How to Identify a Broken Finger Joint

A broken finger joint can be incredibly painful. This injury can significantly disrupt your life, especially if your job requires the use of your hands. It can sometimes be difficult to tell if your finger joint is truly broken or just bruised. While a broken finger joint requires medical attention, a bruise or even a minor fracture may heal on its own. Learn how to identify a broken finger joint to seek proper medical care if necessary.

A popping sensation. Those who have broken their finger joint often report feeling a popping sensation or hearing a snap in their hand at the moment of injury. The popping is due to the bone actually breaking or fragments shifting out of place. If you experience this, it's best to stop what you're doing and inspect your hand.

• A popping sensation doesn't always occur when a finger joint is broken. Whether or not you feel this depends on the severity of the break.

Identify the cause of the injury. A broken finger joint is often referred to as the 'boxer's fracture' because it typically happens when someone punches a hard surface. Were you punching a wall or some other rigid object? Or were you caught up in a fight with some heavy blows? If you hit a solid object, it's highly likely that your finger joint is broken.

• There are also less common causes for a broken finger joint. It can occur if you fall, operate machinery, or engage in activities that cause hand injuries.
• Some doctors now refer to this type of fracture as the 'barroom brawler's fracture' rather than the 'boxer's fracture,' since boxers often protect their hands by wearing gloves. You are more likely to break a finger joint if you punch a hard object with a bare fist.

Feel the immediate pain. A broken finger joint is accompanied by sharp and instant pain. Right after the injury, you'll feel a sharp sting in your hand followed by intense pain. Depending on your pain tolerance, this sensation can weaken you and force you to stop whatever you're doing.

• If the fracture is minor, you may not feel excruciating pain. However, it’s still a good idea to stop using your hand as it might cause further damage to your finger.

Check the temperature of your hand. When you break a finger joint, blood rushes to the area of the fracture, causing your hand to feel warm. Check the temperature of both the injured hand and the uninjured one. If the injured hand is significantly warmer than the other, it's likely that your finger joint is broken.

Check for swelling. If the finger joint is broken, swelling will begin around 10 minutes after the injury. This swelling will appear around the broken joint and may spread to the rest of the hand. Swelling can be severe and make it difficult to move your hand.

• When swelling begins, you may also feel a tingling or numb sensation.
• Take over-the-counter pain relievers like aspirin or ibuprofen to reduce swelling and manage the pain.
• Excessive swelling can hinder the doctor’s ability to examine the injury. Applying ice early on can help reduce the swelling. Wrap ice or a frozen vegetable bag in a towel and apply it to the injury. Ice for 20 minutes, allowing the skin to return to normal temperature before reapplying.

Observe bruising. Bruising around a broken finger joint will appear much faster than usual. As blood rushes to the site of the break, the area will begin to change color within minutes, making the injury very painful, even with the slightest touch.

• There are cases where a bone may break without bruising, but this is rare.
• To reduce bruising, elevate your hand. Keeping your hand raised above heart level helps the blood flow away from the injury.

Look for a sunken joint. A surefire way to identify a broken finger joint is by noticing it sinking lower than the other joints. If possible, make a fist and inspect your finger joints. Normally, they should protrude. If you can't see one of the joints, it is almost certainly broken.

• The fracture may affect the position or angle of the finger joint, causing it to sink.

Identify any skin tears. If the bone is protruding through the skin, this is an open fracture and requires surgery for proper treatment. You should clean the affected area with antibacterial soap. Open wounds around a broken bone are susceptible to infection, which can complicate the healing process.

• Cleaning the broken finger may be painful, but it is essential.
• Be sure to thoroughly dry the wound, as moisture can encourage bacterial growth. You can also cover the wound with a clean gauze bandage to prevent infection.
• Remove any debris from the wound. If something has pierced through the bone, leave it for the doctor to remove.

Bend your finger. Try to bend the injured finger to check if the joint is dislocated or twisted. If the finger joint is dislocated, you won't be able to bend it at all because the bone will move in a way that prevents you from moving your finger. If the bone is twisted, you might still be able to bend the finger, but it will point toward your thumb. A twisted bone means the bone has rotated, causing the finger to bend in a direction it didn’t before.

• If the bone is dislocated or twisted, you will need a doctor to realign it.
• Twisted or dislocated finger joints generally take longer to heal than a typical fracture.

Clench your fist. If the finger joint is broken, clenching your fist will be very difficult. You can assess the severity of the injury by trying to make a fist. If the bone in your finger is broken, your hand might be too swollen or too painful to move the fingers. You may still be able to curl other fingers, but the one with the broken joint might not align properly with the others.

• Do not push yourself too hard. Forcing your hand to close despite the pain could lead to further injury or dislocation.

Try gripping an object. A broken finger joint will greatly reduce your finger's strength. Your brain will stop the muscles around the injury to prevent further damage. If you find that you can't grip anything tightly, it might be your brain protecting the broken joint.

• If the break is minor, you might still be able to grip something. However, if you suspect a fracture, it’s better to avoid trying to grip tightly as this could worsen the injury.

Check your wrist. The finger joint is located on the hand’s bones, with the end of the hand bones connecting to the wrist. Since these bones are linked, a broken finger joint can affect the movement of your wrist. Try moving your wrist up and down and side to side. If you feel sharp pain extending through your hand, it’s likely that you have suffered a serious finger fracture.

Seek treatment. If you suspect a broken finger joint, you need to see a doctor or go to the emergency room as soon as possible for treatment. You may need to wear a splint for several weeks until the joint heals. Casts are usually not necessary for hand and finger fractures.