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USnavy
Nov 29, 2008, 11:08 AM
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I had a piece of 7/32" steel rod go 3/4" they way through my pinky finger about 25 days ago. The pain has subsided a lot since the accident and the puncture wound is completely healed (visually). However I still cannot bend the finger over the last digit. I have regained no ability whatsoever since the accident to bend it. If I attempt to bend the finger normally through use of the tendon, the finger hurts mildly and it won’t bend. When I try to bend the digit it only moves about 5% of the range it should cover. If I manually bend it over with my other hand, it does not hurt. When I go climbing the finger hurts from pulling on it but not to an unbearable level. During every day usage the finger does not hurt.
So should I keep waiting for this thing to heal? I kind of feel like its healed long enough to the point where if I was going to regain any functionality from the finger I would have started to see that now. The pain is slowly going away but the functionality is not coming back. I am going to go visit the doc next week and try to get a diagnosis but in the mean time does anyone have any thoughts?
This picture shows the exact angle and position (in red) where the rod entered the finger and the approximate depth of penetration (in blue).
(This post was edited by USnavy on Nov 29, 2008, 11:11 AM)
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j_ung
Nov 29, 2008, 12:56 PM
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I'm thinking you sliced a tendon most, but not all the way through.
(Sorry, USN, got to move this to the Injuries Forum.)
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thatguyat99
Nov 29, 2008, 4:24 PM
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Yeh..could've sliced the tendon.
Also it could have residual swelling to
the tissue and scar tissue could already
have started to form. When scar tissue wraps
around ligaments and tendons it can and usually
does restrict mobility.
It can usually be worked out though.
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Hennessey
Nov 30, 2008, 2:51 AM
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Hey Sayar you better go to the doctor and get that finger better. I need you in tip top shape for Red Rocks in March. Good Luck
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USnavy
Nov 30, 2008, 4:15 AM
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Hennessey wrote: Hey Sayar you better go to the doctor and get that finger better. I need you in tip top shape for Red Rocks in March. Good Luck
(This post was edited by USnavy on Nov 30, 2008, 4:15 AM)
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Hennessey
Nov 30, 2008, 4:24 AM
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F@#kin eh brother. Dosen't sound like it's slowin you down much. Just make sure you don't make it worse. Good luck with it
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USnavy
Nov 30, 2008, 4:28 AM
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Ya soon I am going to have to switch from doing hard short routes to medium long routes. I want to try to lead that 10b sport multi-pitch route at Red Rocks and Prince of Darkness but I need to train for that some more. I can onsight 10c sport but not 7 pitches of it. I also would like to climb Epinephrine but I have a lot of mental work before I can lead an R rated route with huge run outs. Maybe I will be able to find someone else to lead the dangerous pitches and I will second them. :)
(This post was edited by USnavy on Nov 30, 2008, 4:30 AM)
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rtwilli4
Nov 30, 2008, 6:51 AM
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With your palm toward the sky, Hold your pinky finger so that only that last pad is free. That is... only the part above your last knuckle where your fingernail is, is able to move. Try and bend that last pad toward your face. If you can't bend it, then you have a tendon problem. Good Luck.
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rockie
Nov 30, 2008, 11:08 AM
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Seeing the doc is a good idea.
Hope you had your tetanus shot before that occurred.
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vegastradguy
Nov 30, 2008, 12:40 PM
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USnavy wrote: Ya soon I am going to have to switch from doing hard short routes to medium long routes. I want to try to lead that 10b sport multi-pitch route at Red Rocks and Prince of Darkness but I need to train for that some more. I can onsight 10c sport but not 7 pitches of it. I also would like to climb Epinephrine but I have a lot of mental work before I can lead an R rated route with huge run outs. Maybe I will be able to find someone else to lead the dangerous pitches and I will second them. :)
what runouts? epi isnt 'r' rated.
and what multipitch sport route at RR? unimpeachable....sporty- not quite a sport route, tho....
