Recently, I had gone on a trek in the sahayadris and on the way back while walking along a village road, I hadn't been looking where I was stepping when I put my foot in a pothole and fell headlong on the slightly downhill road.
I had my backpack on my back and it only had the weight of a couple of litres of water. As I fell I broke my fall with my left hand, the palm flat on the ground. I felt that I had handled the fall well, but it hadn't quite ended. Rather than that being the end of the fall, I felt myself falling further. The elbow bent to handle the further fall but it didn't end there either.
The momentum made me go further still with my palm flat on the ground below me at the level of my chest and I felt my fingers get bent over backwards as my body went further forward. I could actually feel my fingers having bent completely over the back of my hand. And I knew it was the worst injury I'd ever had in my life.
When I got up, I'd expected to see my fingers dislocated at the very least, if not actually flopping over the back of my hand. But surprise! They were in their normal position. The swelling had just started and I explored the range of motion I could manage. I couldn't quite straighten our my fingers and they trembled when I tried. I hadn't a clue as to how bad the damage was.
After around five minutes or so of sitting down, I experienced a huge reaction. I was sitting in the shade of a hut with bright sunlight outside. When I looked into the sunlight, the sight looked like what you see in an over-exposed photograph. The bright areas looked like a glowing white light. I quickly looked away and was relieved to see that the shaded areas looked normal at least. This lasted for a long time. Then there was the feeling of tiredness - I wanted to close my eyes but they wouldn't remain closed for very long. I kept looking into the sunlight and the shade alternately but the effect remained unchanged. I thought that this might have to do with hypoglycemia and decided to chew some dry fruit and nuts I had along. I found that I was too tired to chew - my jaw ached with the effort, but it did make me feel better.
Later, someone offered to spray my hand with pain relieving spray and that helped a lot for the rest of the day that it took to get back from the trek. I had a crepe bandage along which I used to wrap my hand with - not too tightly. It seemed to me that the damage may not be too much because my hand had not swelled excessively (it had, but not excessively). At night I took an ibuprofen tablet and visited a doctor the next morning.
I was amazed when the x-ray showed no damage to the bones. It must have been all ligaments and muscle injury. The whole inner portion of my palm was black and blue and remained that way for three more days before it started to subside.
Since I couldn't find any reference on the web for this kind of injury, I thought it might be worthwhile to share my experience.
Postscript
I had the injury on 27 Nov 2016. Today it is 3 May 2017. Its been five months since the injury and it hasn't completely healed as yet. I wore a crepe bandage around my hand for around a month and the slightest jar would send waves of pain to my head. After a month, I got rid of the crepe bandage but I couldn't clench my fist, not even tight enough to turn on the tap in the basin. But it got better over a period of time. The little finger and the ring finger recovered first, maybe after 2-1/2 months. By this time I could make a loose fist with my hand. There was a prominent swelling between the knuckles of the index and middle fingers which still hasn't completely subsided. However, now, after five months, I can make a tight fist although there is a twinge of discomfort still.
So, if this happens to you, don't expect a speedy recovery but don't worry either. It gets better even if it takes time.
I had my backpack on my back and it only had the weight of a couple of litres of water. As I fell I broke my fall with my left hand, the palm flat on the ground. I felt that I had handled the fall well, but it hadn't quite ended. Rather than that being the end of the fall, I felt myself falling further. The elbow bent to handle the further fall but it didn't end there either.
The momentum made me go further still with my palm flat on the ground below me at the level of my chest and I felt my fingers get bent over backwards as my body went further forward. I could actually feel my fingers having bent completely over the back of my hand. And I knew it was the worst injury I'd ever had in my life.
When I got up, I'd expected to see my fingers dislocated at the very least, if not actually flopping over the back of my hand. But surprise! They were in their normal position. The swelling had just started and I explored the range of motion I could manage. I couldn't quite straighten our my fingers and they trembled when I tried. I hadn't a clue as to how bad the damage was.
After around five minutes or so of sitting down, I experienced a huge reaction. I was sitting in the shade of a hut with bright sunlight outside. When I looked into the sunlight, the sight looked like what you see in an over-exposed photograph. The bright areas looked like a glowing white light. I quickly looked away and was relieved to see that the shaded areas looked normal at least. This lasted for a long time. Then there was the feeling of tiredness - I wanted to close my eyes but they wouldn't remain closed for very long. I kept looking into the sunlight and the shade alternately but the effect remained unchanged. I thought that this might have to do with hypoglycemia and decided to chew some dry fruit and nuts I had along. I found that I was too tired to chew - my jaw ached with the effort, but it did make me feel better.
Later, someone offered to spray my hand with pain relieving spray and that helped a lot for the rest of the day that it took to get back from the trek. I had a crepe bandage along which I used to wrap my hand with - not too tightly. It seemed to me that the damage may not be too much because my hand had not swelled excessively (it had, but not excessively). At night I took an ibuprofen tablet and visited a doctor the next morning.
I was amazed when the x-ray showed no damage to the bones. It must have been all ligaments and muscle injury. The whole inner portion of my palm was black and blue and remained that way for three more days before it started to subside.
Since I couldn't find any reference on the web for this kind of injury, I thought it might be worthwhile to share my experience.
Postscript
I had the injury on 27 Nov 2016. Today it is 3 May 2017. Its been five months since the injury and it hasn't completely healed as yet. I wore a crepe bandage around my hand for around a month and the slightest jar would send waves of pain to my head. After a month, I got rid of the crepe bandage but I couldn't clench my fist, not even tight enough to turn on the tap in the basin. But it got better over a period of time. The little finger and the ring finger recovered first, maybe after 2-1/2 months. By this time I could make a loose fist with my hand. There was a prominent swelling between the knuckles of the index and middle fingers which still hasn't completely subsided. However, now, after five months, I can make a tight fist although there is a twinge of discomfort still.
So, if this happens to you, don't expect a speedy recovery but don't worry either. It gets better even if it takes time.
