what should i do for a sprained thumb?
919495
Ice and rest.  If you are sure it is just sprained just put ice on it for a while--15 min on/15 min off for the first 24 hrs.  rest your thumb by wearing a brace or splint (you can buy at drug store) for a few days.  Take tylenol or advil for any pain.  if the pain increases or it gets to the point where you think it is broken see a dr.
460036
RICE Treatment.\nRest:\nThe first 24-48 hours after the injury is considered a critical treatment period and activities need to be curtailed. Gradually use the injured extremity as much as tolerated, by try to avoid any activities that cause pain. Often using a splint or slings is necessary to adequately rest the injured body part. \nIce:\nFor the first 48 hours post-injury, ice the sprain or strain 20 minutes at a time every 3-4 hours. The ice pack can be a bag of frozen vegetables (peas or corn), allowing you to be able to re-use the bag and it mould to your body.Alternatively, wrap ice in a clothing, place it on the affected area.\nCaution: Do NOT ice a sprain for more than 20 minutes at a time! You will not be helping heal the injury any faster, and you can cause damage to the tissues!\nCompression:\nUse compression when elevating sprain in early treatment. Using a crepe bandage, wrap the area overlapping the elastic wrap by one-half of the width of the wrap. The wrap should be snug, but not cutting off circulation to the extremity.If your fingers or toes become cold, blue, or tingle, re-wrap.It means it too tight.\nElevate:\nKeep your sprain higher than your heart if possible. Elevate at night by placing pillows under your shoulder. \n\nThis method works by constricting the flow of blood to the affected area. As blood circulation can take away the thing that repair the sprain.\nGet Well Soon :)
1072646
Its a pinched nerve. use cold pompresses, and pain killers for the first few days, then try heat, If it continuse more than a few days, go to the doctor.
660763
Yes - do make sure you get it x-rayed - easy to confuse a bad sprain and a fracture.  Arnica does work really well too.\n\nTransverse friction massage - working across the affected ligament will help the scar tissue to heal better.  Text books say this should be done for up to 10 minutes - good luck!\n\nTo relieve other pain in the area, massage it with an ice cube for a few minutes.  This will numb it up good (but hold the ice cube with paper towels or something, otherwise your fingers will also get really numb!!)
986736
First thing -- get it cold. This will reduce swelling. Dip it in ice water and keep it there for a several minutes at least. Or pu crushed ice around it in a small towel or cloth and elevate it. It'll hurt but it hurts anyway, but this will reduce the pain. \n\nSecond thing -- well it depends how bad it got smashed. If it's possibly broken or a joint is dislocated then you need to see a doctor for treatment. Sooner is better than later. Any fracture or dislocation should be treated as soon as possible, actually.\n\nIf you are sure it's not broken (and it can be hard to tell which is why we need x-rays very often in these cases), then you'll find it more comfortable to bandage it and keep that hand elevated for at least a day or two. Again, elevating the hand reduces the 'pressure' from blood flow and it won't throb so much. At night, sleep with that hand raised up on a pile of a couple of big pillows. \n\nNormal aspirin will help a bit with the pain. There are also anit-inflammatory drugs available but you might need a prescription for them, depending on where you live.\n\nGood luck and I hope you feel better soon!
727596
Try resting it and seeing a doctor!  A month is a long time to be in pain and if its not getting better then the exercise is NOT helping.  The popping could be due to a loose ligament, you need medical advice!!!  Get it before you do any serious damage to the joint.
417524
Best thing you can do is the old standard ICE treatment: \n\nIce - cool the area down to prevent increase swelling of the area and bruising\n\nCompress - wrap the area with a flexible pressure bandage, like an ace wrap, but not too tight\n\nElevate - elevate the area above the heart to prevent increased swelling into the area and to take weight off of it.\n\nSymptoms of the sprain are not much different from a strain.  The sprain is a overstreatching of a ligament, and a strain is a overstreatching of a muscle.  A break of the bone in the area may not hurt much at all, in fact, many people break bones and don't have symptoms until the next day.  For me, a strain or a sprain is ever so much more painful than a straight break.  The problem with a strain or a sprain is that unless you allow them to heal properly, the area will forever remain weak and prone to reinjury.  Best to stay off the foot for the evening, see how it goes tomorrow.  I C E it and that should help you.  \n\nIf you are having problem with feeling any parts, loss of sensation, then see your doctor because increased pressure on a nerve after a serious injury can cause permanent loss of sensation.  For this reason alone, elevating it, resting it, compressing it and icing it down for 72 hours should help.
613010
Rest Ice Compression Elevation Stabalization-- RICES the old standby regimen. You have to do all of these things or your ankles won't heal. Also use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen or ibuprofen. If the sprains are severe enough, you might even need crutches. You should probably go to an orthopedist or sports medicine doctor to figure out exactly what is best in your situation. Good luck! Don't let this get you down!
