Joint pain caused by thumb arthritis gradually worsens. This disease process causes your body to mistakenly attack your healthy joints, breaking down the soft tissue. Rheumatoid arthritis is another condition affecting the thumb joints. The bones eventually rub together, causing pain in the thumb joint. Your elbow may feel weak and unstable, and you may not be able to throw as fast as you like. Can you throw with a sprained UCL?Ī UCL injury causes pain on the inner side of the elbow. Your symptoms will continue to improve by working in therapy.
BREAKING YOUR THUMB LIGAMENT FULL
Most patients have minimal pain by 6 weeks after surgery, with nearly full thumb and hand motion by 3 months. You will be limited for the first 6 weeks with pain, weakness, and stiffness in the hand and thumb. Pain when accelerating the arm forward, just prior to releasing a ball. Pain on the inside of the elbow after a period of heavy throwing or other overhead activity. What are the symptoms of a UCL injury? A sudden “pop” or pain along the inside of the elbow, leading to the inability to continue throwing.
Symptoms of a broken thumb include: swelling around the base of your thumb. How do you treat UCL thumb? Can you still move your thumb if it’s broken? Return to sports usually takes about three to four months. Patients generally return to daily activities and work within a few weeks, often with a splint to avoid stressing the UCL too much. How long does it take for a thumb UCL tear to heal? The injury can limit movements, such as squeezing and gripping, needed for many sports. A thumb UCL injury can be very painful and make the thumb feel unstable. This injury is sometimes called “skier’s thumb” because skiers are prone to this injury when they fall with their hand strapped to a ski pole. No longer in contact with its insertion site, the UCL cannot spontaneously heal. It occurs when the aponeurosis of the adductor pollicis muscle becomes interposed between the ruptured ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the thumb and its site of insertion at the base of the proximal phalanx. Injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) were first recognized as an occupational condition in European gamekeepers.Ī Stener lesion is a type of traumatic injury to the thumb. UCL injury is short for ulnar collateral ligament injury of the thumb, most often due to a skiing accident, hence, the condition is now commonly referred to as skier’s thumb 1). Other common causes of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries are: Repetitive overhead movements, like throwing a baseball or tennis Poor throwing mechanics and improper form Rupture during contact sports like wrestling or football Accidents By immobilizing the damaged ligament, healing can take place while the thumb will be protected from further injury. If the tear is partial, and the thumb is not too loose, the patient is usually placed in a cast or a modified wrist splint (called a thumb spica) for 4 to 6 weeks.
How long does a torn thumb UCL take to heal? In these cases, your doctor may recommend surgery to reattach the UCL to the thumb joint and repair fractured bones if needed. Surgical Treatment For severe sprains, such as a complete rupture of the UCL, conservative treatment may not be enough to restore stability of your thumb joint. Sensation of weakness or “giving way” of the thumb when pinching or gripping.
Thumb joint swelling / stiffness / bruising. Symptoms of thumb UCL injuries usually include one or more of the following: Pain and tenderness over the joint at the base of the thumb. Surgery for the thumb collateral ligaments is usually done as an outpatient procedure, meaning you will probably go home the same day as the surgery. A torn ligament cannot fully heal itself. If the ligaments are completely torn, you will most likely have surgery to repair them.