Ruptured tendon (hand)....anyone have any experience?

So I'm being a nitwit, and lifting my girlfriend's nephew (50 lbs) with my index finger. He loves it and keeps asking me to do it again. The third time, I'm straining for all I'm worth, when I hear POP!! At first I thought maybe a bone just snapped (seen this in arm wrestling tournaments back in the day).....or maybe it just dislocated and immediately re-located. After doing some research, and speaking with some rock climbers....it's almost certainly a ruptured pulley tendon in the index finger. You'd be surprised all the things you need your index finger for. Anyone have any experience on this one? It's been 3 weeks and still swollen, limited (very) ROM and painful. I'd go the medical professional route, but I just sold my company and switched to a "catastrophic" policy....with a $5,000 deductible. Just a shot in the dark.

 

hey bud, I'm on a individual HSA plan which has a 5000 buck deductible as well. I make do by dealing in cash with doctors. Going to medical practitioners in the San Gabriel Valley who are used to dealing with uninsured and asking for the cash price makes a big diff. I suggest going in to an ortho, get it diagnosed properly, and go with the treatment. I generally cut the visits off after diagnosis and getting a prescription if its a minor issue. The ruptured pulley tendon doesnt sound too bad. you do want a diagnosis though, a broken finger that isnt splinted can heal in a bad way.

 

Seems to me you might be spending that $5k on surgery.
3 weeks with pain and no ROM does not sound so good.

 

The longer you wait to have the surgery the worse your range of motion will be afterward. I have done it two times. A thumb and a finger. Separate incidents. Same hand.