How to Heal Jammed Fingers When Playing Volleyball
Jammed fingers are a common volleyball injury. Your fingers may become jammed as the result of falling onto your outstretched hand or colliding with another player. Setting, spiking or hitting the ball can also result in jammed fingers.
Jammed fingers are a common volleyball injury. Your fingers may become jammed as the result of falling onto your outstretched hand or colliding with another player. Setting, spiking or hitting the ball can also result in jammed fingers. A jam occurs when the ligaments or joint capsules of your fingers are forced outside their normal range of motion. Jammed fingers can put a damper on your ability to participate in volleyball, but they can often be treated at home.
Step 1
Discontinue volleyball at the onset of your injury. Take a break from the sport until your fingers are pain-free.
Step 2
Consult a doctor. If you are in excruciating pain, cannot move your fingers, or your fingers are visibly deformed, go to the nearest hospital emergency room or medical clinic. These symptoms may indicate a fracture that needs prompt attention.
Step 3
Apply ice to your fingers. Use cold packs or a bag of ice and apply it to your fingers. Wrap the ice in a towel to avoid placing it directly on your skin. Ice your fingers for 20 minutes at a time, two to three times a day.
Step 4
Take over-the-counter pain medication if you have intolerable pain. Take aspirin or ibuprofen to help reduce pain and inflammation.
Step 5
Secure your fingers with athletic tape as they heal. Hold your jammed fingers together, place a piece of tape on your proximal interphalangeal joint, or PIP joint, and wrap the tape in a circle around all of your fingers. Apply another piece of tape in the same circular motion just above your PIP joint, taping all of your jammed fingers in a circular motion. If you have just jammed one finger, tape your injured finger to an adjacent, healthy finger.
Step 6
Strengthen your jammed fingers. Use a rubber ball or stress ball. Place the ball in the palm of your hand and squeeze all of your fingers around the ball as tightly as possible. Hold this position for five seconds. Relax and repeat 10 times, three times a day.
Step 7
Increase the ranges of motion of your jammed fingers. Slowly take your affected fingers through their full ranges of motion. Straighten each finger and then bend it at each joint. Hold each position for five seconds. Repeat three sets of 10 repetitions in the course of the day.
warning
Never perform any finger exercise to the point where you are experiencing pain. If you feel pain, stop immediately.
Do not take aspirin if you take blood-thinning medications, if you have stomach ulcers, or if you tend to experience severe or chronic gastrointestinal distress.