Conditions and injuries of the finger, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow: what they are, how they behave, and when they stop being minor.
Trapeziectomy removes the arthritic bone at the thumb base, and the pain relief is reliable. Strength is the slow half: pinch often measures worse at 3 months than before surgery, which is normal. The honest verdict sits at month 9 to 12.
Carpal tunnel release stops the night tingling within days, then people panic at week 4 when the palm hurts and the grip is gone. Pillar pain, scar sensitivity and a 3 to 6 month grip timeline are all normal. Here’s the honest week-by-week.
The middle knuckle is the most commonly injured joint in the hand, and the swelling after a sprain or dislocation lasts 6 to 12 months. That’s normal. What isn’t normal, and what ruins these fingers, is resting them still.
Jersey finger is the deep flexor tendon ripping off the bone at your fingertip, usually the ring finger, usually grabbing a shirt. The finger still works, which is why people wait. Hold the middle bone and bend the tip: if nothing moves, this is surgical, in days not weeks.
Dupuytren’s contracture pulls fingers into a bend over years via cords in the palm, not the tendons. The timing rule flips everything: never treat the lump, treat the bend. The table-top test tells you when the window opens.
Skier’s thumb is a torn UCL ligament at the thumb knuckle, and a complete tear often cannot heal on its own because tissue slips into the gap. The repair window is weeks. A “sprained thumb” with weak pinch needs assessment this week.
A boxer’s fracture is a broken little-finger metacarpal from punching something solid. Most heal with 3 to 4 weeks of splinting, but a rotated finger or any cut over the knuckle changes everything. Here’s the honest sorting.
Knobbly knuckles and morning stiffness that loosens in minutes: finger osteoarthritis, common, genetic, and usually kinder over the years than it feels now. Heat, daily motion, and joint protection do the real work. Stiffness lasting over an hour is a different disease.
Trigger finger release takes 15 minutes and the locking is gone on the table. The recovery questions start on day 3. Here’s the honest week-by-week: move early, respect the palm scar, and know the two situations where hand therapy earns its place.
Most wrist sprains settle in 2 to 3 weeks. But “sprain” is the most overused label in the upper limb, worn by scaphoid fractures, TFCC tears and De Quervain’s on day one. Run the 3-location sort before you wait it out.