Gout in a finger strikes overnight, peaks within a day and settles over 7 to 14 days untreated. A first red hot joint looks identical to a joint infection, so it gets checked the same day, and there are two separate treatments people constantly confuse.
Yes. Any bite that breaks the skin of the hand needs the ER or urgent care today, especially a cat puncture or a split over a knuckle from a tooth. Those two seal bacteria into joints and tendons, and can turn into an infected joint overnight.
Most A2 pulley injuries heal without surgery: about 6 weeks for a strain, 3 months to full crimping for a partial tear, nearer 6 months after a complete rupture. Visible bowstringing needs imaging.
Most extensor tendon repairs take about 12 weeks: 4 to 6 weeks splinted, light use from weeks 6 to 8, full use around week 12. The real risk is a quiet lag, a finger that stops straightening all the way. Here’s the weekly check that catches it.
Needle release recovery takes days; open Dupuytren’s surgery takes about 3 months, with a night splint and hand therapy. Neither cures the disease, and the middle finger joint decides your result more than the operation does.
Rheumatoid arthritis in the hands shows up as morning stiffness over an hour, soft swelling of the big knuckles, middle joints and wrists on both sides, and feeling unwell. Early treatment protects the joints; late treatment can’t rebuild them.
Expect about 12 weeks before a repaired flexor tendon handles real gripping, and 3 to 6 months to near-full use. The splint stays on full-time for about 6 weeks, and the repair is weakest around week 3, exactly when the hand starts feeling fine.
Boutonnière deformity is a torn central slip at the middle knuckle. Caught early, it’s a splint holding the middle joint straight full time for about 6 weeks, plus fingertip exercises, with most people back to normal use by around 3 months.
Yes, a stiff hand after a cast or surgery can usually be fixed, and most of the gain comes in the first 3 months. Here’s the timeline, the two self-tests, the exercises with reps, and why time at end range beats pulling harder.
A sprained or dislocated middle finger joint usually needs 3 to 6 weeks of buddy taping, with most movement back by 6 weeks. The swelling takes 6 to 12 months. What ruins these fingers isn’t the injury, it’s resting them still.