JERSEY FINGER

Jersey finger is titled because this injury occurs in American Football when a player grabs an opponent player’s jersey while the opponent is trying to get away from him. Doing this causes the tip of the finger to extend beyond its normal range, while the rest of the finger is in flexion. This causes the tendon that attaches the finger muscle to the tip of the finger to pull off, or avulse. This results in a fingertip that can no longer flex or bend. Symptoms include a pop or rip sensation in the finger at the time of injury, pain when moving the injured finger and the inability to bend the last finger joint. Tenderness, swelling, warmth, bruising after 48 hours, and an occasional lump is felt in the palm of the finger. The goal of treatment is to repair the pulled off tendon back to the fingertip bone.

Jersey finger is an injury to the flexor tendons in the finger. This injury got its name from the common sports injury where a player will grab another’s jersey and their finger gets caught and pulled. Doing this causes the tip of the finger to extend beyond its normal range, while the rest of the finger is in flexion. This causes the tendon that attaches the finger muscle to the tip of the finger to pull off the bone, or avulse. This results in a fingertip that can no longer flex or bend.

Symptoms include a pop or rip sensation in the finger at the time of injury, pain when moving the injured finger and the inability to bend the last finger joint. Tenderness, swelling, warmth, bruising after 48 hours, and an occasional lump is felt in the palm of the finger. The goal of treatment is to repair the pulled off tendon back to the fingertip bone. Since the tendon is completely pulled off the bone, surgery is required to repair the tendon.