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USnavy
Dec 1, 2008, 12:13 AM
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vegastradguy wrote: USnavy wrote: Ya soon I am going to have to switch from doing hard short routes to medium long routes. I want to try to lead that 10b sport multi-pitch route at Red Rocks and Prince of Darkness but I need to train for that some more. I can onsight 10c sport but not 7 pitches of it. I also would like to climb Epinephrine but I have a lot of mental work before I can lead an R rated route with huge run outs. Maybe I will be able to find someone else to lead the dangerous pitches and I will second them. :) what runouts? epi isnt 'r' rated. and what multipitch sport route at RR? unimpeachable....sporty- not quite a sport route, tho....
Its listed as being R in the routes section. I know unimpeachable is mixed. Is Prince of Darkness more of a real sport route?
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boracus
Dec 1, 2008, 5:09 AM
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Navy-
7/32" rod stock is a pretty big chunk of metal to try and put through your pinkie. The most concerning part to me is where the rod went, from the picture it looks like it could easily have involved the DIP joint of the 5th finger. If that's the case I would worry less about a direct flexor tendon injury and worry about what sort of damage could have happened to the joint capsule and the articulation itself. If the joint capsule sustained moderate to severe trauma the stiffness in the capsule in itself could certainly limit the ROM of the finger.
Though I was a little confused by your description, are you unable to bend the entire finger, both DIP and PIP joints, or do you just have trouble bending the last knuckle(the DIP)?
My suggestion is to be sure to get a good explanation from the Doc about what is or is not going on w/ the joint itself since any type of joint damage can lead to premature joint degeneration which will be a major pain in the ass to deal w/ later.
If the joint is not involved then time and a good rehab program that addresses myofascial adhesions/scar tissue and re-strengthening the finger is the next step.
good luck w/ the healing process and congrats on the send,
cheers, BA
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USnavy
Dec 1, 2008, 8:24 AM
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boracus wrote: Navy- 7/32" rod stock is a pretty big chunk of metal to try and put through your pinkie. The most concerning part to me is where the rod went, from the picture it looks like it could easily have involved the DIP joint of the 5th finger. If that's the case I would worry less about a direct flexor tendon injury and worry about what sort of damage could have happened to the joint capsule and the articulation itself. If the joint capsule sustained moderate to severe trauma the stiffness in the capsule in itself could certainly limit the ROM of the finger. Though I was a little confused by your description, are you unable to bend the entire finger, both DIP and PIP joints, or do you just have trouble bending the last knuckle(the DIP)? My suggestion is to be sure to get a good explanation from the Doc about what is or is not going on w/ the joint itself since any type of joint damage can lead to premature joint degeneration which will be a major pain in the ass to deal w/ later. If the joint is not involved then time and a good rehab program that addresses myofascial adhesions/scar tissue and re-strengthening the finger is the next step. good luck w/ the healing process and congrats on the send, cheers, BA
Its the very last joint that wont bend. The finger won’t bend at the last joint closest to the end of the finger where the injury occurred. The rest of the finger is unaffected.
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vegastradguy
Dec 1, 2008, 3:15 PM
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USnavy wrote: Its listed as being R in the routes section. I know unimpeachable is mixed. Is Prince of Darkness more of a real sport route?
fixed epi- dont know why i would have marked it r.....
pod is bolts only after the first pitch- which is 5.6- most solo it, otherwise, you'll need some smallish gear.
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sungam
Dec 1, 2008, 3:54 PM
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LYMEZ DEZEZE!!!!
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boracus
Dec 1, 2008, 3:59 PM
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USN-
This may be a little difficult to answer, do you feel as though you've lost a substantial amount of strength in the injured finger? I realize that it's going to have to be a little weaker given the injury and detraining that's occured while it's been healing but have you noticed a substantial loss of strength in that finger on holds like slopers, open handed crimps(if you use your pinky) or pinches?
A significant loss of strength in these situations would make me concerned that maybe the flexor digitorum profundus is involved, if not than I'm back to being concerned about joint damage or... best case scenario you've just got a lot of scar tissue around that last joint that's keeping it from it's normal Range Of Motion. If it's only fascial damage then it's back to my previous suggestion of myofascial release to get the ROM back and doing some hand/finger specific strengthening.
