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| I fell in the shower four weeks ago. My hand and thumb are still sore. I went to the doctors and got x-rays and then diagnosed me as a bad sprained hand when the x-rays showed nothing. The base of my thumb has a bruise and a bump is felt at the thumb’s base on the palm side of my hand. I keep icing it and taking advil but that is not working. Do you think I should go to another doctor? Do you think it is fractured? There is one area that is the most painful, which is the base of my thumb on the palm side of my hand. Do you think I should get an MRI? Will it show anything? Can a fall in the shower cause more than a sprain? I fell from a standing position. |
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| This is not a very complex situation. I dealth with two such cases recently. What I suggest is:
Contact: Orthopedic Surgen and Sports Medicine doctor in your area. Get two opinions without telling the second one about the first opinion. You are allowed that way. Tell that you shall like to avoid any surgery if possible. Most likely, your hand shall be put in cast between 3 to 8 weeks and healing shall take place including proper placement of bones. Each doctor shall take their own x rays once or a few times during healing process.
In case both two recommend surgery, you ask what shall be the consequence of or compromise due to normal healing, and decide from there. For example, in my own case, if I am missing certain mobility, but can avoid surgery, I shall choose that option and later do therapeutic exercises to get to my best possible movement.
If you are in Virginia, I can take you to a reliable doctor.
Best Luck
Edited by kulkarnn 2008-06-09 10:43 PM
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| Hand fractures are typically visible on x-rays. So I'd guess that you do not have a fracture.
You can of course seek another opinion if that will settle your mind, for an unsettled mind inhibits healing, it does not facilitate it.
An MRI, based on what you've shared thus far would be a very big step. It is quite pricey and I prefer to leave those things for people who really need them and that is not most people.
My guess is that you've got some trauma to the ligaments in your hand and since we use our hands in so many ways it would be expected for it to a) be very painful and b) heal slowly. Ligaments do not typically heal from icing though that would bring down the inflammation if there were inflammation.
More importantly, how much sleep and rest are you getting and in what ways are you supporting the body's ability to heal with your diet? |
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Location: London, England | tgb123 - 2008-06-10 2:17 AM
I fell in the shower four weeks ago. My hand and thumb are still sore. I went to the doctors and got x-rays and then diagnosed me as a bad sprained hand when the x-rays showed nothing. The base of my thumb has a bruise and a bump is felt at the thumb’s base on the palm side of my hand. I keep icing it and taking advil but that is not working. Do you think I should go to another doctor? Do you think it is fractured? There is one area that is the most painful, which is the base of my thumb on the palm side of my hand. Do you think I should get an MRI? Will it show anything? Can a fall in the shower cause more than a sprain? I fell from a standing position.
Hi Cassie,
Great that the x-rays showed nothing! The first thing to look for when a person falls on their hand is a scaphoid fracture, which is one of the eight bones of the wrist. One patient I had which sounds remarkably similiar to your symptoms had a strain of the tendons that overlie the thumb-this is called DeQuervain's tenosynovitis-or something like that, if memory serves me correctly. She got hers from typing (with bad hand posture) for ten hours a day. But a fall would do the same thing, only quicker. Tendons do not heal within a short space of time, so the pain you are feeling might be pretty normal-assuming it's a tendon strain. Tendons lie over joints, so any pain felt over a joint may be attributable to the tendon. It might be an idea to see a really good massage therapist, chiro, physio or osteo to give you a truly bruising massage to the muscles in the forearm, which move the thumb-this will be incredibly painful if they are good at what they are doing-don't say I didn't warn you 
Take care, let us know if we can help.
Nick |
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| Where is the Scaphoid in the hand and thumb? I also feel pain around that area. On the palm side of my hand where the thumb side is, it is still swollen and bruised and it is still sore when I press down on it and when I move it. Also, my whole hand is sore if I use it too much. This is on my left hand and it has been a while since I injured it. Do you think the x-rays would have shown a scaphoid fracture or should I get an MRI or bone scan? Could an x-ray easily miss a scaphoid fracture? |
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Location: London, England | Hi,
The scaphoid is at the outermost side of the wrist beneath the thumb. I can't say whether they are easy to miss-depends on the break-but I wouldn't get to hung up-that's the trouble with the internet. If more peope knew that you can die of back pain, then they would all be rushing to the doctors, and most of them would just have a muscle twinge, not a metastasis which might eventually kill them.
Nick |
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| When I went to physical therapy before for my ankle because I had ankle surgery over a month ago and currently going to therapy and that is how I fell in the shower because I could not put alot of weight on my ankle and slipped and fell. So, I showed the physical therapist my hand and he mentioned it might be a scaphoid fracture because of where he was pressing down on it and moving it around. That is where I have most of the pain. He told me to get it looked at and I did and I want to get a second opinion.