430109
You could try using an NSAID, (Non-Steriodal Anti Inflammatory Drug), such as aspirin, or iBuprofen, the latter may possibly offer relief either as either oral or topical preperation. Also, try alternating gentle warmin and cooling packs to it. Reducing exercise is a helpful suggestion, however, you shouldn't immobilise completely, gentle exercise, i.e. gently bending and straightening, should be made at regular invervals. Unfortunately pain relief tablets are probably the best option to ease it though.  \nI've always found that soft tissue injuries are the most painful injuries, I hope you resolve your pain. \n\nI do recommend discussing it with your pharmacist before you take any medication, of any kind, as people can be allergic to NSAIDs, and they can inteact seriously with other existing medication you may be on. \nIf it doesn't settle soon, I would suggest visiting a minor injuries unit or your family doctor.
924841
Tap on the end of your finger.  If you have "shooting" pain that could indicate a possible fracture.  You may also want to worry about your flexor tendon being ruptured.  You cannot flex your finger at all at the distal joint?  This concerns me more that a fracture.  Go see the Doctor.  Also real quick....when you press down on your finger nail of the injured finger, it should go white as the blood is squeezed out and should See if this happens.  It should.  Good luck.
696171
If the bleeding has stopped, you are probably safe to let it wait. Change the bandage twice a day and if you see any signs of infection, such as unusual color, swelling, darkness in the tissues, etc. then see a Dr. as soon as you can.\n\nFinger Injuries Treatment\nSelf-Care at Home\nControl bleeding by direct, continuous pressure for at least several minutes. Elevate the hand above the level of the heart to help slow the bleeding. \nFind torn or missing finger tissue and save it for reattachment, if possible.\nGently rinse it off with water if it is very dirty, and place it in a sealed plastic bag. \nPlace the bag on ice water and bring it with you to the hospital. \nCover the wound with a clean, dry bandage. \nRemove loose dirt or foreign bodies.\nDo not try to remove objects that are deeply or firmly embedded. \nRun your hand under plain tap water for several minutes, scrubbing gently with a washcloth if needed to remove dirt. \nDry and then apply an antibacterial ointment. \nIf the finger is obviously deformed, immobilize it with a splint in whatever position is least painful.\nAlmost any small rigid item such as a popsicle stick, a pen, or a piece of cardboard can be tied or taped to the finger as a splint. \nA finger can also be buddy-taped—that is, taped to the finger next to it.
663386
There are a lot of bones in the wrist, if you've moved or fractured a small bone, there c/b changes inside.  It's weird that your pinkie and thumb hurt and the fingers between you haven't mentioned. Pinkie could also be from your lateral epicondyle (elbow) and thumb..De Quervains Tenosynovitis. Ask the doc (or better yet, ask a physiotherapist) to assess you for those conditions too.  How's the other hand? Is this your dominant hand?
1109599
stretch before and after, this will prevent the damage..\n\nas for repair drink lots of water and take it easy. take some motrin or advil if the pain is really bugging you.\n\nyou shouldn't be hurting yourself when lifting weights. this isn't a good habit to get into because it will just lead to problems..
778787
Hard work. The PT told you correctly. Listen to them and do the exercises they tell you to do at home. You could even try upping the amount a reasonable sum to expedite your healing. Be careful not to over do it are you will be right back in the hospital repairing the same injury.
1187650
Initially, you need to calm down the pain and swelling - use ice for 10 mins every hour.  Take OTC anti-inflamms to help decrease the swelling.\n\nAsk your doctor for a referal to a good physical therapist.  We can use modalities such as ultrasound and electrical stimulation to help calm everything down.  Personally, I use needle-less acupuncture and Kinesio Tape to help calm things down very quickly - there are acupressure points on your fingers that work very effectively to help calm down the area (Li1, Si1, Tw3, Li4 - look these up for an explanation).\n\nOnce the initial pain and discomfort is easing off, stretching and strengthening take over.  These can only be determined by your physical therapist and the right exercises need to be prescribed; the wrong exercise will make it worse.\n\nGood luck!
837248
Unfortunately, there's not much you can do for a sprained or broken toe.  I know, I've broken the same stupid toe 4X.  Best thing to do is what you're already doing.  Keep putting ice on it no more than 20 minutes at a time (skin can freezer burn) with at least 40 minutes of no ice in between and stay off your foot as much as possible.\nFeel better!
215932
It sounds like it might be a tendon issue.  Use RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.  If it hasn't started to feel at least a little better within a couple of days, make sure and go to the doctor, you might have to be splinted or use crutches for awhile.  Good luck!