| What is it? |
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Boxer's fracture is the common name for a break in the end of the small
finger metacarpal bone.
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| What caused it? |
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It is usually caused by punching something harder than the hand, such as
a wall or another person's head. The end of the metacarpal bone takes the
brunt of the impact, which usually breaks through the narrowest area near
the end (the "neck"), and bends down toward the palm.
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| What can you do to help? |
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Ice, elevation, and hangover help if needed.
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| What can a therapist do to help? |
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A therapist can make a splint to help protect the broken bone.
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| What can a doctor do to help? |
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A doctor can set the bone, but many times the bone falls back after being
set. If the break is bad enough, it may be best to have the fracture set
and then held in place with pins or other hardware.
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| How successful is treatment? |
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Casting or splinting the break is helpful to keep from injuring the area
further, but without surgery, the break usually heals with a bend at the
site of the break. The most reliable way to get the bones to heal straight
is to use with pins or other orthopedic hardware. This works well in most
people - but is not usually needed, as most people do just fine even if
the bone heals with a bit of a bend.
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| What happens if you have no treatment? |
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Most of the time, the break heals without any real problem. However, if
the bone heals with too much of a bend, it may mess up the action of the
tendons which straighten the other finger joints, and result in a permanent
bend in the middle knuckle of the finger.
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