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Thumb Problems due to Skiing

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TheQuailman
Posts: 7382 - Karma: 147
Last year I got new poles and throughout the season the pole would get caught somehow and the strap would pull out my thumb. My thumb would get a little swollen, hurt bad, and stop me from skiing/sports for a while. This happened numerous times and was very annoying throughout the season. It also resulted in me hurting my thumb more during other times.

However, I solved this problem. I jsut didn't put on the pole straps. This stopped my thumbs from being pulled by the strap. However, this became annoying especially when I dropped my poles or had to hike a rail quickly.

So now I ask if anyone has any idea as to what might solve my thumb injury problem other than using no poles or pole straps?
Aug 30 2007 10:37PM
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fouldsys
Posts: 7404 - Karma: 39
its called skiers thumb. i got it so bad once i partially tore the ligaments in my thumb and had to wear casts for a week. i really have no advice on how to solve your problem tho. i still use my pole straps. maybe if your poles are really big cut them down so they dont get in the way as much. that might help if they already arent short.
Aug 30 2007 10:49PM
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fillup
Posts: 4904 - Karma: 568
i hate that shit

another way i got it was falling and landing on your hand with the pole in your hand
Aug 30 2007 10:53PM
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skifree919
Posts: 5842 - Karma: 35
i never used the pole straps. I don't know why, i just never did so the only time i get skiers thumb is when i drag my hands on landings which can result in badness
Aug 30 2007 10:57PM
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colin13
Posts: 2201 - Karma: 216
you could be puting them on wrong, or your pole straps are too lose/tight. if not then theres not much you can do. if you come in differently ^ then you risk breaking your wrist
Aug 30 2007 11:07PM
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Lineskiah11
Posts: 2029 - Karma: 21
i have thinner grips on teh poles that i use so i dont put the straps on. i can still hold on to them and my skis and hike quickly and i havent had a problem dropping them or getting skiiers thumb from them. just try it for a while you will get used to it. last year i used my straps a couple times and i ended up falling real hard and breaking my thumb so i havent used them since and its worked out
Aug 30 2007 11:10PM
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Piste.Off
Posts: 11586 - Karma: 1,860
i got a wicked case a skiers thumb last year it still gets sore every now and then
Aug 30 2007 11:11PM
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ijibgoremtn
Posts: 4221 - Karma: 13
exactly what i do, random old people always give me shit for it
Aug 30 2007 11:17PM
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skimanskimanskim
Posts: 1515 - Karma: 1,715
Scott leather strapp poles will get you, especially with the metal studds, hurts alot.
Aug 30 2007 11:18PM
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Pirruccio
Posts: 1301 - Karma: 70
ive never encountered this problem
Aug 30 2007 11:25PM
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Bangor
Posts: 9599 - Karma: 129
Make sure you put your strap on right. Dangle the pole off your wrist, then come down gripping the end of the strap against the backside of the pole grip. If you just pick up your hand and then drop the pole the pole should not catch on anything but the top of your wrist where the strap is. Make sense?
Aug 30 2007 11:30PM
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garrett.
Posts: 9304 - Karma: 3,670
i will land on my feet and fuck up my thumb, its really anoying
Aug 30 2007 11:35PM
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Squirrel_Murphy
Posts: 2195 - Karma: 1,165
skiers thumb. yeah that shit sucks, and then even after the season slows down, you still bang it here and there and it brings back those shitty memories of the first time that you hurt it. I had to tape mine up several times.
Aug 31 2007 12:03AM
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skientrepreneur
Posts: 358 - Karma: 19
Both my thumb joints bend 90 degress thanks to all the skier thumb incidents I've had.

