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Skiers thumb

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finnafuckyobitch
Posts: 1647 - Karma: 865
So i went skiing yesterday and fucked up my thumb, i was using poles. Now its pretty swollen and hurts, I can still move it well though pick up some light objects like phones and glasses of water and stuff but cant pick up heavy stuff without pain. Should i get this checked out? if not how long will this hurt for, any advice would be great. Thanks
Nov 23 2008 9:35PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
if you can bend it, it's not broken most likely
Nov 23 2008 9:36PM
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shishkababy
Posts: 114 - Karma: 112
maybe you just jammed it or something, i do that all the time... go to cvs and get one of those little bendy metal thumb splint things, they work pretty well
Nov 23 2008 9:37PM
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
I tore my thumb ligament. It didn't hurt much but you could tell it was totally torn - picking up a glass of water was literally impossible.

Get it checked out if you're worried. You'd know if it was torn. Maybe a small break/chip but all they do for that is give you a splint anyway.
Nov 23 2008 9:39PM
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PhilboydStudge
Posts: 3431 - Karma: 206
don't bother getting it checked out. when it happened to me the first time, i went to the doctor and got a cast for a month. that was at the end of the year, and then last year, it happened again a few times. if you take some ibuprofen and dont mess around with it, you can use it fine in a day or so. the pain might still be there a little, but hey, you don't need a pointless cast.

another thing you could do would be get a brace. i have one that goes over my wrist and thumb and works perfectly
Nov 23 2008 9:42PM
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Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
I think i have skiers thumb because my poles are to long. Whenever i'm just skating around, since its hard for me to grip my poles with mitts on, i put the top of my grip in the center of the palm and wrap my fingers from the top.
Anybody know any good ways to get ski pole grips off? I got standard scott 40 dollars poles, i've tried to hot water and the boiling water but they havent worked successfully.
Nov 23 2008 9:42PM
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seemeski
Posts: 4210 - Karma: 124
Get it checked out soon. I royally fucked one of my thumbs, I don't think I have a ligament anymore.
Nov 23 2008 9:44PM
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Holte
Posts: 10740 - Karma: 7,816
I'd get it checked out. The first time I broke my thumb skiing I didn't get it checked out thinking it was probably just a bad jam. A couple months later it had healed, but I didn't have as much mobility as I did before breaking it, so I finally saw a doctor. He basically said that I broke it, and there was nothing he could do about it since I waited so long.

If you see a doctor, you'll at least know if you broke it and the worst case scenario is you might have to wear a cast and lose the poles for a while.
Nov 23 2008 10:20PM
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shawk
Posts: 473 - Karma: 41
try some ice and rest it if you can.....

My  girlfriend took x rays of people so I would have her do my thumbs when they got bad.  From time to time  there was some type of hairline fracture, but there really isn't a whole lot they can do other than to tell you do use a brace and rest it.  If you broke it bad, then you will need a cast, but I doubt you want to miss a month.  Just try to take it easy when you ride for a week or two and it should be ok. 
Nov 23 2008 10:28PM
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inactive
Posts: 4772 - Karma: 97
i jammed both of my thumbs last year. the first time i got it x rayed, and it was nothing. i guess the good thing would be is to get it checked out to avoid some permanant damage. But it may just be jammed like mine, and your feel silly when there is nothing wrong like i did.
Nov 23 2008 11:51PM
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Funnel
Posts: 7815 - Karma: 1,531
Happened to me all the time last year.  Hurt like crap for a few days and then healed.  If you're riding no poles then the best thing would be to ride with a fist with your 4 fingers wrapped around your thumb.  Do you get it?
Nov 24 2008 1:48AM
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RoFo
Posts: 94 - Karma: 63
I would just give it a week or two. Use ice and ibuprofin as much as possible. If pain persists i would find a doc to take a peek.
Nov 24 2008 1:50AM
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chames
Posts: 2331 - Karma: -33

drop the poles for a couple weeks and you should be good to go.

Nov 24 2008 1:55AM
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Casey
Posts: 7849 - Karma: 24,317
Not a lot that a Doc will be able to do for you, just takes some time.
Nov 24 2008 4:21AM
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Geonerd
Posts: 251 - Karma: 63
Just inmobilize it for 3 weeks "get one of those little bendy metal thumb splint things",if you keep moving it it will take a lot longer to heal and probably it wont heal well at all. Just inmobilize it and keep skiing
Nov 24 2008 11:09AM
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BennyV
Posts: 569 - Karma: 11
pretty possible that you have ligament damage which could need surgery
Nov 24 2008 12:19PM
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Shredneck
Posts: 2051 - Karma: -32

apparently you havent broken enough bones... lol

I follow the third  day rule If you injured it on tuesday it'll prob hurt like a bitch on wed. morning but if it still hurts on thursday morning go to the doctor. its better to feel like a sally when they say its fine but having it heal wrong is worse.

