2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43
Dislocation of fingers and toes
The sudden and violent contraction of the muscles causes dislocation of the fingers and toes. Such an injury consists in the displacement of the articular surfaces of the bones. Dislocations of the fingers are quite painful, since there are a large number of nerve endings in the hand. However, this allows you to determine the presence of injury in time and provide first aid. As a result of the dislocation of the fingers, the ligaments and the joint capsule are torn. Indirect injury can also cause damage.
In most cases, the thumb in the metacarpophalangeal joint suffers, which is due to its remote location, and its excessive overextension leads to dislocation. The bones are displaced to the back of the hand, and the articular head changes its position.
Weak muscles and ligaments in the little finger contribute to injury. Therefore, his dislocation is considered one of the most common after injury to the thumb. This happens most often with a sharp blow to the hand during a fall or unnatural movement. Simultaneous dislocation of several fingers is possible, for example, the little finger, index and ring fingers. Sometimes damage goes unnoticed for a long time. Dislocation of the little finger can cause a crunch of joints, or even as a result of too strong a handshake. It is important to distinguish such damage from injury or fracture.
Dislocated toes are much less common. In terms of external manifestations and symptoms, it is practically no different from a dislocation on the arm. To restore the function of the toe, you will need to adjust it. This must be done until soft tissue edema is formed. In this case, the finger will heal faster.
Content:
- Symptoms of dislocated fingers
- Causes of dislocated fingers
- Types of dislocations of fingers and toes
- Treatment and diagnosis of dislocated fingers
Symptoms of dislocated fingers
When a toe or arm is dislocated, the patient feels severe pain. Indeed, during an injury, a large number of nerve endings located on the hand or foot are affected. This sends signals to the brain that indicate damage. At the same time, the finger takes an unnatural position, the skin turns red, and then acquires a pale shade. Swelling of soft tissues gradually appears at the site of the damaged joint. The patient is unable to make active finger movements. Usually it is impossible to bend or unbend it. All attempts to move a finger cause severe pain.
On examination, it can be seen that the head has come out of the articular bag and is palpated outside of it. Depending on the nature of the displacement of the bones, the finger also changes its length, shortening or lengthening. Symptomatic dislocation should be distinguished from subluxation, which is accompanied by less severe deformity. In addition, the patient is able to move the finger.
Causes of dislocated fingers
- Dislocation of the fingers is caused by any careless movements in which the external influence is so strong that the ligaments and muscles are not able to keep the bones of the joint in their usual position. It can be a fall, a blow to the wrist.
- Such dislocations are often encountered by professional athletes. For example, when playing volleyball or basketball, it is easy to dislocate a finger by unsuccessfully accepting the ball with your fingertips. That is why athletes are advised to use elastic bandages to protect themselves from injury.
- Many people like to squeeze the joints hard, causing them to crunch. Such exposure also becomes the cause of dislocations.
- Toes are injured as a result of a strong impact of the foot on a hard surface. So, a dislocation can be obtained by unsuccessfully landing on an unbent foot or sharply tucking it.
Types of dislocations of fingers and toes
In medicine, the following types of finger dislocations are distinguished:
- fresh - damage that occurred no more than 2 days ago;
- stale - injuries that happened a few weeks ago;
- old - if the dislocation occurred more than a month ago.
Old dislocations are classified as irreducible. They differ in that in the process of displacement of the head relative to the glenoid cavity, soft tissues are clamped between them. In this case, treatment involves an operation. Dislocations can also be common. This means that the same joint is injured again. If, during dislocation, damage to the main vessel or nerve trunk occurs, an intraarticular or periarticular fracture occurs, it is called complicated.
Treatment and diagnosis of dislocated fingers
If you dislocate your fingers or toes, see a doctor. He will diagnose and confirm the nature of the damage. A layman can easily confuse a dislocation with a subluxation or fracture. The main diagnostic method in this case is radiography.
When the possibility of a fracture, which requires special treatment, is excluded, the traumatologist under anesthesia will reduce the finger. During the procedure, he stretches the finger with a smooth but strong movement, returning the head to the glenoid cavity. In this case, you can hear a click, indicating that the bones are in the desired position. After the end of the procedure, a plaster cast is applied up to the forearm. It can be removed after a few weeks.
The sooner the reduction is performed, the better the chances of eliminating the injury. With old dislocations, it turns out to be ineffective, therefore, the Volkov-Oganesyan apparatus is used. It helps to fully restore the function of the damaged joint. It is not recommended to try to set your finger on your own: you can not only fail to achieve the desired effect, but also harm. The procedure must be performed under general anesthesia, as it is quite painful.
First aid
If it is not possible to immediately seek help from specialists, first aid should be provided for dislocation. It is necessary to apply a not too tight bandage, tying the injured finger to the healthy one. For this, a bandage and cotton wool are used. To ease the discomfort, you can take pain relievers and urgently seek help from the hospital.
In the presence of a complicated dislocation, surgical intervention is required. To restore the injured finger after removing the plaster, simple exercises, which consist in performing flexion and extension movements, help.
Author of the article: Kaplan Alexander Sergeevich | Orthopedist
Education: diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received in 2009 at the Medical Academy. I. M. Sechenov. In 2012 completed postgraduate studies in Traumatology and Orthopedics at the City Clinical Hospital named after Botkin at the Department of Traumatology, Orthopedics and Disaster Surgery.
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