I saw in one of the new ski mags, a glove/pole combo that is supposed to release the strap from the pole when pressure is applied. Perhaps a Leki product, can't remember
Aug 31 2007 12:04AM
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Poomba
Posts: 329 - Karma: 10
oh yeah, ive got the punsher ones, way sick, butthe metal catches on shit?
Aug 31 2007 12:10AM
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timmi
Posts: 12874 - Karma: 3,460
i worked in a store that sold these things to protect against that. kind of like a splint that wrapped around your thumb and then around your index finger so they could only go a certain distance appart. never tried em but ive never had a problem.
Aug 31 2007 12:22AM
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doublexl
Posts: 8407 - Karma: 27
no polez is the only way to roll!
Aug 31 2007 12:31AM
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NFE
Posts: 117 - Karma: 10
Has nothing to do with your poles. I'm plaster right now cause i snapped my UCL. I didnt have any poles. The doc said your thumb goes in the snow and your movment(forward) then bends the thumb back till it comes out of the snow or disloucates or snaps your UCL.
Aug 31 2007 2:58AM
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Squirrel_Murphy
Posts: 2195 - Karma: 1,165
yeah, its from hittin the snow.
Aug 31 2007 2:59AM
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D-40
Posts: 6050 - Karma: 100
i just had surgery due to skiers thumb that developed into something worse, but i completely tore the ligaments in my thumb and have to be in a cast for 6 weeks total, shits not cool i probably wont use poles anymore
Aug 31 2007 3:17AM
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titsLOL
Posts: 7485 - Karma: 396
i never got why everyone goes from under then hold the strap between their hand and the pole. it's soooo uncomfortable, doesn't add anything to the affect of the strap, and makes you hurt your thumb I guess. I just have the strap on my wrist... when i drop my poles they stay on that's about all I want from my pole straps. is there any reason to do it the other way?
Aug 31 2007 3:30AM
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Jacob.
Posts: 521 - Karma: 35
damn im glad im not the only one with that problem. they definitely need to think a solution for skiers thumb that shit kills
Apr 14 2008 5:11PM
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samtorvinen
Posts: 142 - Karma: 39
i get that to from landing with my hands down or getting it caught but i just go down through the strap and the pole then it doesnt pull my thumb as much
Apr 14 2008 5:59PM
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AndrewZ
Posts: 759 - Karma: 36
The reason I hold them like that is that it helps with skating a ton. You don't have to grip the pole nearly as tightly because  as you push your pole down to skate your wrist just pushes against the bottom of the strap. I don't think it really makes skier thumb that much worse...if you ski enough you're gonna get it one way or another, its pretty much unavoidable.
Apr 14 2008 6:30PM
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SK1ERDUDE
Posts: 1365 - Karma: 51
get poles with a huge loop so that you with still be able to hold it without it falling but it wont pull on your thumb
Apr 14 2008 6:36PM
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KLovelace
Posts: 2118 - Karma: 289
its called skiers thumb and its becaquse your wearing your poles wrong. put your hand in through the bottom of the loop and grasp the pole and the loop thing around the outside of it. if that makes sense.  i used to get it to
Apr 14 2008 7:28PM
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Mr.LemonPie
Posts: 4100 - Karma: 1,625
Just deal with the pain, I have torn the ligaments numerous times, but you just gotta keep doing normal stuff and live with it, it gets super swollen and hurts a ton, but whatever, that is skiing.
Apr 14 2008 7:28PM
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Coalescent
Posts: 4871 - Karma: 2,063
i did the same thing...bent my thumb back and chipped  abone in it.. torn ligaments..had a cast on for a while.. surgery should have been done but its slowly healing..
Apr 14 2008 7:32PM
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Gr33nThumb
Posts: 144 - Karma: 10
Go No Poles
Apr 14 2008 7:33PM
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smooticus
Posts: 1798 - Karma: 27
Thats wierd dude i dont know what that is but im pretty sure its not skiers thumb.. My moms a nurse she says that skiers thumb is hyper-extension by the joint at the base of your thumb.. I have it on both hands now and i have to wear little plastic braces whenever i ski,, its really annoying.. If you do have skiers thumb it will probably just get worse everytime you land on it
Apr 14 2008 7:39PM
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jahmin44
Posts: 638 - Karma: 37
i has this problem twice this year, the frist time wasnt so bad so i took some advil and continued to ski with my poles. the 2nd time it was really bad and impossible to hold me pole, i havent skied with poles in the park since the 2nd time, and havent hurt my thumbs since either.
Apr 14 2008 8:12PM
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pat_in_the_hat
Posts: 3019 - Karma: 2,695
haha i just broke my thumb on saturday.
Apr 14 2008 8:15PM
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.Capn.
Posts: 1454 - Karma: 152
I broke both mine at the same time landing weird with poles last season.
Apr 14 2008 9:19PM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
It was actualy proven that severe cases of skiiers thumb can result in arthritice at an older age which is uber lame cuz both my thumbs are perma fucked right now and i have to wear a brace for my left one when i ski, you can just find them at like london drugs and stuff and they realy help stoping it and don't realy get in the way at all
Apr 14 2008 9:41PM
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nkinsman10
Posts: 1088 - Karma: 45
i dislocate/sprain my thumb literally every single time i go up
Apr 14 2008 10:06PM
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constpapa
Posts: 835 - Karma: 327
I get that every season from landing backseat and bracing a fall....it usually takes weeks to heal and it's such a bitch! Anyways, this season I've been lucky and haven't had it happen...
Apr 14 2008 10:15PM
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skientrepreneur
Posts: 358 - Karma: 19

I'm also a member of the 90 degree thumb club on both hands.

