If you are concerned that your finger may need immediate attention, do not eat or drink anything, as this may delay surgery. If your injury is restricting blood flow to your hand or finger, your doctor will schedule an immediate surgery. In general, the sooner surgery is performed, the better recovery will be. Surgery is usually performed within 7 to 10 days after an injury. In most cases, a cut or torn tendon must be repaired by a surgeon. Tendons cannot heal unless the ends are touching. They may place your hand in a splint to protect the injured structures. Your hand may be placed in a splint for protection prior to surgery.Īfter examining your hand, your doctor may clean your open wound(s) and close the wound(s) to reduce the risk of infection. To determine whether any nerves or blood vessels have been injured, your doctor may test your hand for sensation and blood flow to the fingers. To test your finger strength, your doctor may have you try to bend your injured finger while they hold the other fingers down flat. You may need a tetanus shot or antibiotics to prevent infection.ĭuring the examination, your doctor will ask you to bend and straighten your fingers.Depending on the severity of the injury, it might be appropriate to go to an urgent care center or emergency room to evaluate your hand for a tendon, nerve, blood vessel, or bone injury. Elevate your hand by keeping it lifted above your heart.Apply ice or a cold pack to help reduce swelling after the injury.Irrigate the wound with sterile saline to reduce the risk of infection.Apply a compression wrap to your hand with a clean cloth or bandage to slow down the bleeding.When you have a serious cut to your hand or fingers: Generally, it is recommended that flexor tendon injuries should be repaired within 7 to 10 days of the injury, although early evaluation is important. This is especially true for an open injury or cut in the skin, and when you are concerned that you might have a tendon injury. It is important to see a doctor whenever the fingers are injured. This can happen without warning or injury - a person may simply notice that their finger no longer bends but not recall how it happened. When this occurs, it can limit how much the finger can bend or flex and can cause pain when moving the finger.Ĭertain health conditions ( rheumatoid arthritis, for example) weaken the flexor tendons and make them more likely to tear or rupture. The crimp-grip position of the fingers necessary for rock climbing places a great deal of strain on the pulleys of the tendon sheath and can cause a rupture of the sheath. In activities that require a lot of a hand strength (e.g., rock climbing), tendons and/or their sheaths can also be stretched or torn. This can cause the tendon to be pulled off the bone. It can happen when one player grabs another's jersey and a finger (usually the ring finger) gets caught and pulled with great force. Jersey finger is one of the most common of these sports injuries. These injuries often occur in football, wrestling, and rugby. In addition to cuts on the arm, wrist, hand, or fingers, certain sports activities can cause flexor tendon injuries. Partial injuries t othe tendons can be difficult to diagnose. However, partial tendon injuries may result in incomplete bending of the finger, excessive pain, or even catching or locking of the finger during movement. With a partial tendon injury, it may still be possible to bend your finger. Occasionally, flexor tendons may be partially cut or torn. If blood vessels are also cut, the finger may have no blood supply, which can cause loss of the finger. This can cause numbness on one or both sides of the finger. Because the nerves and blood vessels to the fingers are very close to the tendons, a cut may damage them, as well. It is not uncommon for other structures to be injured at the time of a cut flexor tendon. If a tendon is torn or cut, the ends of the tendon likely will be pulled apart, making it impossible for the tendon to heal on its own because of the gap between the two ends. Like a rubber band, the flexor tendons are under tension as they connect the muscle to the bone. A cut or ruptured tendon in the forearm, at the wrist, in the palm, or along the finger will make it difficult or maybe impossible to bend one or more joints in a finger.
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