A broken 5th metacarpal?
Question:
(cant go to doctors for some reasons)
Answers:
Do you notice any swelling in any of the joints along the 5th metacarpal or finger? If the trauma was very recent (less than a a few days) then the swelling (fluid) is what is interfering w/ the movement you are trying to produce w/ your hand/finger. Does it look dislocated? Did you ice it immediately after the trauma? Try icing it for no longer than 15 minutes (not direct contact w/ ice...put a light cloth barrier between you and the ice pack) and compress this ice pack (try using an ace bandage or saran wrap works nicely). You should be doing this to get the swelling and pain out of the area. If this constant pain still bothers you after 2-3 weeks, then you have something else going on and you really need to see your MD...there is just no way around that.
I did the exact same thing but I hit the ground with my fist. My pinky hurt so bad that I thought it broke but I think I just dislocated it. You should wrap it and keep ice on it. Dont pick anything up with that hand because it could injure you way more. It would hurt a lot more than what you're sounding like now so I dont think it's broken. You couldve just bruised it.
The only way to tell if it's broken is an x-ray. Doesn't matter if you can move it or not move it, the x-ray tells the story.
Your 5th metacarpal and your pinky finger are different things. Together your metacarpals make up your hand. Punching a wall (or any hard object) is the main mechanism of injury for breaking the 5th metacarpal...its known as a boxers fracture (I am sure you can now figure how they came up with that name). You should have an x-ray taken on the hand to find out if there is a fracure or not. Dont let this go on too long b/c if it is broken you can do more harm by delaying.
If you did fracture it you need to have xrays, so I would suggest going to the doctor. You will not necessarily have to have a cast,,,, they call this a boxers fracture and sometimes takes a while to heal. Good luck!
More Questions & Answers...