How do you know if your hand is broken?

Broke my ankle when I was younger. Still managed to cycle to get about as soon as I could stand. Took off one pedal and could manage to still pedal the other with a toe clip to pull it up to keep cranking. Hills were a bit tricky though.
It'll get better, good luck.

God get it looked at in AED or minor injury unit, it's not too late. Ouch

A crack of note or fracture would show on an x-ray 2 weeks on. Worth popping into A&E. Not too late: you might prevent it making a small crack bigger through stress and overuse if there's one there.

I wonder if any experts on here could help;

A couple of weeks ago I managed to smash my little finger into a door frame when reaching for a light switch. It did smart at the time but I just presumed it was your usual bit of a knock, perhaps a bit of hyperextension and carried on, albeit in a minor bit of pain.

Now, I'm having some real mither with my hand, the knuckle on my little finger is very tender and sore and the pain is extending down the outside of my hand in to my wrist when I use my hand for anything.

I know it's too late to go to hospital or for an x-ray, but does anyone have any suggestions for any exercises or strapping that could help it heal a bit quicker?

I remember as a student I was placed with a fab old school GP in Wigan he was ace, he always but always made the point Pain in its self is not a diagnostic. Self rating is used in the management of pain because perception is important. One persons agony can be another persons ache, that's why you might use pain or guarding as an indication of where there is a problem or if you like a pointer but not a diagnostic. People really wouldn't get x rayed given the dangers posed from X-ray exposure over a life time and of course the cost, ah yes the cost.... Money and health care such a wonderful match! Sorry, it is not really possible to identify a fracture simply by pain and limited movement they are just clues which help you know where to look.

If you are not calcium deficient I'm not aware of good quality research which finds calcium supliments of benefit. And if I'm wrong I would like to be directed to the research as very interested.

Good luck with your recovery, I had an accident in November and I'm only recently back on the bike so I known where you are coming from being sad,at missing important training. I am using it as a motivator to train really well and come back stronger and lighter than before

ha ha ha - did that a year ago just before Xmas - upstairs windows - still I mostly missed my back and hit my head instead.
I broke 'various' ribs, two vertebrae and of course had a bit of a headache. Free trip in chopper for my trouble.

Still got well enough to do the Etape in the summer - So don't get depressed enjoy the enforced rest - at least you can chuckle right now when you don't have 6-8 ribs busted down one side!!! and no I don't know how many cos the hospital lost my records.

Fell off a ladder, have nightmares thinking I could of landed on my back!!

I am sitting with my foot elevated, in pot with no weight bearing for minimum of 4 -6 weeks. Then a long rehabilitation period to hopefully walking normally and cycling. All my plans this spring through to summer have gone. This will be a recovery year. I will be seeing a specialist this week to assess how much damage I have done to my foot:(

Scaphoid and snapped ulna (ulnar?) late 2013... nightmare. Surgery to re-set the bone, lots of painkillers, months of physio.

On the plus side, I bought a bike to stay fit as I wasn't allowed to play football for months, so I'd never have found my favourite hobby and by extension, you lot!

I broke a metacarpal once on a Saturday morning. Went to A&E, had it x-rayed, was told nothing wrong with it.

Sunday the pain was unbearable.

Monday went to a different A&E unit, had it x-rayed, was told nothing wrong with it.

As I was leaving the hospital I heard my name called over the PA, went back, was told a Consultant had taken a look at the X-rays and had seen a broken (and dislocated) 4th metacarpal.

Monday evening underwent surgery to have the break fixed and steel pins inserted.

Moral of the story?

There isn't one of course. What were you expecting? The secret to life, the universe and everything?

I found using a tin opener was the perfect diagnostic tool! The rotating movement really hits broken bones. Hope you did stick around for the x-ray though.
If it's broken I'd recommend taking calcium tablets, speaking from experience, I've broken my hands 3 times, all rugby though, both hands, left twice, right once. First time took 3 months, poor blood supply as mentioned above, with no tablets, 2nd time took 100% recommended daily does, took 8 weeks, third time, took 200% recommended does, took 4 weeks.

Updates?

Definitely get the x-ray. I almost didn't have one when I got knocked off, but one of the nurses was worried because I couldn't make a fist. Turned out I'd smashed up my trapezium and also knocked the hook off my hamate. Two for the ouch of one.

Try touching the tips of your thumb and small finger together. It's an unusual movement so you might not even think about it, but if you can't do it - there's something wrong.

Word of caution about lack of pain. 24 years ago I was knocked off a bike and end up in the back of a Ford transit. Nothing seemed too bad and there was certainly no pain. Some time later I went to wash my hands and found I couldn't rotate my wrist, so realising something was a miss I went to A&E and waited a long time, found out I'd broken my elbow, and still no pain, that was untill about 6 hours later and then it hit, at the time pain wasn't the word it was so bad. I have never been able to fully extend my elbow and it still gives me pain every now and then. So stay put and get it sorted.

When I was 14 I tripped and fell on a unmade footpath at school. My mum thought it was a sprained and wouldn't take me to hospital. 5 hours after I got home she finally took me, but was insistent it was a sprain turns out my wrist was broken and took 8 weeks to get out of the cast.

She made me set and clean the table for tea and do my homework.

Broke my right hand 3 Xmas's ago, went down twice on black ice within 500m (shaded country road)...second tumble and I knew right away it was broken (despite being gloved...had to remove the glove...to assess if any puncture wound)...
Had no way of getting home the 9kms left of my cycle happened at the base of a hill too...just impossible to hold a bar at all...5th metacarpal broken.
It had just started to snow heavily also...managed to call the wife's friend, she dispatched her hubby in a van to pick me up...(wife was over in Scotland visiting relo's)
Then had an interesting 25km drive to A&E...in snow...spent 5 hours waiting then got a temp 'slab' fitted...was exactly 1 week from Xmas day...had to return the following Monday to get a proper cast fitted...pinky finger is now 1 cm shorter due to being an oblique fracture...apparently they don't manipulate them back into place these days unless it's compound...

Hey Ho...best of luck, let's hope it's just a bad bruise/sprain...soft tissue injury...

You can always play, "guess the ailment" A&E is a great place for people watching! A couple of years ago I waited with my son, (came off his bike) his knee was a mess. But despite my best efforts the staff were obviously in, "cut knee mode" when he VERY eventually got to see the consultant the consultant said, "there are grit and stones in here!". "Yes I know, we were on a gravelly track, I am a long way from home, this is why I brought him in". When my son said, "the pain is not too bad" they took him at his word! His pale, clammy face told a different story, meanwhile, a young giggling girl, in 10/10 pain (the worst pain imaginable) was getting all the attention.
I am not saying be a drama Queen but do not try to impress the nurse with your indifference to mind numbing pain

scaphoid - one of the potentially difficult bones to heal (lack of blood supply) - and you will still be able to move your fingers with it broken. One test is to apply pressure as if you were using a screw driver - if there is pain in the palm - its likely. stick around and get it ex-rayed regardless, four hours or more is nothing in the grand scheme of things.....but you could go back tomorrow lol.

If you have any pain in your wrist it is worth hanging around. It is important to eliminate a scaphoid bone fracture. It is easily broken when falling on an outstretched hand and will cause any amount of hassle if not treated properly. Hand injuries are a pain (please excuse the pun) but obviously will again cause you long term hassle. Even if the pain in the wrist is not particularly intense the pain in your hand may be distracting you from the pain in the wrist. So I would sit it out; sorry!
Let me know how you get on; you can google 'scaphoid fracture' for more info.