A scapholunate ligament tear often follows a fall, shows a normal X-ray and gets called a sprain. Back-of-wrist pain, a click and weakness still there at 6 weeks need proper imaging: six weeks buys a repair, six months a reconstruction, six years a fusion.
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.
After a simple elbow dislocation, most people move the elbow within a week, return to light use around 6 weeks and near full function by 3 months. The real risk is stiffness: weeks in a sling cost range you don’t get back.
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.
Jersey finger is the deep flexor tendon torn off the bone at your fingertip, so the tip won’t bend on its own. It needs surgery, ideally within 7 to 10 days. The finger still working is why people wait, and why they lose the repair.
Skier’s thumb is a torn UCL ligament on the inner side of the thumb knuckle. Partial tears heal in a thumb spica splint in 4 to 6 weeks; complete tears often can’t heal alone and need repair, ideally within about 3 weeks.
Most mild wrist sprains settle in 2 to 3 weeks and are fully back by 4 to 6; moderate ones take 4 to 8. Tender in the hollow at the base of the thumb, or not clearly better by week 3, means it may never have been just a sprain.
A TFCC tear causes little-finger-side wrist pain with twisting and pushing. Most settle without surgery: 4 to 6 weeks in a brace, then strengthening, with normal use back by around 3 months.
A true jammed finger stops hurting in 1 to 2 weeks and should move fully by 3 to 4, though the swelling can last months. Don’t pull it. Five self-check questions, which injury it really is, buddy taping, exercises and when to get an X-ray.
Mallet finger is treated with a splint holding the fingertip straight 24/7 for 6 to 8 weeks, then at night for about 2 to 4 more. One bend restarts the clock. How to wear and change it, exercises, when surgery comes in, and what if it’s old.