself as I am new to the forums on MedHelp.org. My name is Chris and am currently serving in the United States Army as a Staff Sergeant, stationed overseas in Germany. I have a nagging injury to my UCL that has (in my opinion) been misdiagnosed and neglected by my doctors here.

I injured my thumb playing football, and I am almost certain it is an injury to my UCL. The injury happened approximately 10-11 weeks ago. In the process of catching a pass thrown with some serious velocity on it, the tip of the ball hit the inside of my thumb and pushed it back towards the outside of the my wrist (stretching or possibly tearing/rupturing my UCL). I honestly don't know how far it went back, but there was severe pain and almost instant swelling... with a huge loss of stability for pinching/grasping directly after it was injured.

I have seen three general practice doctors and have just FINALLY been given a consult to an Occupational Therapist in Landstuhl. I would like to note though, that none of the three doctors I have seen really knew anything about thumb injuries and I honestly haven't really been diagnosed to this point... other than the third doc saying I may have Gamekeepers thumb. The doctors in the acute care clinic did have an X-Ray taken right after the injury happened and there were no fractures or avulsion fractures visible.

I am upset with the way my injury has been handled and automatically diagnosed as a non rupture, with no valgus stress test by the physician, no MRI or ultrasound. I have chronic pain in the MCP joint now and it does not appear to be getting any better. The joint and area around the UCL gets pretty sore when I do normal tasks or manual labor. My grip strength between my thumb and index finger is significantly weakened and when my hand gets really cold while running or other physical activities outside, I feel a vibrating or quivering type feeling in the area of my UCL. There is also a large nickle sized lump over the UCL location that feels hard. Could this be a stener lesion? Or does a stener lesion feel like a small pin head like lump? The joint is approximately 30-50% wider when looking top down on the hand, from the ulnar to radial side.

It was treated with a type of makeshift splint (the kind they dip in water and let dry). I called it a "half cast". It went halfway up my forearm and wrapped around my thumb, immobilizing it. I wore this for almost two weeks at the behest of the doctor. Other than that, I have only done exercises on my own to maintain my good range of motion. I would say that I have full motion with the thumb. I do however feel discomfort when I bend the last joint on my thumb (forming an upside down "L"). It's hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain is, but I think it is putting pressure on the MCP join and causing the discomfort.

I fear that by having my injury neglected, that I may suffer long term instability with my thumb, which will affect my grip and make every day tasks a pain because it is my right thumb and I am right handed. I enjoy practicing jiu jitsu which is impossible to do with the weakened grip and pain that I suffer when trying to grab awkwardly shaped medium to heavy weight objects.

I have done lots of research about this injury in the past weeks, and I understand a lot about it, but obviously can't even begin to guess a diagnosis on my own. I can't really find anything to explain the hard lump in the UCL area, other than it might be a calcium buildup or something. Do I have multiple injuries? Could the vibrating feeling be a pinched nerve?

I'm also curious if the Occupational Therapists will have any idea on what to do, or if he can assist in a diagnosis. Because again, I haven't really been diagnosed by someone who is fully qualified. I just want to have more knowledge about what the injury could possibly be for when I talk with the OT and possibly later on the Ortho surgeon (I hope not). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!