Screwed-up Thumb

[Rob-CanCarve]

Hey Guys:

A couple weeks ago - I drove my thumb into the snow mid-carve, then the following week hit a ball of ice on the hill with the same thumb again.

No I have a thumb that is relatively useless - the pain is where the thumb connects to the hand, swelling on the hand side and not a lot of strength using it. Lifting a beer causes pain.

Any ideas to what I have done and what the solutions might be. I am interested in any insight, for it is a complete pain in the a$$ to find a sports doctor here in Toronto.

All advice and recommendations welcomed.

Thanks

Rob

[skategoat]

Rob, see a doctor. You don't need a sports medicine specialist. My wife did the same thing a few years ago and gutted it out for a week thinking it was just a sprain. Finally she went the hospital and an x-ray showed it was broken. Those thumb injuries can really drag on if you don't look after it.

[Rob-CanCarve]

Goat:

Got any recommendations of Doctors in the City of Toronto.

Most of the sports clinics in hospitals are now gone and I find GP don't have a clue about sports related injuries.

I tried the sports clinic at North York General - no doctors until a week tomorrow.

I will take any suggestions on a doctor to call.

To all my American buddies - be very happy that you are in the states when it comes to getting medical treatment.

All the best,

Rob

[skategoat]

Funny you should ask. My GP closed his doors a few months ago without telling his patients. I've been looking for a new one ever since. They all have the same answer - "sorry, we're not accepting new patients.".

As for that thumb injury, my suggestion is a - gulp - emergency ward. I would go downtown early in the morning on a nice, sunny day. Bring a couple of magazines, a bag of chips and a coke. Settle in for a long wait. All you want to know is if the thing is broken or not.

Another choice is to drive to Buffalo with your Amex card in hand.

[sic t 2]

this should explain it. my friend did it too. its a LONG heal.

sic

[Rob-CanCarve]

Isn't Medicine a F!@#$%^$&*ing joke in Ontario - today I have searched the net, called telehealth Ontario (biggest waste of tax dollars) and called 5 hospitals - over a two hour period.

Best I got was a private clinic (assessment covered by OHIP) this coming Thursday morning, but it is a sports clinic.

I told the nurse on Telehealth, that her job was an absolute waste of time and the reality is most people end up in emergency.

Do you believe that she gets nurses pay - so I told her to get back to a hospital - at least she might be useful there.

Rob

[Guest Hopscotch]

Id recomend that you find a general family doctor, then they can give you a little farther insite, and provide an actual referal to see a specialty doc.

[Dave Pushee]

Originally posted by Rob-CanCarve

... Lifting a beer causes pain. ...

All advice and recommendations welcomed.

...

Easy, use the other hand to hoist the beer!

[Rob-CanCarve]

Dave:

That's what I have been doing, but every once in a while I have to do something more than hoist a beer.

All the best,

Rob

[mnovak]

Rob,

Sounds like you might have so-called "Skier's thumb" if it isn't broken. Skier's thumb is layman's terms for an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury, usually a stretch or a tear of that ligament which connects the thumb to the palm. Surgery could be necessary so the need to see a Dr. as others have suggested is definitely there. Immobilization at the least for some time. I'm not a doctor, but have dealt with this in the past with skiing (the #1 ski injury). Lots of info on the web if you use the above terms in your search.

As an alternative to a MD, you could find a chiropractor -- there are lots who deal particularly with sports injuries. Dr. Budish who is in the Hydro building at College and University deals with a lot of sports related injuries.

At least the season in Ontario is over so you aren't losing a lot of snow mileage.

Mark

[Rob-CanCarve]

Mark:

Thanks for the recommendation.

I know I have lost snow mileage, but the slalom and downhill skateboard and mountain bike season are here.

Also the fly fishing season starts at the end of the month.

I need my right hand for these.

All the best,

Rob

[mnovak]

You mean there are things other than SNOWboarding? LOL

BTW, I had "goalkeepers thumb" from an incident similar to yours. I jammed my hand on the inside of an "extreme" turn. Extremely stupid anyways -- should have just taken a face plant and saved my thumb. I rode most of the season with my thumb taped to the rest of my hand so there was no thumb in the thumb portion of the glove. Had to have the thumb taped up for about 6 weeks and it is still not back to 100%. Looks like it is going to push rockclimbing season a few weeks back.

Where do you slalom skateboard? Is there a website or club or something? It sounds interesting.

Any info on the skater stuff appreciated thanks,

Mark

:)

[lonerider]

Originally posted by Rob-CanCarve

Mark:

Thanks for the recommendation.

I know I have lost snow mileage, but the slalom and downhill skateboard and mountain bike season are here.

Rob

Why would you need your thumb for slalom and downhill? I just got into longboard skateboarding last season and am doing big wide S-carves on a two-lane closed road on my Loaded Vanguard. Oh to protect you thumb in the future, check out the

Auclair "No Gomer" Wrist Guards as they have a thumb-cup specifically designed to prevent you from jacking your thumb like this. I've been using the same pair for 6 years now riding park/pipe/rail and carving... while I tend not to jab out my hands to the snow (whem carving I bend my arm and try to extend with my "elbow" instead of my hand) I still get a few diggers here and there. There definitely protected me on a ill-chosen 540 attempt in the pipe where I can down inverted this season.

