Conditions and injuries of the finger, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow: what they are, how they behave, and when they stop being minor.
The best mallet finger splint holds the fingertip straight, leaves the middle joint free and stays on 24/7 for 6 to 8 weeks without breaking the skin. Stack, custom and aluminum compared, plus fit, changing it safely and skin problems.
After Dupuytren’s surgery, needle release or injection, a night extension splint is usually worn every night for 3 to 6 months to stop the healing scar pulling the finger back into a bend. How it fits, the week-by-week pattern, and the exercises that go with it.
A hand splint after stroke or with cerebral palsy is mainly a positioning splint: it holds the hand as open as tone comfortably allows, usually overnight, built up from an hour or two. What it can and can’t do, how to put it on a tight hand, and when to get it reviewed.
A tennis elbow strap can cut pain while you grip, but it doesn’t heal the tendon. Wear it two finger-widths below the painful bony point, only during the tasks that hurt, while a loading program does the real work.
Numb fingers on long drives usually come from an elbow resting on the window ledge or bent wrists on the wheel, and most ease in 2 to 6 weeks once the position changes. What drivers get, the fixes, and realistic return-to-driving times.
Football players break wrists and scaphoids falling in tackles; coaches wear down thumbs and fingers catching shots for years. What each group gets, how it’s diagnosed, and typical return-to-play times from a strapped finger to a scaphoid.
A hook in the fleshy pad of a finger usually comes out in minutes and you can fish again within days; a hook near a joint, a fish-spine prick that turns red, or elbow pain from casting needs more. What to do, which infections move fast, and return times by injury.
Most finger sprains from hockey let you play within days, buddy strapped; a broken finger or hand bone takes 6 to 12 weeks to heal. The injuries field and ice hockey players get, the one standard X-rays miss, and return-to-play times by injury.
A jammed finger usually lets you swim within days, buddy taped; a broken finger means kick sets first and full pulling from around 6 weeks if your surgeon agrees. The hand and wrist injuries swimmers get, how to treat them, and when you can swim again.
Yes. Trigger finger, carpal tunnel, thumb base arthritis and finger osteoarthritis all rise in women around menopause, and most settle in 6 to 12 weeks with the right splint and exercises. Stiffness over an hour needs blood tests.