BA
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USnavy
Dec 1, 2008, 4:48 PM
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boracus wrote: USN- This may be a little difficult to answer, do you feel as though you've lost a substantial amount of strength in the injured finger? I realize that it's going to have to be a little weaker given the injury and detraining that's occured while it's been healing but have you noticed a substantial loss of strength in that finger on holds like slopers, open handed crimps(if you use your pinky) or pinches? A significant loss of strength in these situations would make me concerned that maybe the flexor digitorum profundus is involved, if not than I'm back to being concerned about joint damage or... best case scenario you've just got a lot of scar tissue around that last joint that's keeping it from it's normal Range Of Motion. If it's only fascial damage then it's back to my previous suggestion of myofascial release to get the ROM back and doing some hand/finger specific strengthening. BA
Well I can’t really tell if there is any loss of strength because if I try to do any high power move involving the finger, the pain becomes overwhelming. So I cannot put the finger in a situation where it would be tested to its maximum strength limits because the pain will cause me to let go before I max it out. I do find it moderately difficult to pull moves using my left hand versus my right hand but at the moment that’s simply because I cannot use my pinky finger without causing pain so I am pulling moves on three fingers versus four on the other hand. Furthermore I can’t really move the finger "out of the way" when doing moves so even if I put the hand on a hold and pull on the other three fingers, some tension will inevitably be put on the finger causing an increase in pain which will limit my maximum capabilities using that hand. At the moment I cannot place any weight on the finger without causing pain. The finger does not hurt under normal daily activities but if I try to climb on it, it will. It’s been getting better since the accident but the pain still does exist when the finger is put under stress.
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boracus
Dec 1, 2008, 8:35 PM
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USN-
I apologize, I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass, it's just that from your firs post it seems that your primary concern is the lack of ability to move injured finger and how long you should expect it to take to heal.
From a medical perspective there's just not a whole lot of information in the post to go on. I don't know if you've had an X-ray taken of the hand. My line of thought here is that the piece of metal you described is large enough that it is going to have disrupted a lot of tissue going through most of your finger. There's two possiblities 1) it hit the bone and essetially was deflected and then tore through the soft tissue only or 2) it caused some type of trauma to the bone itself in the form of a compression, stress, or simple fracture (has this possibility been ruled out?)
So even if the rod only "bounced" off the bone it still probably did some damage, I'm brining this up because a really good insult to the periosteum of the bone can take longer than 25 days to heal and may still be painful when pressure is put on it for a couple of months. So if that's the case than, No I'm not surprised to hear that it's intensely painful to try and pull hard w/ that finger.
The fact that you can passively use your other hand to flex you're injured finger w/ out pain is curious. (How stiff does the last joint of the injured finger feel when you passively move it? If it's really quite tight then it could be scar tissue which can be broken down by massaging and stretching the finger passively like it sounds like you're doing)
I would still strongly suggest seeing the doc and making sure that the bone and DIP joint are sound, the next major concern is what everyone else here has expressed (whether the flexor digitorum tendons are involved), as far as time frame you can probably expect another month of tenderness in the tissues (moderate trauma to soft tissue, which you certainly achieved, can easily take 8 weeks to heal and will be pain sensitive)
Hope that some of this info helps, BA
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Adk
Dec 2, 2008, 4:02 PM
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It took my finger months and some "z-plasty" on my pinky when I got shot, military combat injury, to recover fully.
It took my forearm, injured the same time, years to recover. No exaggeration here!! Every once and a while it would just pop open when under heavy load.
Go see a surgeon and then be patient.
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sladehawke
Feb 3, 2009, 4:05 PM
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After my tendon injury in the last joint of my right ring finger, i probably had 10 percent range of motion back after 1 month.
I attempted to tape it and climb without it after 3 months, which was a very bad idea in retrospect. I should have gone to see a specialist instead.
After 6 months it was 60% and I started climbing on it again after 11 months.
It's been a year and I would say I have 98% range. I really wish I had gone to see a specialist. If nothing else I would have gotten some imaging done and known exactly what/where the damage was. Now I just have to wonder what it looks like in there.
adatesman is right... it could have been worse. Since you are still climbing, just be glad it was only your pinky finger. After a year I'm just starting to think about 5.11's again. Fear of re-injury has taken away my immortality.
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