Finger Injuries and Disorders

Health → Bones, Joints and Muscles →

Summary

You use your fingers and thumbs to do everything from grasping objects to playing musical instruments to typing. When there is something wrong with them, it can make life difficult. Common problems include

Injuries that result in fractures, ruptured ligaments and dislocations
Osteoarthritis - wear-and-tear arthritis. It can also cause deformity.
Tendinitis - irritation of the tendons
Dupuytren's contracture - a hereditary thickening of the tough tissue that lies just below the skin of your palm. It causes the fingers to stiffen and bend.
Trigger finger - an irritation of the sheath that surrounds the flexor tendons. It can cause the tendon to catch and release like a trigger.

Start Here

Fingertip Injuries (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)

Diagnosis and Tests

Bone X-Ray (Radiography) (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Hand/Wrist/Arm Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Stiff Hands (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)

Treatments and Therapies

Joint Replacement (Finger and Wrist Joints) (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)
Replantation (Finger, Hand, or Arm) (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)
Replantation of digits - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Tendon Transfer Surgery (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)

Living With

Exercising Your Finger After an Injury (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Hand and Finger Exercises (Ohio State University Medical Center) - PDF

Related Issues

How to Remove a Stuck Ring Safely (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)
Raynaud's Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Specifics

Arthritis of the Thumb (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
Extensor Tendon Injuries (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)
Flexor Tendon Injuries (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)
Thumb Arthritis (American Society for Surgery of the Hand) Also in Spanish
Thumb Arthritis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Thumb Sprains (American Society for Surgery of the Hand) Also in Spanish
Trigger Finger (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Trigger Finger (Stenosing Tenosynovitis) (American Society for Surgery of the Hand) Also in Spanish

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: Dupuytren contracture (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Poland syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Images

Herpetic Whitlow (Logical Images)
Myxoid Cyst (Logical Images)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Dupuytren Contracture (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Finger Injuries (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Thumb (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Hand Anatomy (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)

Find an Expert

American Society for Surgery of the Hand
Find a Hand Surgeon (American Society for Surgery of the Hand)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish

Children

Repair of webbed fingers - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Supernumerary Digit (Logical Images)
X-Ray Exam: Finger (Nemours Foundation)

Patient Handouts

Claw hand (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Clubbing of the fingers or toes (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Finger pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Mallet finger - aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Polydactyly (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Smashed fingers (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Trigger finger (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Basics

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Research

Resources

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