Of course this would happen on a holiday weekend. I'm not even sure what happened. While grocery-shopping with my husband and two fussy babies (rushed, crazy) I clumsily hit something with the top of my right-hand ring finger. It hurt immediately - I thought I'd jammed it somehow - I (perhaps stupidly) tried pulling on it to see if it would pop, it didn't. It has continued to hurt for the past 14 hours, but it has not swollen - much. You can only see swollenness if you view both of my ring fingers from the side. The hurt one is bigger at the base. From the back-hand-side or palm-side view, they appear the same.



I can only bend it down to about an inch from my palm. I can't straighten it fully, either. If I grab it and try to force it further down or back, it HURTS VERY BADLY. (It also hurts a little just bending it within its range.) It hurts to squeeze the main knuckle. The top knuckle hurts when I press on it, like trying to press the tip down, too.

What happened to my finger???

I'm just wondering if I should pay the $$ to go to an after-hours/weekend clinic. Does this sound like a sprain? Would it just heal on its own eventually?

It could just be a sprain, but it could also be a break or dislocation, although you would expect more swelling and bruising with that. This is going to sound weird, but try putting it in hot water for a few minutes and see if you can move it more. If it is a sprain or strain and your movement is just being limited by tightness, then the heat will help it.

Thanks, kehorner! I did as you suggested, and found that in hot water I could move it all the way down to my palm. I've been practicing that throughout the day, as well as straightening it all the way out. It still hurts a little, but I'm not worried since I'm getting more range of motion back. I still wonder how this happened while shopping (the exact moment it happened is a blur, I had so many things going on in my mind), but I'm glad to know it is only a sprain, or strain? Thank you again, for your advice. =o)