Jammed thumb hitting

My son got jammed twice his last two at bats (94 MPH lefty) the last playoff game of his high school season last spring and had the exact same injury at the base of the thumb on his right hand.  Good news is he started travel ball two days later and managed to play through the pain until the end of August.  Bad news is it never healed without the rest and he was limited in the amount of BP he could take and the power he could generate.  It wasn't until he took two months off in the fall that it healed up.  Now, doubt it would have taken that long to heal, that's just what he did.

The positive side is he focused less on home runs and more on batting average, and he ended up batting mid .400's combined in the PG events he attended, making all tourney team each time out.  So he made lemonade from lemons, and I bet you can as well.

Dominik85 posted:

Did some BP on Sunday and got jammed on an inside pitch when I was late on it.

Now thumb still hurts at the base when gripping something.

Do you know what that injury can be and what can I do apart from rest?

I guess I rest it a couple days and if it doesn't get better visit a doctor.

search "pro-hitter batting aid" it is little foam thumb pad, I used to use it when I played and my son uses it now.

We both are very loose grip guys and occasionally if you are late or gat jammed the bat will slam into your thumb pad...similar to a catchers thumb. If what you have is different - sorry and ignore but the product has helped us. it takes a little bit to get used to having it on but is a small price to pay for the comfort when you get there.

they are on the Eastbay web site and we have bought them at Dicks but apparently I don't know how to paste link on here...or at least it isn't a link on my screen as I type! We will see if it shows up as one.

http://www.eastbay.com/product...3OIcfutNEaAp_I8P8HAQ

Thanks. Do you think it could heal completely if I give it a full week of rest or two? Would prefer it to not bother me the whole season

I actually have a pro hitter and usually use it but forgot it that day. I like it.

I would buy at least 2 or 3...they get lost, break, borrowed...whatever - they are cheap enough that it is worth it if you like the product.

I have at least 5. They hide in all kind of corners of my bag.

Good luck!

Thumbs are tricky. I got my right thumb blasted twice doing my life-time hobby of medieval recreational fighting. No breaks, but gripping and more importantly--sudden regripping--hurt at the base of the thumb...a LOT. First time took 2-3 weeks to heal; second time took 3-4 months (but I was a teenager first time and in my late-30s second time). I did upgrade my gloves to street hockey gloves and that did the trick. Same principle--put some foam in the critical spot!

So best would be to give it a couple weeks of rest and then return evaluate?

Does anyone know what exactly gets hurt if that happens? Is that a tear in the tendon?

I was worried initially as well, but a doctor friend said that most likely all he needed was rest and that was pretty much all you can do for that type of injury, so he sucked it up until he could rest it.

Dominik85 posted:

Does anyone know what exactly gets hurt if that happens? Is that a tear in the tendon?

sprain of the muscles in the thumb - RICE. If he cannot move it at all, get it x-rayed at urgent care/ER. The thumb is incredibly useful, and unfortunately very vulnerable.

It should only take about 5-7 days of full rest before he can be back at it.

RICE and ibuprofen (>500 mg) for pain and anti-imflammatory. Sadly thumbs and ankles are worst to heal due to their constant use.

Thanks. I have taped up my thumb now. Hope it heals faster if it can't move the next two days.

SanDiegoRealist posted:

Dominik85 posted:

Does anyone know what exactly gets hurt if that happens? Is that a tear in the tendon?

sprain of the muscles in the thumb - RICE. If he cannot move it at all, get it x-rayed at urgent care/ER. The thumb is incredibly useful, and unfortunately very vulnerable.

It should only take about 5-7 days of full rest before he can be back at it.

Yes now i can localize the pain better it is not directly at the joint but about an inch into that fleshy meat below the thumb. Google suggested that batters that are jammed often strain their adductor pollicis muscle which could be it.

Probably a small tear in that muscle I will leave it taped until the weekend and then maybe start compressing an old tennis ball or something to get the muscle slowly back to work.

Thumb is now at full strength again.

Here is the complete protocol:

Sunday: hurt thumb

Monday: hit again, made it worse. Couldn't even grab my phone without bad pain

Tuesday to Thursday: taped my thumb so the hand was at full rest

Friday to Sunday: started to move the hand again but not grab anything heavy or grip hard. Still slight pain but not much.

Monday to tuesday: hitting wiffle balls of the tee again. Hand was mostly pain free

Wednesday: hit hard balls off tee

Thursday: hit live pitching without problems 

So basically 1.5 weeks missed but no pain or weakness anymore. I would definitely recommend this over playing through it and dealing with pain and weakness all season before it can heal in the off season.  It is hard to sit around a week but sometimes it has to be done.