Finger injuries can occur at work, during sports, or from animal bites. Common injuries include bone or nerve damage, lacerations, strains, and fingernail loss. Pinched fingers can cause ligament damage and loss of fine motor control. Bites can cause soft tissue damage and infection. Nail injuries can result in subungual hematoma and paronychia.
Many common finger injuries occur at work, during sports, or are the result of animal bites. Some typical finger injuries include bone or nerve damage, laceration or avulsion of soft tissue, and strains of ligaments and tendons. Lacerations can affect soft tissue, nerves, and tendons, while crush injuries can break bones and damage ligaments, tendons, or nerves. Fingernails are also commonly injured, which can result in nail loss.
A jamming or crushing blow will commonly cause broken bones or damaged tendons. Finger injuries that are often associated with a pinched finger include ligament damage, such as skier’s thumb and swan neck deformity. Other frequent injuries include tendon damage found in hammertoe and buttonhole deformity. All of these injuries involve the stretching or tearing of ligaments and tendons, resulting in failure of a finger to straighten, and can lead to loss of fine motor control. They can also be associated with significant pain.
Each finger also has two nerves that can be damaged, which can cause a loss of sensation. These nerves run on different sides of the finger and each is responsible for sensation in one side of the finger. When a nerve is damaged, the side of the finger that it is associated with usually goes numb. Nerve damage can also be linked to a tingling or burning sensation.
Bites can cause significant soft tissue damage in the form of lacerations or punctures and can become complicated by infection. Animal bites are a common source of finger injuries, but human bites can be even more dangerous. This is due to the dangerous bacteria that are often present in the human mouth. Finger injuries sustained from a human bite or lacerations sustained during a fight may seem less serious than an animal bite, although it is important to disinfect these wounds quickly and seek appropriate medical attention.
The nail and nail bed is another easily injured part of the finger. The nail bed can be damaged by a tear breaking through the nail or by crushing force. When blood collects under the nail, a subungual hematoma can form. This sometimes requires drainage and can eventually cause nail loss. It is also possible to suffer from an infection of the area where the toe and nail join. These infections are usually known as paronychia, and if left untreated, they can potentially spread to infect the entire toe.
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