Skier's Thumb?

[mollmeister]

Anyone ever hurt their thumb skiing? I am wondering what I have done to my thumb and if I need to see a doc.

Skied Sunday and Monday. No traumatic *moments* of injury that I recall. Skied a lot of bumps (to stay out of the wind) at Copper on Monday. Had one fall, but it was just a *pop right back up and keep on skiing* scenario, with no pain.

But that evening, I noticed my thumb was sore. Felt a little funky. Not terrible, just a little weird. Since then, I have noticed that my pincher grip/grasping grip with thumb and forefinger is a bit compromised. . . which is very noticeable at my house, since everything is childproofed and half of the locks require this kind of grip.

I would assume, based on friends' experiences, that a thumb break or ligament tear would have a lot of swelling/bruising or an obviously misshapen or painful thumb. This aches more than hurts, mostly at the end of the day, but I do have a pretty high tolerance for injury pain. Reminds me of ankle sprains, of which I have experience with many.

Can you sprain your thumb? If so, could I have done it without noticing? Is the usual sprain home-treatment going to be enough-- Ice, elevation, compression, taping or brace to keep it stable? Wait and see . . . or do I actually need to see a doc?

 

[SuperMoe]

thumb

I would give it a few days...if it's not giving you any big pain. Yeah, you can ice it, take something for inflammation (if you feel comfortable with that) Every once in a while, I'll have something like that...nothing specific...but it kind of feels like it's been over-stretched/over-used.

It can be taped if it's still bothering you...ewww, just talking about this is making my thumb feel funny. LOL

 

[Jilly]

Yeah, that's skiers thumb. Sounds like a mild case. Rest it as much as you can. If it is sprained, you should get swelling and even bruising. Did both thumbs at the same time a few years ago. Swelling wasn't going down and they were a lovely colour of purple 1 week later. All my doctor (she skis too) ask was where was I skiing. She knew exactly what I'd done.
Now, try not gripping your poles so hard and make it a touch not a stab. Also check the size of your grip. It could be too big, which could cause this too. Kinda like tennis rackets. The grips can be too big or too small for your hand.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Ow. Been there, done that, and yes, after the first day, the pain was really only discomfort. Definitely a "skier's thumb" sprain. Okay, I did nothing. This probably was not in my best long-term interests. I later read that most thumb-base sprains need to be surgically repaired in order to restore the full dexterity of the joint. And the surgery usually happens asap after the injury.

Here are the long-term consequences of my inaction: for quite a long time, I wasn't able to touch the base of my little finger, bending my thumb inward. The base of my thumb is still noticably larger than the base of the other, uninjured thumb. For several years, I could not grab and unscrew a tight lidded jar with that hand (my primary one, of course) - and so I had to teach myself to do it with the other hand to avoid pain.

Years later, I can do almost everything, but not without twinges. Guess it's your call. But if you google it (skier's thumb, thumb sprain), I think you're going to be surprised at the answers---that most require surgery.

Am I sorry I didn't fix it? Well, I had a 2 year old at the time - big priority. I'm functional. But it probably wouldn't hurt this much decades later if I'd had it fixed.

 

[SnowHot]

I've had that problem, too. Mostly since I've been learning to use my poles.

Couple that with Volleyball and strained tendons in both thumbs from setting, and you pretty much get used to sore thumbs.

 

[mollmeister]

Now, try not gripping your poles so hard and make it a touch not a stab. Also check the size of your grip. It could be too big, which could cause this too. Kinda like tennis rackets. The grips can be too big or too small for your hand.

What's so funny (and confusing) is that I have a very light touch with the poles. I hate gripping too hard (won't ski in mittens even when my hands are cold, because I find that I grip too hard and awkwardly in mittens). . . I barely grip at all, and flick and let go when I pole plant (lightly). So I would have expected a fall to be the culprit. . . but as I say, I didn't notice anything. Oh, and the grips on the Swix carbon fiber poles I was using this weekend are tiny, like my hands.

So it's just plain weird. We hiked a good bit more than we usually do this weekend (along the ridge of Copper Bowl out toward Tucker and up to Copper Bowl from Sierra, so we wouldn't have to ski around and hit another lift), so maybe it has something to do with the way I was carrying skis/using poles? Seems unlikely, but it was about the only *different* thing about the weekend. . .

 

[MaineSkiLady]

The grasping/grip issues were what I had, during and after the acute aspect of the sprain. How I injured mine was a little more dramatic, however (the classic one-point landing). So, in fact, you may not have anything serious going on. Did you try the touch-thumbnail-to-base-of-pinky? Pain? Difficulty doing it? If either, then I think you're looking at a degree of sprain - what degree would have to be determined by a doctor. Still hurts me to touch the nail to the pinky finger base, and my sprain was in 1984. Obviously, I remember it. Good luck, hope yours resolves without any ill effects. I've lived with mine - life goes on. It's a minor nuisance, but I just had no idea until long after the fact that it could have been fixed right after the injury (and not too long after) if I'd acted on it.

