Finger fracture and recovery

[ChestnutArabianMare]

Hi all! I have a comminuted fracture of my proximal phalanx in my right ring finger (aka my right ring finger is broken into 3 pieces) and I’m going to have an open reduction internal fixation to put a very, very small plate and screws into my finger.

Does anyone have any experience in returning to riding after finger fractures and surgery and what the recovery process is like? I will be having hand therapy after surgery as well.

I was getting something out of my car while holding my horse and accidentally leaned on the horn. She spooked and stopped as soon as her feet hit the ground again but my finger got caught in the lead rope when she teleported. I heard a loud pop and that was that–my first horse related fracture and I wasn’t even riding!

[Risuena]

I had an avulsion fracture of the proximal phalanx on my 5th (pinkie) finger many years ago and needed surgery to pin it. Returning to riding was no big deal, though I didn’t hold the rein between my 4th and 5th fingers for a long time. I’d guess that once it’s healed you’ll be able to ride with maybe some experimenting with the reins and having it go outside your pinkie rather than between the pinkie & ring fingers.

My one bit of advice is to follow your hand therapy protocol religiously. I developed adhesions with the extensor tendon that caused a lot of issues and resulted in another surgery + a permanently “funky” pinkie. I’m not sure how common that is - I’ve since learned that I’m really good at forming adhesions, and I also waited a couple of weeks before getting the finger checked out (bad decision). I did follow my post-op instructions but in retrospect they might not have been ideal. However, this was 20 years ago and in a different country. Getting the finger moving again after the immobilization period isn’t pleasant but I’d encourage you to be really diligent about following their rehab plan. Good luck!

[KBC]

Nothing helpful to add just “ouch” and sending healing vibes.

[Write_amp_Ride]

I crunched my finger in the door of the tack room. When I finally went to the doctor many weeks later he told me it was broken and so was another finger on my other hand, no idea how that happened. I’m a moron. He splinted them both and I asked about riding; he gave me this look and said “Ah, you’re an equestrian. My wife is a dressage rider. Do whatever you want, it won’t matter if I tell you not to.”
I have been injured off the horse more than on the horse. It makes me more aware of things like not holding the lead rope in a loop, using caution when putting on tendon boots, not wearing inappropriate shoes, etc.
Good luck with the surgery and rehab. Definitely do the therapy; I stopped too soon with a rotator cuff injury. Think long term result - it sucks to get old and have things hurt more than they should.

[ChestnutArabianMare]

Thanks guys! I’m an RN and I’ve been in PT before multiple times so I’m well aware of the importance of sticking with the exercises.

I will give my mare kudos - the work we’ve been doing on ground manners apparently has paid off and she’s behaving perfectly even though I’m handling her with one hand. Another horse near her spooked when they were both cross-tied today and some cats ran by and she just stared the horse like it was a lunatic, LOL.

[sophie]

I was lucky that I didn’t need surgery with my finger / hand fractures. Although one (little) fingers proximal phalanx should have required surgery but I opted against it. So it still looks bigger than the other one, but oh well.
I just taped it to the finger next to it and kept riding.

For the hand (right little finger metacarpus fracture) it was a bit different, they only had me in a sling that I could remove for showering etc but that didn’t offer me enough protection. So I went to get a cast at my local sports medicine center, and I asked the doctor to make it “curved” so I could still hold reins. He laughed, and complied. It worked great and healing / recovery was fine.
Good luck to you!