What to Do When Your Child Jams or Sprains a Finger

*Collaborative Post

A jammed finger is typically the result of a sprain in the joint or knuckle of your finger. While it is a common injury to pick up, especially if you play sports, it can be extremely painful and requires proper attention and care to heal correctly. 

In many cases, a jammed finger can be cared for at home, following the RICE method and further instructions from your healthcare provider. However, more serious injuries may require additional strapping, a finger splint or surgery to ensure you retain full movement and function. 

What is a Jammed Finger?

A jammed, or sprained, finger occurs when the soft tissues in your finger tear or stretch beyond their intended range of motion. Soft tissue, including ligaments, works to connect your bones together, providing crucial support to joints and helping the body move. 

A jammed finger is a fairly common injury. It can happen after picking up an injury during sports or recreational activities, due to an accident, like a fall, or getting your finger caught up in a leash while walking your dog. 

If you are suffering from a jammed finger, you are likely to experience pain and stiffness in your finger, with noticeable swelling. Mild sprains can be treated at home, but more severe injuries or symptoms that persist or worsen require proper medical attention. 

Grades of Injury

Your healthcare provider may assign a grade to your injured finger. These grades indicate the severity of your sprain and range from grade 1 to grade 3. A grade 1 injury means your ligament has small tears and your joint is stable, meaning your bones are unlikely to move out of their normal place. 

A grade 2 rating indicates a partially torn ligament. Your joint has mild instability, and there is a small possibility that your bones could move out of place. Finally, a grade 3 injury means that you have completely torn your ligament. Your joint has major instability, and bones are likely to move out of place. 

In severe cases, the soft tissue can be damaged enough to cause a dislocation. This happens when the finger bone moves out of its original position, and the joint is no longer in alignment. 

Broken vs. Jammed

Broken fingers and jammed fingers share many of the same symptoms. However, the primary difference is that broken fingers involve injuries to your bones, while sprained or jammed fingers affect the soft tissue.

Broken bones require immediate medical attention and often feature additional symptoms like severe pain, excessive bruising, an inability to move the finger and an irregular or deformed shape to the finger. 

In comparison, a jammed finger will feature a joint that is swollen or bigger than it was a day or two previously, is darker than your natural skin tone or red to purple in colour, and doesn’t bend as easily as other fingers. Additionally, you may experience pain when moving it, increased stiffness and tenderness in the joints. 

Treatment & Management

Mild sprained or jammed fingers can be treated at home using the RICE method. The acronym stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. First and foremost, you need to let your finger rest and avoid all activity that could further aggravate the injury. Ice should be applied to the affected area for roughly 15-20 minutes at a time, especially during the first 24 hours. Put the ice in a tea towel to avoid direct contact with the skin. This step will help with pain relief and swelling. To help support the injury, gently wrap an elastic compression bandage around the damaged joint. Ensure it isn’t too tight and is comfortable to wear. Finally, elevate your injured hand above your heart to mitigate swelling, especially in the first 24-72 hours. If possible, maintain the elevation overnight. 

However, if your symptoms fail to improve within 24-48 hours of your injury, after using the RICE method at home, it is crucial to seek proper healthcare treatment. Depending on the severity of your injury, these methods may include buddy taping the sprained finger to a neighbouring finger for increased stability and support, placing a splint on the affected finger for a short period of time, or, in serious cases, surgery to repair severely torn ligaments. 

Healing Time

Most jammed fingers will heal within 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the severity of the injury and the quality of aftercare. More severe strains may require three to six weeks to fully heal, but in some cases may remain swollen or tender for a significantly longer period. 

During this healing period, it is crucial to rest your hand and fingers and avoid any activities that could overuse the affected area and further aggravate the injury. However, your healthcare provider will often recommend small hand therapy exercises to maintain proper finger movement during the healing process. 

Potential Complications

If your injured finger does not heal properly, you may be at risk of developing a range of unwanted and debilitating complications. This can include stiff fingers due to improper healing, a malformed joint, weakness, long-lasting pain and swelling, difficulty in straightening or bending the finger completely and arthritis. 

These complications underscore the importance of closely following your healthcare provider’s medical advice and instructions to ensure your fingers and hands maintain proper function and form. 

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.