 

[pinto]

Sometimes when I fall, I don't realize what I've done until the next day. I don't know what it is about ski falls -- it's as if I'm so relieved not to have done anything major that I don't even notice the minor things.

As for thumbs, I've never had a thumb injury bad enough to see the doctor, but I have had some minor strains. I have definitely tweaked them while pole-planting. If you were skiing lots of bumps (Reso, I assume? That place is great for avoiding the wind), you might have been planting more forcefully than normal.

Try a little ice off and on throughout the day, and wait n see.

 

[marta]

Depending on if you wear your pole straps and how, the fall could be the cause. This happened to me, and the 2nd time it happened, I wound up in a thumb brace for 8 weeks!! Strap wearers should remember to put your hand UP thru the strap hole, and then grab both the strap and grip together. The right way will result in the pole dangling around your wrist when dropping it. If you go directly thru the strap and grab only the pole, when you drop the pole it would dangle between your thumb and forefinger, therefore pulling on your thumb if you fall. Hopefully these photos will make sense of the way a strap should look. Better yet, don't use your straps!

 

[volklgirl]

You beat me to it.

 

[marta]

Ha! It was my first time posting any sort of picture and I got all determined!

 

[Jilly]

Beat me too. My next suggestion after the grip size. Like MSL my sprains were from a fall that rated a 10!! Left both skis behind, double ejected and landed face first. Spring conditions with the old wool stretch pants. Rug burn on the top of the thighs. Couldn't shift gears in the car either, had to use both hands.

 

[mollmeister]

If you were skiing lots of bumps (Reso, I assume? That place is great for avoiding the wind), you might have been planting more forcefully than normal.

Reso it was. Really the best spot, IMO, for a windy day at Copper. Quiet, relatively warm, empty. More north facing stuff nice and soft. . . My husband, who is a snowboarder, might disagree, given all the bumps, but. . .:p

 

[mollmeister]

Depending on if you wear your pole straps and how, the fall could be the cause. This happened to me, and the 2nd time it happened, I wound up in a thumb brace for 8 weeks!! Strap wearers should remember to put your hand UP thru the strap hole, and then grab both the strap and grip together. The right way will result in the pole dangling around your wrist when dropping it. If you go directly thru the strap and grab only the pole, when you drop the pole it would dangle between your thumb and forefinger, therefore pulling on your thumb if you fall. Hopefully these photos will make sense of the way a strap should look. Better yet, don't use your straps!

Have always used my straps that way. . . and don't use 'em in the really deep stuff sometimes. But thanks for the picture!

 

[marta]

Jilly! ouch! And rug burn too! For me it was a simple dump to the side, but I knew I landed with my thumb pressing on my pole handle. 1st time I did it, I just ace bandaged myself. Then it happened again so I went to the doctor and found out it was a torn ligament. He said 3rd time would've meant surgery. I now have Swix poles with wishbone handles. Breakaway grip.

https://www.swixsport.com/eway/defa...751&MainPage_6117=6138:32797::0:6118:17:::0:0

 

[nimbus]

Hello, everyone! I love this site- it's so nice to get women's perspectives on skiing. Long-time lurker here, posting for the first time to share my experience with this type of injury. I played at lots of sports growing up, and my first experience with thumb sprain came in catching a hard-thrown softball with my glove hand. There was some bending back of the thumb, and it hurt for some time afterward. Thing is, once I had this type of injury, it became easier to re-injure or aggravate the old injury. I also have decided not to use pole straps anymore- I'd rather have to trudge uphill to retrieve my poles than deal with thumb pain.
Wendy

 

[abc]

Welcome, nimbus!

I had the same kind of thumb injury on BOTH hands. Basically, the ligament got stretched so it's not as resistant to bending back as normal. Hence repeat injuries, which make it even worse. Not fun.

As for mollmiester's sore thumb. Give it a few days for now. There's also another possibility, too. It may simply be stress and cold that lead to fatique of the thumb muscle?

 

[mollmeister]

I had the same kind of thumb injury on BOTH hands. Basically, the ligament got stretched so it's not as resistant to bending back as normal. Hence repeat injuries, which make it even worse. Not fun.

Sounds like my poor left ankle. I would imagine this sort of an injury presents more problems over time in hands than one ankle!

 

[abc]

Worse still, I also had the same in one ankle too! :(

Though surprisingly, I've not had much issue with my ankle nor my thumbs for the last couple years. I finally(!) learn to do thing in such a way to minimize potential of stressing those weaken joints. Call it wisdom of age? ;-)

 

[geargrrl]

I also have decided not to use pole straps anymore- I'd rather have to trudge uphill to retrieve my poles than deal with thumb pain.
Wendy

Same here. I tore my rotator cuff ( shoulder) no thanks to pole straps years ago, and I haven't used them since. Also, "gorilla grips" ( molded pole grips) are notorious for contributing to thumb injuries.