1. First Aid Essentials Slideshow Pictures
2. First Aid Bandaging Injuries Slideshow Pictures
3. First Aid Sprains & Strains Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

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.

View Full Profile

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

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.

View Full Profile

In this Article

• Broken finger introduction
• What are the causes of a broken finger?
• What are the symptoms of a broken finger?
• When should I see a doctor for a broken finger?
• How is a broken finger diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for a broken finger?
• What are the complications of a broken finger?
• How can a broken finger be prevented?
• Broken Finger At A Glance
• Find a local Doctor in your town
• Broken Finger Index

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.

The main symptoms of a broken finger are pain immediately after the trauma, and sometimes a deformed finger.

• A true fracture usually will be painful, but a broken finger may still have some range of motion and dull pain, and the individual may still be able to move it. Depending on the fracture stability, some fractures may be more painful than others.
  
  
• Usually within 5-10 minutes, swelling and bruising of the finger will occur and the finger will stiffen. Swelling may affect the adjacent fingers as well.
  
  
• Numbness of the finger may occur either from the trauma of the injury itself, or because swelling compresses the nerves in the fingers.
  
  
• Fractures to the finger tip (distal phalanx) are common from smashing injuries to the fingernail. The symptoms of this type of injury may be swelling and bruising to the finger pad and purple-colored blood underneath the fingernail (subungual hematoma).
  
  
• If the trauma is severe, broken bones may be exposed (called a compound fracture).