Nov 24 2008 3:30PM
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powder_weasel
Posts: 382 - Karma: 9
Get it x-rayed for sure if it isnt a problem doing so.
Nov 24 2008 3:36PM
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meltonsnow
Posts: 680 - Karma: 601
i've let mine heal all summer, but when i pull down on it i still have mad pain.  I think i would have to get surgery to repair it properly.  hopefully it lasts the season!
Nov 24 2008 4:12PM
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Lt-Aldo-Raine
Posts: 2309 - Karma: 120

I have broken my thumbs 3 times now, i had surgery on one of them and one is currently in a cast.

 If i were you i'd wait a couple days with some ice and see if the swelling goes down, and if not you should get it checked out.

Nov 24 2008 5:11PM
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BigJim
Posts: 837 - Karma: 73

same thing happened to me last season and it hurt off and on for 4months and now i cant bend in down as far as my other thumb and when i went for my yearly check up i told my doc and he said theres isnt anything he could do now, so id suggest getting it checked, it ever hurts to see what a professional has to say...even if its just a "ya its ok, ull be fine do this and this and this...."

Nov 24 2008 5:41PM
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jaylib
Posts: 4523 - Karma: 777
i fucked both of my thumbs. i hate it
Nov 24 2008 5:48PM
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TheQuailman
Posts: 7382 - Karma: 147

PUT ICE ON IT

TO

Nov 24 2008 5:50PM
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TheQuailman
Posts: 7382 - Karma: 147

ice it for long times a few times a day

buy two of those bendy metal thumb brace things at cvs or a surgical supply store if there is one near you.  Wear them under your glove every time you go skiing and you will not get skiers thumb ever again.  Let it heal for a little bit before you go skiing tho. And you can use poles but don't put on the pole strap and maybe size down a pole size.

Nov 24 2008 6:09PM
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finnafuckyobitch
Posts: 1647 - Karma: 865
ya so I think im gonna wait a while before i get it checked out, its still swollen but i havent really iced it at all. It happened sat. afternoon. It does feel a little better now. I can pick up heavier stuff and have nice flexibility+i picked up a finger brace

Nov 24 2008 9:09PM
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frstyl46skier
Posts: 566 - Karma: 18
that happens to me all the time
i got it checked out once and they jsut said its jammed and gave me a little splint thing. They are like 10$ at like walgreens or your local pharmacy. Just go pick up one of those. It provides great support for your thumbs and its the best investment ive ever made. So go to your local pharmacy and get a thumb brace. Im sure it will happen again to you and teh brace helps a ton.
Nov 24 2008 10:25PM
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Dr.Scholl
Posts: 1139 - Karma: 47
or for the rest of forever????
Nov 24 2008 10:33PM
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B.Aussie
Posts: 5852 - Karma: 4,531

I would get it checked out if I were you.  Especially if it's the first time you've done a thumb injury.

My mum just broke her thumb and completely tore off the ligaments. Because she broke her tumb she didn't realise about the ligaments and dind't get it checked so she now needs surgery.

Nov 24 2008 10:47PM
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chames
Posts: 2331 - Karma: -33

or that.

Nov 24 2008 10:53PM
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mitchin
Posts: 112 - Karma: -1
i usually dislocate both thumbs once a year skiing so then its the rest of the season with no poles
Nov 24 2008 10:54PM
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charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 370
i can dislocate my thumbs on demand =]
but, my right arm doesnt work.

so no poles for me
no poles for you.
Nov 24 2008 11:24PM
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MacMahoooon
Posts: 9009 - Karma: 3,305
theres not a whole lot they can do about it unfortunately. I have been dealing with it for year. Docs say I have only about 60% working ligaments in one thumb and 40% left in the other. I have bone chips in both knuckles that cause the thumb to lock up regularly, and am guaranteed arthritis in those joints, which I already feel. I have a design for a thumb brace I keep intending to make up but just haven't got around to, so for now I spend most of my winter with medical tape wrapped around them
Nov 25 2008 12:48PM
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AEROPLAEHN
Posts: 1353 - Karma: 192
ive had skiiers thumb and it sucks, try touching your thumb to your pinky and squeeze if you can't do that you prob tore your ligaments, but otherwise you could've just pulled it bad. an exersize for rehab that my doctor taught me after i got my cast off is to start out touching your thumb to your pinky then thumb to ring finger, then thumb to middle finger, then to index finger, then repeate / reverse it.
Dec 1 2008 11:27AM
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3ski6guy0
Posts: 9201 - Karma: 132
you basically just have to deal with it. it takes a few days for it to get back to normal but it really sucks
Dec 1 2008 12:42PM
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