Interesting Strain - Handshake Injury

[coolshaps]

This is a very strange strain I suffered and I have no idea how it happened, or if the individual did it on purpose.

At a music show, I encountered an individual I had seen at many shows of the same genre of music. A common handshake in LA is as seen in the picture below. I said hello to him, small talk, and moved on to the dance floor.

The music was slow, I had ear plugs in because I was directly in front of the speakers, and had my back to the speakers. I may have seemed in protest, but regardless I was bored.

The individual pushed me, in a joking manner, then smiled as if we were friends and I was complicit with his behavior, and shook my hand in the style of the picture below. I recall him moving away while still holding my hand, so I took a step toward him, then I felt a strain. I was about to approach him but he walked away and I moved on.

Strain:

From what I recall, by using the image below, the individual (referenced by the white hand) pushed into my Metacarpo-phalangeal joint with his index and or middle finger.

The pain lasted for about a month, and now I only feel pain when I use my MCP joint in non-stabilized movements like using my thumb to stretch open a sock or to pull up my pants, the squeezing motion of my thumb and index finger base knuckle.


AnkevanWyk070300084.jpg

Thanks for any and all help guys! I also help this page can serve as a reference for individuals out there who may encounter this problem in the future.

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[pudding_bowl]

hmmm, Kind of a tricky one without seeing it. Based on what you've said I would think that he strained the MCP joint and it has since healed but slightly out of place. The Mulligan "positional fault". It's a theory bout would require mobilising the joint and strengthening, I would suggest you see a physio for guidance as it would be hard though not impossible for you to apply the glide while strengthening.

Pudding

[coolshaps]

Thank you very much pudding for your response. Below is a more relevant image which provides better details on where the pressure was placed, and where my discomfort is located.

Note that the discomfort as shown in the image by the yellow colored sketch is felt between the top and side of my thumb. In other words, looking at the thumb from an aerial perspective, with the nail on top and thumbprint 180 degrees around as the bottom, the pain is not felt directly on the side of my thumb, rather, between the side on the top of my thumb (at 45 degrees).

my hand.jpg

Thanks a lot for any and all help you provide!

[vam44]

You may have strained your ulnar collateral ligament which should be tested by a physio for the joints stability. Thumb and the small finger joints can remain very sensitive for a few months after twisting injury without any significant structural damage ie tears of ligaments, dislocations. Even so you should avoid any activities that strain and try to massage the area a lot aiming to improve the blood flow and sliding of the ligaments over the bone. If you are having a lot of trouble try a 'buddy' taping where you wrap a tape around the palm of the hand and crossover in a figure 8 style in the thumb web and then around the outside of the thumb. This will restrict the opening of the thumb web. If this seems to work you should keep thumb taped up for a few weeks so the ligament can get a really good rest.

Fortunately these strains do get slowly better.

[coolshaps]

Thanks a lot vam44, that makes me feel a lot better. I've thought about taping it to isolate the area to let it get some good rest. Unfortunately, I work in a factory so I use my hands very often, especially my thumbs!

How important is the beginning stage of healing, for example, the strain happened about three months ago; is there a loss in maximum healing potential if I only wrap my hand now, as opposed to if I wrapped it the day after the acute pressure was applied and the strain occured.

Thank you all for the help.