John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Fingers are easily injured, and broken fingers are some of the most common
traumatic injuries seen in an emergency room. Finger fractures may account for
up to 10% of all bone fractures. Because fingers are used for
many everyday
activities, they are at higher risk than other parts of the body for traumatic injury, including sports injuries, workplace injuries, and other accidents.
Understanding the basic anatomy of the hand and fingers is useful in
understanding different types of finger injuries, broken fingers, and how some
treatments differ from others.
The hand is divided into three sections: 1) wrist, 2) palm, and
3) fingers.
The wrist has eight bones, which move together to allow the
vast ranges of motion of the wrist.
The palm or mid-hand is comprised of the
metacarpal bones. The metacarpal bones have muscular attachments and bridge the wrist to the
individual fingers. These bones frequently are injured with direct
trauma such
as a crush injury, or most commonly, a punching injury.
The fingers are the most frequently injured part of the hand.
Fingers are constructed of ligaments (strong supportive tissue connecting
bone to bone), tendons (attachment tissue from muscle to bone), and three
phalanges (bones). There are no muscles in the fingers;
and fingers move by the pull of
forearm muscles on the tendons.
The three bones in each finger are named according to their relationship to the palm of the hand. The
first bone, closest to the palm, is the proximal phalange; the second
bone is the middle phalange; and the smallest and farthest from the hand is the
distal phalange.
The thumb does not have a middle phalange.
The knuckles are joints formed by the bones of the fingers and are commonly
injured or dislocated with trauma to the hand.
The first and largest knuckle is the junction
between the hand and the fingers - the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP). This
joint commonly is injured in closed-fist activities and is commonly known as a
boxer's fracture.
The next knuckle out toward the
fingernail is the proximal inter-phalangeal
joint (PIP). This joint may be dislocated in sporting events when a ball or
object directly strikes the finger.
The farthest joint of the finger is the distal inter-phalangeal joint (DIP).
Injuries to this joint usually involve a fracture or torn tendon
(avulsion) injury.
What are the causes of a broken finger?
Traumatic injury is the main cause of broken fingers. Most commonly,
traumatic injury to the finger occurs from playing sports, workplace injuries, falls, or other accidents.
A hematoma is a collection of blood that is outside a blood vessel. There are different areas where hematomas occur including the inside the skull, scalp, ear, septum, bones, finger and toenails, and intra-abdominal. Treatment for hematomas depend on the type and location of the hematoma.
Fractures occur when bone cannot withstand the outside forces applied to the bone. Fractures can be open or closed. Types of fractures include: greenstick, spiral, comminuted, transverse, compound, or vertebral compression. Common fractures include: stress fracture, compression fracture, rib fracture, and skull fracture. Treatment depends upon the type of fracture.
Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone. Potential causes include injections around the bone, fractures that puncture the skin, recent surgeries, and bacterial infections that travel from other areas of the body, spreading through the blood to the bone. Symptoms include pain, fever, chills, stiffness, and nausea. Treatment involves antibiotics and pain medications. Surgery is sometimes necessary.
Cuts, scrapes, and puncture wounds are common, and most people will experience one of these in their lifetime. Evaluating the injury, and thoroughly cleaning the injury is important. Some injuries should be evaluated by a doctor, and a tetanus shot may be necessary. Treatment will depend upon the severity of the injury.
First aid is a complicated subject and it is situation-specific. First aid is the help and medical assistance that someone gives, not only to an injured person, but to a person who is sick. Preparedness is a key element of first aid, like having basic medical emergency kits in your home, car, boat, or RV. Cuts, puncture wounds, sprains, strains, nosebleeds are one type of injury that may require first aid; heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and heat stroke are examples of more critical first aid emergencies.
Early warning signs of job stress include headache, sleep disturbance, difficulty in concentrating, short temper, upset stomach, job dissatisfaction, and low morale. Stress on the job can be damaging to your health in that job stress is the outcome when job demands cannot be met.
First aid is the assistance given to an injured or sick
person in need of urgent medical assistance. First aid applies to a broad range
of medical situations and consists both of specific knowledge and skills (for
example,
what to do for each type of injury or illness) and the ability to assess a situation and
make appropriate decisions (such as when to call for emergency medical
assistance).
Preparedness is a key element of first aid. While every home, auto, and boat
should be equipped with a basic emergency kit that includes first aid supplies
and a first aid manual, special circumstances may necessitate more advanced or
specific degrees of preparation for an emergency. For example, residents of
certain geographic areas where natural disasters (such as hurricanes,
earthquakes, tornados, floods, landslides, or tsunamis) may occur should prepare
for emergencies by assembling disaster preparedness kits such as
earthquake
kits, ...
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