Broken Pinky Finger - Post Surgery Stiffness

[imq]

I had surgery done on my broken pinky finger on January 1, 2008, which I broke while playing football, and I was in the cast for 6 weeks after that. After the cast came out, the doctor told me to go to therapy for 6 weeks/ 2 times a week to get rid of the stiffness in the finger. Now it is May 5th, 2008 and I have 2 more weeks of therapy left but still the finger is a little stiff. I can bend it but not fully and in terms of going back up it doesn't move at all.

The therapist has told me that doctor's could do another surgery to loosen up the tendons but I will wait to ask a doctor until my therapy is done.

The questions that I had is:

1) What are the chances that I can still gain full momentum in my pinky finger?
2) If I am not able to get the stiffness out, can anyone tell about the surgery the therapist was talking about?

Greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks

[sbayys]

My 16year old daughter broke her right pinky finger at the pip joint; small bone chipped off and has caused joint to not meet up correctly.  When this first happened back in November we were told by the Orthop to buddy splint it to the ring finger for two weeks.  We did and it seemed to get better;due to illness and other conflicts we weren't able to get back to the doctor till January.  They xrayed again and said it hadn't healed well and suggested surgery to insert pin to hole chip and joint in place.  She had surgery on 1/23; was in a soft hand cast for 10 days then a splint for another week before starting OT.  Just went in for another xray as a follow up with doctor last night and was told that the chip is now out again that the pins didn't hold and we are back to square one but with 2 pins now in her bone.  We are very upset and are one the fence about doing the surgery again; she is a varsity softball and travel team player so she wants to just deal with the pain so she can play.  Between the cost of the first surgery that didn't work and the concern that a second surgery won't either I have a decision to make on whether to let her make the call.  I asked him if we could wait to see how it proceeds and maybe look at if necessary having surgery next fall and he said it would be too late.  We of course are a little concerned about his abilities and are considering getting a second opioin.  Some people are saying it is just her pinky so if she is ok with the pain and she can move it then try to see what happens.  

I'm just worried it will get worse.

[swissbeets]

i had a similar accident, going over the handlebars and leaving my right pinky behind the break. 5 screws and a plate right in front of my PIP running the length of my pinky.

still pretty swollen and only goes straight when using force but i am optimistic, its been about 5 months but the therapists and dr both say as long as i sleep in the finger splint holding it straight it will continue to straighen out. i can make a fist to about 80% the dr says that will come slowly and i have continuously been seeing improvement. so we'll see.

how is yours now?

[alaskaman127]

I broke my right pinky 7-30-12  I had no insurance so I made a splint and ice it down for two or three days. and keep working at my on pace, Pain was not to bad. Arter a month I started having some pain, I told my self it was just healing and with more time it would get better. It is 11- 28 -12 and it tender to the touch and humpted up in the joint closest to the hand. Is there a chance of seeing a doctor now to have some thing done are is it to late. thanks

[5thmetacarpal]

Definitely, people have to be patient and even after months still do some exercises.

Broken pinky (or near area) seems like no big deal, its just a pinky, but its quite the contrary,we need it more than we think and getting it back to normal (or near to normal) takes not weeks, but months.
Even the metacarpal bone is properly healed after half a year, not when the cast is removed. And remodeling itself takes years!

This weekend, after I posted my last post, I've done some progress again and it seems my tendon is not adhesed anymore. But my pinky still doesnt have full ROM. Whats good, it doesnt limit me in my everyday life. I spent around 3 hrs of exercising, making fist, moving pinky, straightening it etc every day last week and it made a difference!

Dont be fool and dont think your fingers will be ok in weeks, or even in days, it takes months! Not months of doing nothing but doing right exercises. Be patient and do not give up too soon! It is your hand and you need it, dont cheat.

First weeks and month or two after the cast is removed is crucial in therapy (its true good PT can do miracles even after half a year of immobilization but it hurts much more and is difficult much more), do as much as you can. When you watch tv, squeeze a foam ball, make a fist, do exercises from "How To Rehab Your Hand After An Injury, Boxer's Fracture, or Surgery" video (put the text in google), when working with computer, use your healthy hand for using mouse and do these exercises all the time.

