Anyone else ever tear this? How long did it take you to recover?
I did it while jumping a horse… should have kept my fingers closed.
Hopefully a much more severe injury, but I shattered my thumb and tore off several ligaments, that one included.
They screwed the tendons back on and pinned things in several directions to try to put the bones back together.
Thumb was also pinned so that the joints couldn’t move.
10 weeks in a cast, 3mths in a splint, then they removed the pins (OUCH!! numbing medicine wouldn’t work, so they did it anyway!:mad: )
Intensive PT for 4 months.
Was Banned from the barn until the wounds healed b/c Dr said I could lose my thumb (not sure if that was true, but THAT made an impression!)
After the splint came off, I was allowed back to the barn.
1 year later, the thumb works pretty darn well - not as strong and still a little tender, but it works!!
The hand specialist said it takes a year to know what the final result would function and look like.
Good luck!
That is horrible Jay!!! I start pt on Tuesday. I did this 6 weeks ago and didn’t go to the dr right away but then it just kept getting worse not better. Dr said he would have casted it if i’d come when it first happened. I’d probably better by now. I’m feeling sorry for myself, but your story is way worse than mine! Glad you are better now. 
Hey, that’s not supposed to bend that way…
TR,
I have torn this ligament on each hand at different times. First, if you felt like you were going to throw up right after you did it because of the pain, that’s normal in my experience!
Second, find someone whoo specialized in hand rehab. Not every PT has the knowledge to deal with this injury. Third, if the doctor has not determined whether you are a surgical candidate, now is the time to do that. Sometimes they just don’t heal on their own. One of mine healed fine the other one needed to be injected to decrease inflammation, and a friend of mine had to have a surgical repair. All are possible with this injury.
Lastly, give it time, and put it in a removable half cast while riding to protect it. Good luck!
Good Luck!
I didn’t tear the ligament, but the ligament broke a chip of the bone off so the injury was a little different. I was casted for 14 weeks total and nothing healed, so (frustrated), I went to the hand therapist and got a custom molded removable splint and wore that for almost a year when I needed to use my thumb. Not ideal, but I wasn’t ready for surgery.
15 months after injury, I opted for the surgery to actually fix the issue. They put a tiny ‘anchor’ into the thumb to reattach the ligament (and the chip) to the main part of the bone. 6 weeks later and a bit more hand therapy, I was out of the cast. The anchor will stay forever but it’s so small it’s virtually unnoticeable.
I had a very understanding hand specialist/surgeon and therapy combo-- I rode with the splint and with the numerous casts.
If you hold the reins between your first and second fingers instead of thumb/first finger, you still have fine control. You’ll also get super good at the ‘claw’ between your first and second fingers for doing EVERYTHING.
Good luck-- with the right doctors, you should be back at it all in no time!
And as you already know, you can’t turn door knobs to open doors.
I injured mine 40 years ago, the feed bin was low and I reached way in there with the scoop and fell in, my thumb breaking the fall and bending the wrong way and dislocating.
No surgery and it healed fine eventually.
Good luck, maybe yours will do so also.
