
A sprained thumb is an injury to the tissue or ligament of the bones that combine at the base of the thumb. There are more than 200,000 Americans who suffer from a sprained thumb each year.
It is an injury that can be treated at home. It usually will heal within days to weeks. It just depends on how severe the sprain is. When you have a sprained thumb, you’ll experience pain, numbness, and swelling. In order to treat the sprained thumb, there are things you need to do to get rid of the swelling and pain.
There may be some bruising as well. Whatever the case may be, the sprained thumb needs to be taken care of immediately. By waiting too long to treat it, it can get worse and in order to get the relief, you’ll have to go to a doctor who will give you pain medication. It is best to treat it at home first.
1. Resting the thumb is one tip to treat a sprained thumb at home.
Resting the thumb for the first 48 hours is important. It is important not to use the hand at all during this time. You may have to take off from work if your dominant thumb is injured. You won’t be able to use it. If you try to use your hand, you’ll experience pain and swelling.
By allowing your thumb to rest, some of the swellings can go down. If your dominant thumb is injured, you’ll need to learn to use the other hand. It will be difficult, but it will allow your other thumb to rest. Once 48 hours are up, you can use other measures to relieve the pain and swelling.
Resting is good for a sprained thumb, but you’ll need to do other things at home to get it to heal quicker.