Summarize the following:
If you think you have broken a thumb, you should go to the emergency room so that a professional can set it. If you wait too long, the swelling caused by the broken bone can actually make it too difficult to realign the bones, which means that your thumb could be permanently bent. In addition, broken thumbs in children can permanently affect their growth by damaging their growth plates. Even if you suspect the injury might be a sprain (torn ligament) rather than a bone fracture, you should still see a doctor for an accurate diagnosis. Additionally, some serious sprains can still require a hand surgeon to repair. You should ultimately leave the final diagnosis and treatment decisions to a medical professional. In addition to asking questions regarding the symptoms from Part One, the doctor will also physically examine your thumb. He may test your strength and movement in the thumb by comparing it to that of your uninjured thumb. Another test includes touching the tip of your thumb to your index finger before applying pressure to the thumb to check your weakness. The doctor will likely order x-rays of your thumb from a variety of angles. This will not only confirm that diagnosis, but it will also show the doctor exactly how many fractures your thumb has sustained, which will assist in determining the best treatment option. The angles for the x-rays include: Lateral: The lateral view is an x-ray with the hand resting on its side, so that the thumb is up. Oblique: The oblique view is an x-ray with the hand tilted, resting on its side, so that the thumb is up. AP: The AP view is an x-ray of your hand in a flattened position, from above. A CT scan can also be referred to as a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan. A CT scan uses x-rays and a computer to create images of what the inside of your body parts (in this case, your thumb) look like. This way, your doctor can get a better idea of what the break is like and the best way to go about fixing it. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant because CT scans might cause harm to the fetus. Once your doctor has run the relevant tests, she will diagnose the specific type of fracture you have sustained. This will determine the complexity of the treatment options available. Extra-articular fractures are those that take place away from a joint along the length of one of the two bones in the thumb. While painful and requiring six weeks to heal, these fractures do not typically require surgical intervention. Intra-articular fractures take place along the joint, often requiring surgical intervention to help the patient retain as much movement in the joint after recovery as possible. Of the intra-articular thumb fractures, the two most common are a Bennetts fracture and a Rolando's fracture. In both, the thumb fractures (and likely dislocates) along the carpometacarpal joint (the thumb joint closest to the hand). The major difference between the two is that a Rolando's fracture involves three or more bone fragments that require realignment, and while a Bennetts fracture may occasionally forego surgery, a Rolando's fracture almost always necessitates surgical treatment.
Visit your doctor or go to the emergency room. Submit to a physical examination. Get an x-ray taken of your thumb. Talk to your doctor about getting a computed tomography (CT) scan. Have your doctor diagnose the type of break.