UKC

Anybody else knackered their thumb sliding uncontrollably down an artificial ski slope before catching it on the matting? Any tips for recovery?
Cheers

In reply to el diablo:

I have three bits of advice :
1. Get it looked at.
If they say it will just get better..
2. Get it looked at again.
If they say it will just get better... See 1.
3. Don't go to dry ski slopes.

If I hold my thumbs up and in front of me and bend them ,the left one is looks very weird / mishapen compared to the right. I did this at the dry slope in Sheffield 25 ish years ago . I cycled up to the halamshire in a great deal of pain and after waiting around for hours was told to take some paracetamol and wait for it to get better. I'm still waiting.......

In reply to el diablo:

Do a search for gamekeeper's thumb. I did mine mountain biking and found a velcro compression support really useful. In fact I had two, one oversized but I was to put it over my ski gloves to protect the thumb from further injury when skiing.

In reply to el diablo:
I take it you've already been to A&E to have it x-rayed etc? If not you should really get it looked at soon. You can rip bits of bone and ligaments badly enough that a wee op is needed to repair it. If you've broken it then you might need a cast.

I broke my proximal phalanx (the second bone from the thumb tip) rock climbing in 2008 and spent 4 weeks in a cast. My other half did his distal phalanx (the top most bone) snowboarding at Hillend and was basically told painkillers and it would hurt for a while. With the top most bone there's nothing to strap it to so they seem to just let that heal without a cast etc.

Both of us were pretty lucky as no ligament damage occurred, just bones which tend to heal pretty well. I actually fracture / dislocated mine but rather than the ligaments going the bone snapped in half. I have a slightly wonky shaped thumb now but no pain and can do everything I could before. I put masses of effort into doing my physio exercises and wore a brace on it when hillwalking for the first few weeks post cast just in case I fell over and landed on it. I didn't climb until 10 weeks after breaking it and I was probably back at the level I'd been pre-accident within 4 weeks.

Good luck.