How to deal with finger injuries

Finger injuries are probably the most common injuries in sport and can cost you a lot of training time. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu there are many ways of injuring your fingers like posting with your hand and hyper extending your fingers, getting your fingers stuck in your partners gi and (the worst) accidentally grabbing the inside of a gi sleeve or pants. Injured fingers are a nuisance because firstly they HURT, secondly injured fingers take long to heal and lastly it keeps you off the mat. In your grappling career you will have to learn how to deal with finger injuries and to do that we will go through the different types of injuries you may encounter on the mat.


Friction Burns:

                                                                             Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileRopeburn
                                       


Friction burns are especially common with beginners and happens when your fingers chafe against the gi material and leave those painful, red and raw spots.
Treatment:
Anti-Inflammatory cream and gauze that allow the wound to dry out.
On the mat:
Cover the injured area with porous tape to prevent further friction  and still allow the wound to keep as dry as possible.

Sprained Fingers:

                                                              Photo: notesofaharpist.typepad.com   


This is also a common injury and is usually caused by hyper extension of the finger and is a result of damaged or torn ligaments in the finger. Depending on the severity of the sprain, healing time will take a week to several months.
Treatment: See your Doctor to make sure nothing is broken and (in severe cases) to find out if surgery is needed. Ice the sprained finger as much as possible but for no longer than ten minutes at a time to prevent tissue damage. Try not to bend or straighten the finger untill it feels better.
On the mat:  If you have clearance from your GP to train, you may want to strap your finger. I prefer stretchy water proof tape but any tape will do. Taping strengthens your finger, oreventing further damage and hyper extension. The following are the most common strapping techniques:

I-Wrap

X-Wrap

Buddy-Wrap

Broken Fingers:

Photo: orthoinfo.aaos.org

Broken fingers are the result of, well, broken bones in the finger and are extremely painful. Severity ranges from cracked bones to shattered bones and this injury will keep you off the mat for months.
Treatment: Go to a Doctor or Hospital immediately because a broken finger left untreated may regrow in a broken position leaving the finger crooked and with limmited usability. In most cases the finger will have to be broken back to its originality position and in some cases surgery may be needed. After the finger is repaired it will be placed in a splint and you will have to rehabilitate the finger with exercises.
On the mat: Don't use the broken finger under any circumstances and if you do you will be sorry.


Dislocated Fingers:

Photo: skatedc.org                                                       

This happens when one of the bones in a finger joint gets separated from the joint and usually leaves tissue and tendon damage. Dislocated fingers don't hurt as much as they look bad and will be a problem for a couple of weeks.
Treatment: Go to  a Doctor or Hospital immediately so a doctor can put the separated bone back in its joint.  From personal experience i can say that the actual dislocation does not hurt nearly as much as the relocation so you might want to get sedated for this and you will have to rehabilitate the finger with exercises.
On the mat: Strap the finger and try to use it as little as possible.






The best way to deal with an injured finger is simple don't use it. Try to use your hips and legs when rolling and keep you arms crossed on your chest to keep your hands safe. Not only will this protect your injury but it will also improve your Jiu Jitsu game a lot.