Edited by tgb123 2008-06-12 11:14 AM
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Location: London, England | Hi Cassie,
Oh, ok, didn't want to worry you unnessecarily-get an appointment as soon as you can-the scaphoid bone has a very poor blood supply, and a fracture can then compromise the blood supply, so the bone can become necrotic-in chiropractic, if a scaphoid fracture is suspected, all treatment is witheld until x-rays prove otherwise.
Nick |
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| What does it mean when you said the bone can become necrotic? Maybe I can get a different x-ray view or bone scan. I definitely don't want this hand and thumb injury to become chronic like my ankle when I sprained it badly 2 1/2 years ago and two months after I injured it, I finally found out I also fractured it after getting a different view on the x-ray. It became a chronic injury because it never healed correctly and had pain eve since and years later I got surgery to fix it. That is why I want to get some more tests done for my hand and thumb. The first time I went to the doctors, he diagnosed me as a bad sprain, but the pain still persists especially in the scaphoid area. Also, my whole hand and thumb hurt when I bend or move them. Most of the pain is where the scaphoid is. So, I just want to go to another doctor or maybe even a hand specialist and have it looked at again. |
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Location: London, England | tgb123 - 2008-06-13 1:08 AM
What does it mean when you said the bone can become necrotic? Maybe I can get a different x-ray view or bone scan. I definitely don't want this hand and thumb injury to become chronic like my ankle when I sprained it badly 2 1/2 years ago and two months after I injured it, I finally found out I also fractured it after getting a different view on the x-ray. It became a chronic injury because it never healed correctly and had pain eve since and years later I got surgery to fix it. That is why I want to get some more tests done for my hand and thumb. The first time I went to the doctors, he diagnosed me as a bad sprain, but the pain still persists especially in the scaphoid area. Also, my whole hand and thumb hurt when I bend or move them. Most of the pain is where the scaphoid is. So, I just want to go to another doctor or maybe even a hand specialist and have it looked at again.
Hi Cassie,
Necrosis basically means gangrene-so stop hanging about and get down to hospital! No more questions until you've got back! . But don't panic. I was kind of surprised that thwe PT said it was your scaphoid because the thumb is at the other end of a bone called a metacarpal, but maybe they had a prod around-anyway-down to the hospital.
Nick |
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| The PT said it was the Scaphoid because most of the pain is coming from that area. I am going to get a second opinion on this. My whole hand and thumb hurt but the Scaphoid hurts more. |
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Location: London, England | Hi Cassie,
If it's a scaphoid fracture, it could be a matter of some urgency-please go straight down to the hospital. I shouldn't really have been put in the position of having to tell you this-the PT should have done it-it's not a case of getting a second opinion in a few days or whatever-today!
Nick |
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Location: London, England | Hi Cassie,
Please go straight to hospital-do not wait a few days for a second opinion, scaphoid fractures have resulted in death because who thinks they are going to die from a hurt wrist? I am a bit peeved that it has fallen to me to tell you this, the PT should have done it, so sorry if I seem insistent-please go now!
Nick |
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| I went to the doctor's and I got referred to an Orthopedic Specialist. I am still taking advil for the pain but that is not helping. My hand and thumb are still sore, swollen, and bruised and it has been about six weeks since I injured it. Also when I am doing things that add pressure to it, it is painful. For instance, when I am driving the car and put my hand on the steering wheel, I put pressure on it and it is very sore. Also, when I am riding a bike and I put pressure on the handle bars that is also very sore. Do you think the pain would have been gone by now? |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
 
| Yes, the pain should be gone now. How soon do you get to see the specialist? |
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| I am going to see the Orthopedic specialist on July 15. |
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| It has been seven weeks since I fell in the shower and my Wrist, hand, and thumb are still sore. I fell on an outstretched hand. I got soap in my eyes and as I tried to turn around I slipped while I had both hands on the wall. My right one in back of me and my left on the side of me and as I fell, both hands went all the way down until I reached the tub surround. My left thumb bent inward underneath my left hand when I hit the tub surround. The pain immediately begun and it was awful. Do you think it might be more than just a sprain?
I got it checked out and they diagnosed me as a sprained wrist and hand. But it is still sore, swollen, and bruised, so I got a referral to Orthopedics. It is swollen on the palm side of my hand where the thumb is and near the wrist and there is a bump also on one of my thumb bones.
This was because when I got surgery on my ankle in April, a few weeks later, I tried to take a shower and not put alot of weight on my ankle and that is how I fell. As I turned around I slipped.
Edited by tgb123 2008-07-04 9:08 AM
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Hurt Hand and Thumb