[Aisling]

wound up being a really bad sprain, mighta caused some slight tears in the ligaments...

i had therapy on my hand and wore a splint for a while. eventually it ceased hurting as much and then it was just exercising it so that i had all my movement back. only thing i can't do anymore is my old thumb trick (used to do a cool double jointed thing with it)

[skatha]

I agree with the online *diagnosis* of skiier's thumb, which you can get with any hyperextension injury, not just skiing. I had a buddy who had his operated on. I didn't have that option when I got mine, I was in the USAF at the time. I cannot open jars with my rt hand anymore and I've developed arthritis in the prox and distal joints-CMC and IP joints-to a degree that I cannot write with a normal sized pen anymore. I have to use a thick pen. Please go to the ER ASAP, take a few Snowboard Journals with you if you must...

[Rob-CanCarve]

Thanks for all the advice.

I have kept the thumb taped this week that seemed to help and I have an appoint with a sports doctor this afternoon.

Hopefully it is minor and only requires rest and immobilzation, but will report back once I see the doc.

All the best,

Rob

[Jack M]

Originally posted by Rob-CanCarve

To all my American buddies - be very happy that you are in the states when it comes to getting medical treatment.

I'm confused. So many American "Illuminati" go on and on about how badly we need to import the Canadian health care system!

:p

Sorry about the thumb, Rob.

[Zone]

http://www.chsm.net/howard.html

http://www.cscontario.ca/english/providers/service_providers.html#sport_medicine

here are some local links.

sounds like you ripped your ligaments, which usually takes 2 months or more to heal or even surgery. How ever hard to tell til someone physically and radiologically assess you.

Internet/ phone consult is just bad medicine!!;)

[Zone]

Originally posted by Crave2carve

In the US if you have the cash or a health plan treatment can be obtained quite readily. In Canada although there is universal health care the problem is that it is very difficult to get a family doctor and after reciving a referal from a physician to a specialist there is (usually) a long waiting list. In other words by the time you get through the maze and the waiting lists, treatment can be months instead of weeks in the waiting.

A rather morbid thought is that the waiting lists for surgery or treatment can sometimes be a life or death slow race. In other words you might need a test that should be administered IMMEDIATELY but the waiting list might be 6 or 8 months which means that the problem only worsens while the time keeps on ticking. Affluent Canadians have been known to come to the states to skip the wait and just pay for the treatment here.

Hey pay us more appropriately and there will be more of us:D . Want less taxes and more health coverage, with a population (including docs) getting older, and government that allienate the docs, this is what you get. Oh and did I mention people flocking to ER for minor ailments...

This should be (O.T.) by now

[Zone]

Originally posted by Jack Michaud

I'm confused. So many American "Illuminati" go on and on about how badly we need to import the Canadian health care system!

:p

If you are rich (or have coverage from your rich company) then you are fine in the US. However nobody here have to mortgage their house and go into bankrupcy when they are diagnosed with a major illness. If you believe that your poor in-laws should have the right to the same treatment as you, then the Canadian system is for you.

Not the best, not the worst, but everyone can have access to it.

[skategoat]

Theoretically, in Canada, you get the same health care whether you are a street sweeper or an NBA point guard. I kinda like that and prefer it to the U.S. system where the indigent suffer badly.

Remember the hub-bub when Vince Carter allegedly jumped the queue for his MRI?

But then it takes gov't commitment and funding to make it work. That's where things have fallen down in the last 10 years.

I blame the feds. They wallow in their surplus while the health system rots. They better do something drastic to turn things around.

This is OT but what the hell, it's OS (off-season).

[Rob-CanCarve]

It sounds like you are a doctor and I need some recommendations.

In the past three days I have learned:

There are no longer any sports clinics in the Toronto Hospitals, except North York General - no doctors in-house for a week and a half and Mount Sinai - first available appointment next Tuesday.

None of our medical organizations (CPSO, Colleges & Surgeons) know what is going on in the City - neither could provide me a referral or advice to where to go to get it looked at.

Dr. M. Clarfield and the Sports Medicine Specialists clinic represents what is wrong with medicine. Had an appoinment changed, then spent over a hour in his clinic - no doctor/no customer care. I guess he thinks by treating the Leafs he walks on water.

Telehealth Ontario - is a complete waste of taxpayers money - absolutely clueless and their only function is to convionce Ontario Tax payers to stay out of the emergency wards.

Sorry to rant, but I have spent too much time to get a simple thumb injury evaluated.

Dr. Zone (John) - if you have a recommendation for where I can go quickly and effectively - I would truly appreciate it.

All the best

Rob

[Zone]

Hi Rob,

I understand your frustration.

I am not familiar with what's available in toronto.

The 'doctor search' on the CPSO web site does not list sport medicine as an option. Check the list I posted earlier.

Telehealth is a public relation in my opinion.

Most sport clinic are probably outside of hospitals anyway.

And yes when there is such a shortage of doctors, most walk on water. And when you treat the Leaf or the Raptors, you also hover over the water.

The problem with such thumb injury is that you are at the bottom of the totem pole in term of medical emergencies.

Good luck finding one from that list, alternatively, you could ask your GP to refer you to an orthopod, however, expect several months wait...

I would also recommand the Gomer glove if you can still find it. It was developped by a classmate of mine after he sustained the same sort of injury you did. You can even wear it long-boarding.

[Rob-CanCarve]

John:

Thanks for the heads-up

I can't wait until Avian Flu hits Toronto or any other pandemic - after what I have experienced in the last couple days - there will be nobody standing within the City and the GTA.

All the best,

Rob

[Zone]

I forgot, Toronto Western has an excellent hand program if you can get referred there (run by the plastic surgeons- the ones that deal with hands injury).