Jammed thumb joint - any quick ways to heal?

[EvilTed]

I seem to continually jam my thumb by hitting someone's elbow or other hard parts during kumite.

 

It always swells up and hurts like hell

 

I have to fight in a tournament in two days and jammed it last week and it still hurts. Will I risk further injury by using this hand?

 

Any quick remedies for fixing this type of injury?

 

Thanks

 

ET

[aefibird]

Try putting ice on it.

 

Or alternate ice and heat, whichever method you prefer.

[markusan]

I agree ice. Ice for up to 20 minutes as soon after doing the damage as possible. then keep icing it as often as you can for the next 24 or 48 hours.

 

Only alternate hot and cold after about 48 hours to clear any bruising. I know people who swear by Arnica ointment, but I haven't found it to be very effective.

 

You might want to think why you keep injuring that thumb. It could be a technique problem.

[Red J]

I did this playing football in high school (many years ago) but I remember it clearly because it was the most annoying injury I ever had. I jammed my thumb early on and it would be OK after a week or two then bam, it would get jammed again. I think I played like this the entire season. Once the season was over, and it healed without having the stress on it, and I was fine. It was just hard to get it to 100% when I was doing an activity where it was getting banged around a lot.

 

I tried ice but the only thing that helped in the end was to avoid any contact for 3-4 weeks.