# Fractured Finger Recovery Time?



## unclesam (Aug 5, 2006)

Yesterday, while body surfing with my kids at the beach, I fractured the tarsal bone in my middle finger on my left hand. I rode bike 100 plus miles a week and mountain bike a lot, so I find it a ironic that I suffered a broken bone at the beach. I a curious to know how long it has taken others to recover from this type of injury. The fracture is non-displaced, but the Dr. said that I shouldn't ride for a few weeks because the fracture could become displaced if I do not give it time to heal properly. It is also really difficult to make a fist to hold onto the handlebars. I am not accustomed to not being able to ride because of injury, but I should be lucky that it is not worse.


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## Mokl (Apr 3, 2008)

I don't know about tarsal fractures, but last year I broke my 5th meta carpal (at the knuckle joint of little finger) on my right hand. Had "ulna gutter" plastercast for 2 weeks, then physio started after about 4-5 weeks. Was riding okay after 7 weeks or so, but your fracture may not keep you from riding for so long.

I am currently nursing a broken clavicle  This is worse than the hand - my shoulder is stiffening up already and I don't start physio for 3 more weeks. It is also more painful 

The best advice I can give you is to give the fracture the rest it needs to recover properly. It is a ***** not being able to bike, but in the long run you'll thank yourself for letting the fracture heal properly. I was/am very impatient to ride again but the worst thing you could do is aggravate the fracture whilst it is trying to fuse. The joint will probably stiffen up (especially if it is immobilised in any way), so make sure you do your physio exercises as instructed. I found it took a little while before I could fully close my grip around the bars, but it did return. I made a better recovery than predicted in terms of range-of-motion with my finger because I was so diligent at practising my stretching and strengthening exercises. 

Good luck with your recovery! Feel glad you didn't break your wrist, or worse!


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## unclesam (Aug 5, 2006)

Thanks for the encouraging advice mokl. It really is a total drag not being able to ride. I am in some of the best shape of my life, and I was looking forward to competing in some upcoming 12 hour races while in peak form. You are, however, probably right that I need to let the hand heal properly. On Monday, I am going to make an appointment with a hand ortho. I hope you recover quickly from your clavicle injury. The way I see it is that we could become sedentary and fat while playing video games all day or we could have fun living out the real thing by doing cool stuff like mountain biking, skiing and surfing or whatever. I guess broken bones are the price we pay to really play. These injuries should probably serve as a reminder of how precious mountain biking really is. I know that the next time I ride I will definitely not take it for granted. Be well.


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