How to tell if your finger is broken, sprained, or jammed
If you broke your finger, it will be very swollen and painful. If you broke it badly, it may look deformed meaning that it looks twisted or bent strangely. A jammed finger is generally another way of saying a sprained finger. A sprained finger will still look straight and you should be able to take it through its full range of motion. With a broken finger, you may not be able to keep it straight, and may not be able to bend it fully. At Easy Orthopedics in Colorado Springs, we frequently see and treat the many varieties of finger fractures and sprained fingers.
How do you tell if you have a broken or sprained finger?
Sometimes you can tell if you have a broken or sprained finger just by looking at it. If your finger is twisted, deformed, or can’t bend or straighten all the way then you may have broken it. A sprained finger is when the joints of the finger get stretched or deranged in some manner, but without any breaks or finger dislocations. A sprained finger will normally be straight, and you should be able to bend and straighten it all the way. It may be swollen and hurt, but you should still be able to move it without too much trouble. The best way to tell if you have a broken or sprained finger is to get a simple hand x-rays of at least three views. This will tell you definitively if you have broken your finger, or if you have simply sprained it. That being said, there are some tendon injuries that can happen without a break.
Is a jammed finger the same as a sprained finger?
A jammed finger is generally accepted as being the same as a sprained finger. Some people will say that they jammed their finger, which means that their finger was out straight and the tip of the finger was traumatically compressed towards the hand. Someone can jam their finger which can cause their finger to break or get sprained. But if someone says that they have a jammed finger, it usually means that they sprained it without breaking it.
What does it look like when you jammed your finger?
When you jammed your finger it can look perfectly normal, or it can be deformed if you broke it. If you jammed it hard enough to break your finger, then it will be swollen and could be twisted or shortened. If you jammed your finger but did not break it, it may be a little swollen, but it won’t be twisted or shortened.
I hope we were able to answer some of your questions about how to tell if your finger is broken, sprained, or jammed. If you would like us to evaluate your finger and are in the Colorado area, contact us below to make an appointment.
