Having a broken thumb is never easy. Not only is it a difficult injury to work with and go about your daily life with, but it’s also painful. In the post below, we’re going to give you some super handy tips and tricks on how you can recover from a broken thumb, without causing further damage.
Remember, it’s important to always avoid invasive measures you might find recommended to you online. All of our handy tips will be to help ease the pain and aid recovery, they’ll never be invasive. If you’re worried about your thumb, make sure you see a medical professional.
We have a wide range of braces available if that’s what you’ve been recommended, so make sure to take a delve and see what suits you best!
Broken Thumb
Having a broken thumb is likely to be painful, uncomfortable and hard to work with. If you think you’ve done serious damage, or you think you’ve displaced it, make sure to head to A&E. If you’re unsure if you’ve broken your thumb, make sure you see your doctor. If they suspect it is broken, you’ll be sent to your local A&E for an X-Ray.
Causes
A broken thumb can be caused by any number of factors, especially if you’re active in sports. There are several causes of a broken thumb, including but not limited to:
- High-impact sports such as football, basketball, wrestling or skiing.
- A fall that has seen you land on top of your hand whilst it’s outstretched.
- Twisting or contracting the muscle around your thumb.
It’s important to note that a history of Bone Disease and Calcium Deficiency can increase your risk of a broken bone.
Diagnosis
No matter if you think it’s just a sprained thumb or a full break, make sure you see your doctor as soon as you can. An injury like this will require immobilisation from a brace or cast. This is where they reduce the range of motion in your hand to allow the bone time to heal successfully.
You should expect your doctor to examine your thumb, they’ll test the range of motion in all of your joints to get a clearer comparison. They will likely bend your thumb joints in a range of directions to test the stability of your ligaments.
If you have fractured your thumb and there are any displaced bone fragments or damaged blood vessels, you may require surgery. This can be determined with an x-ray and your doctor will advise you on what to do next.
How To Aid Recovery
There are various ways to aid recovery, all of which won’t cause further damage to your already broken thumb. Some of these tips, you can use straight away if you think you’ve broken a bone. Reducing your range of motion, even if there’s no broken finger or sprained thumb, won’t do any damage.
If you think you’ve just broken your thumb, you can try these steps to ease pain and aid recovery.
- Apply ice or cold water to reduce swelling for at least 15 minutes.
- Immobilise your hand with a splint or tape it to the next finger.
- Keep your hand elevated above your heart to reduce swelling and any bleeding.
- Take painkillers to help ease any pain.
- Remove any hand jewellery unless it’s too painful.
Once you’ve taken these steps, head down to your local doctor’s surgery or A&E to better access the next steps. If you have broken your thumb, these next suggestions are great ways to help aid your recovery process.
- Take regular painkillers to help ease any pain.
- Keep your hand elevated where possible to reduce swelling.
- Rest your hand on a cushion or pillow when you’re sitting down.
- Use an ice pack every 2 to 3 hours on the affected area. Leave it no longer than 20 minutes.
During the recovery period, you’re going to be in a brace or cast for a few weeks. Thumb fractures will normally take around 6 to 8 weeks to heal, but strength will only fully return after 3 to 4 months. If you have severe pain, your doctor may recommend stronger painkillers for your fractured thumb.
Whilst you’re recovering, make sure you stay away from contact sports and avoid lifting any heavy items. Once your thumb injuries have healed, you’ll be able to move your hand and thumb as normal. It’s important to keep moving it because only then will your range of motion come back. Just be sure to take it slow.
Your doctor may also recommend physical therapy to help aid and speed up the healing process, even if it’s a severe thumb sprain or torn ligament. It’s important to listen to your doctor’s advice.
That’s all of the advice we have on a broken thumb. If you’ve broken your thumb, or you think you have, you’ll recover in no time! Remember to take your recovery slowly and use this time to really focus on your health.