It doesn't matter how you use your strap on the poles in all about the grip.  The thumb just works like a natural anchor on the snow when you fall with a gripped pole.

The sad but true part is, I used to race as well and my pole guards would actually help protect my thumbs when I turned them to the inside.  Talk about getting crap!  When you're hurting you'll do what ever it takes to still ski.

Apr 14 2008 10:19PM
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Jebus1987
Posts: 59 - Karma: 5
as a ski instructor

i always have to show people how to wear poles properly so they dont do what u did


u put it on regualy

then let the pole dangle

and grip the strap and the pole together for the top



if u need a pic ill sent it


but thier is a definate write and wrong way to do it
Apr 15 2008 1:22AM
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Tbrody
Posts: 1597 - Karma: 685
I bonked a barrel on the left and hit my thumb against my skis on two occasions with the other (off a cliff and knuckling a jump)

Thumbs







Apr 15 2008 1:28AM
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EClay46
Posts: 2499 - Karma: 69
haha, i remember that. so great watching you try to eat. haha both hands casted
Apr 15 2008 1:34AM
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ShredtillURdead
Posts: 2024 - Karma: 93
5 easy steps for avoiding skiers thumb:

1-buy realtime
2-watch realtime
3-press enter when ahmet eats shit
4-listen carfully for tom wallisch
5-take his advice
Apr 15 2008 1:37AM
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treesmann
Posts: 2675 - Karma: 49
i dont use straps
Apr 15 2008 1:49AM
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unchyll
Posts: 4554 - Karma: 96
yeah i fucked my thumb up too and i couldnt use my hand for a week. it sucked, but i think it would help having shorter poles
Apr 15 2008 7:25PM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15951 - Karma: 9,451
yea i brokeboth my thumbs getting caught in a backflip. now i use shorter poles with looser straps
Apr 15 2008 9:05PM
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Smuffy
Posts: 4686 - Karma: 3,408
i wouldnt say go without poles completely. but dont wear the straps. and skiers thumb is the name it goes by.
Apr 15 2008 10:37PM
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Dumont92
Posts: 209 - Karma: 9
lolercopter
Apr 16 2008 9:45AM
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Colt45er
Posts: 1650 - Karma: 336
yea dude, thumbs can be a bitch..... i broke mine 2 years in a row, then just jammed the shit out of it for this whole season.  the best thing you can do is just let it heal by skiing no poles for a couple days, its mad fun!
Apr 16 2008 11:05AM
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Big--Ben
Posts: 508 - Karma: 296
yea i got tha shit real bad last winter i fell and broke my thumb but didnt kno it or bother to get it checked out til the end of winter, and I kept landing on it like every day. It really is not a good time, maybe if you put some kind of elastic strap on it might fix the problem that way you could still have a starp but it just wouldnt yank your thumb as hard
Apr 16 2008 12:07PM
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Reed.S
Posts: 1126 - Karma: 10
same happened to me a while ago
Apr 16 2008 5:14PM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
i had it but i didnt use the straps at all, its just when you grab it normally, then my thumb is between the pole and the ground and its possibly the weakest of the three.

i solved it by grabbing the pole normally with my fingers and put the thumb on the top of the pole, instead of touching the index finger.

for me it works perfectly, as long as i keep in mind to grab the pole like that, sometimes i forget and the problem is back in town.
Apr 16 2008 7:37PM
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T-Time
Posts: 231 - Karma: 11
I have been having problems with my thumbs (they go numb in the winter and lock up) ever since last ski season. I was walking out on the deck of the lodge at my mountain with my ski boots on and i slipped and put my hand down. My boot slammed right down on to my thumb and it was swollen for like a week.
Apr 16 2008 8:38PM
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