These can be helpful too (you need just pics, understaning the text is not necessary - just do not do anything that hurts much, exercises should hurt, especially in the first few days or week after long period of immobilization, but do not push it too far, your tendons and tissues are not prepared yet):
http://www.ortopedie-traumatologie.cz/Rehabilitace-prstu-ruky

Good luck everybody!

[twodogsinRI]

I can't remember all the details but wanted to say something in regards to this set of comments. I too broke my pinkie finger. I had it splinted and no surgery. I went to a wonderful OT who specialized in Hands which was great. When I first started OT, I could not bend the finger very much and there was a lot of pain and achiness in that joint. I wondered how it would ever heal. I finished therapy and still had pain but there was nothing left to do. My finger would ache terribly when cold or when in one position too long. It would sometimes wake me at night. I did a lot of excercises and held it bent for increasing lengths of time. After a while I forgot about it and time went on...and I can happily report that even tho its not perfect, I barely notice it after a year from the date of injury!!! I really expected to never be right with this hand but I am! I recommend heat therapy and working the joint when warm as that was when it was easiest to move it.

[5thmetacarpal]

Aaaaaah, been reading most of the posts whole afternoon and you made me scary, very scary indeed, people :-/

Hello everybody.

Sorry for my english, its not my first language, I will try my best to describe my problems.

I broke my fifth metacarpal 9 weeks ago, the doc put my hand in the cast for 6 weeks (the bone callus was not like it should be, healing process was slower, normally they put it in the cast for 5 weeks) and had no surgery.

Week and something after it was removed I went to PT to help me to give my pinky finger full movement again. The pinky was stiff in the metacarpal joint, very stiff. Before I visited PT for the first time I consulted this with a doc and he told me its probably fused extensor to the surrounding tissues and it is common, usually exercises are enough to get it back to normal, but I have to "work hard".

After ten visits at PT and exercises at home I can bend my pinky to cca 60 degrees down (on another hand more than 100 degress, maybe 120), when doing exercises for few minutes and "warming the hand up", its around 80 degrees. When I to put another hand on the palm under the metacarpal joint, the result is even better.

During those exercises (mostly making fist, rolling the fist on the desk) I felt pain in the area where the tendon is located, from the metacarpal joint to the wrist. I guess it was a sign of freeing the tendon from surrounding tissues because after this pain there was always some progress in bending the finger.

But in the last week I've made no progress at all. I feel little pain arround the metacaral knuckle and between the metacapral knuckle and PIP joint when pushing my pinky to the palm. But the movement is not free like on another hand, I feel theres something that restrain the movement - fused/attached extensor? It looks like that but theres something weird - when doing exercises for 5-10 mins in warm water I can bend my finger passively 80 degrees and when another hand put in the palm under the metacarpal knuckle, I can bend it more than 90 degrees and can touch my palm. Cant stretch my finger in this position though (I can on another hand) and it hurts between the metacarpal joint and PIP joint little (I am sure its the tendon).

When making a fist durting the day or exercising all the time (when watching movie, walking etc) the limitation of the finger is very small (but still limited, I feel it, plus it hurts a bit) but in the morning it seems like there will be no way than a surgery, I can bend the finger only around 40 degrees and it takes few minutes to get it back to "my normal".

I am very happy I can make a fist and use the hand again, but still, I would like to use the hand (its my dominant) like I did before. But after reading your experience...I am not sure I want to take the risk. And have no idea if it the tendon is really fused when I got so great results after proper exercises in warm water. Maybe if it wasnt fused I would be able to do full range of movement like I do with another hand?

Dont know what to do. Ask really good doctor to help me, or accept it and live with it? I feel limited, its better than it used to be weeks ago but still its not perfect. Is the risk of having problems like some of you do after tenolysis between PIP joint and metacarpal joint as big as tenolysis between PIP and DIP?

I was searching on the net a lot and did not find the answers, only this discussion gives a lot of info to a reader, thats why I am asking here.

Thank you for reading my long post and for any answer.