I fell a month ago not hard and landed on my hands. A week after the fall I noticed that my left thumb would bend in the middle and I experienced very bad pain. It would get stuck in that position bent. I had to manually put it back. Since I was able to move it all around, I knew it was not broken. I started taking tylenol and massaged it with aspercream. Then I would bandage it with elastic bandage for a few hours a day to relieve the pain which is very bothersome. Now my thumb does not bend I keep massaging it but I cant bend it. The pain is much less but still bothersome. Should I keep it bandaged longer, will the stiffness go away.
What should I do to make it bend on its own and to stop the pain.
UPDATE,,,,i had the LRTI surgery on both thumb joints a year ago or more, and couldnt be happier. Although there was a different doctor that did each hand and one made a longer incision and left a bigger scar, but cant hardly tell it actually. But i have had no more pain and my thumbs perform nicely. Im happy i decided to have it done.
I think we need some more information in order to give you any help. Did you injure it in any way? How long has it been painful? Is the pain getting worse or is it staying the same? Is the pain constant or intermittent? What type of pain is it ... burning, stabbing aching? Does it interfere with your normal activities?
I've had long-standing arthritis in a lot of my joints. My thumbs have been terribly afflicted. I've had joint replacement (which failed) in one of them. If it's arthritis, you need to see a hand specialist as soon as possible. I spent too many years with a general orthopedic who just didn't realize the extent of the damage I had. By the time I got to the hand surgeon, it was too late to try lesser measures (like glucosamine chondroiton.)
Good luck. I know how terrible hand pain can be and how much you need your thumbs to do just about every task from the simple to the complex.
Do you know why it might be in that pain?
When did it start?
Is it any different color, is there any bumps, is there a rash?
Is there any other part of your body that hurts like this?