broke the bone behind my pinky on my rt (draw) hand this morning. Anyone got a guess on how long before I can shoot gain? Went to the ER, got it xrayed and splinted. No 3D this weekend  :(

I had the same thing about 15 years ago, I pushed mine too early and it never healed properly, still can't see the knuckle when I make a fist. I'd say probably 6 weeks minimum just to be sure but you might be able to get away with it if you leave the splint on.

OUCH, hearing that hurts more than the break. lol

I'm glad it happened now verses in September I guess.  :(

Uh oh... better be safe than sorry. 6 weeks minimum, as shortstroke said.

When you get the splint off... If there's a sporting goods store anywhere near you, I would advice you to buy a very light handgripper (something you can very easily do 20 reps with), and do some full, controlled and squeezing reps on it. It's great for rehabbing hand injuries, especially because of the bloodflow you will get your hand and forearm. Try it out when the time comes.

Fatboy is correct. I have had my share of injuries including broken bones in the hand, and 6 weeks is the minimum. Plus, you will not believe how weak your hand can get in 6 weekd so rehabilitation exercises will be a must.

You should do some easy grip exercises starting at 5 or 6 weeks -- if you are young and heal fast you might be able to start rehab at 4 or 5 weeks. You don't want to end up with something that takes a year to start feeling better because you rush things and set up inflammation. Take it easy and let it heal.

will do. Thank you.
I'm stuck between young and old (40)  :D

I see a lot of younger guys with that fracture in the clinics I'm in. They get mad for some of the many reason that teenage kids get mad, so they go home and punch a wall.  Oh...the good ol days!

If they just splinted ya, it probably isn't all that bad. The more serious fractures require surgury and obviously require a longer healing time.  

Shortly, you should start rehab and they'll send you to someone like me, an occupational therapist. Let the OT or the doctor determine how long your recovery will be.  Nobody heals the same, and you may heal quicker or slower than someone else your age.  Hopefully faster so you can get shootin again!

Dave,

I broke mine in late Feb and required surgery to pin it back together. I could not shoot a hunting weight bow until June.

Good Luck with your recovery.

Sean

Dave, sorry to hear about your hand.
hope it heals quickly for you.

6 weeks minimum before shooting. You should start grip and stretch exercises at 5 weeks. After you feel good with the stretch and grip exercises and 6 weeks has passed you should shoot a lighter bow for a few days and then shoot the normal one. Just my suggestion.

I hate to buck the trend here, but if it's your pinky finger, that's not all that involved in shooting a bow. I fell and cracked a carpal bone at the base of the pinky finger. It was during turkey season, so I went to Walmart and bought one of their carpal tunnel braces and kept on shooting. It probably took 4-6 weeks to heal, but I shot the whole time. The good part was the brace really made me keep my wrist straight (no cupped hand) and I shot better. Now I try to hold my wrist the same as when I had the brace on it.

I'm a stubborn old fart though, so your mileage may vary. It did hurt some, but after four knee operations, including a replacement, I guess my pain threshold is pretty high. It was actually harder to type than to shoot my bow though. I'm good as new now.

Dave!

Is it a break or did you recess the knuckle?

You are acting like you just broke a nail! ahahahaha

What ED did you go to? Want me to look at the xray?

break

Hancock memorial, If ya can look at it, yeah. I never got to see it.

It was good one though, had the pinky pointing over towards my thumb   :D

oughta make for a fun time trying to change tooling at work.

Usually takes about 6 wks  for a healthy person to put down adequite bone growth.  As some have said, follow-up with your family dr. or an ortho to make sure its healed adequitely.  If you don't and start doing to much before it heals completley you may have a non-healing fx that you will have to deal with for a long time.  Good luck!

Ok, the internet doctor is in...
I'd say you should be prescribed medical marijuana for the summer and no more bare-fisted boxing matches until Labor Day!!  

What're you worryin' about...the Bunny Hunt ain't til January....  

I broke mine in August(compound fracture). I needed surgery and it would be at least 8 weeks till I could use my hand but hunting season started in September so I said no thanks and was shooting a week later. Never had it fixed but wish I did.

Good one dave! You should make up a cool story to go along with it, like you were saving someone in a burning building or caught a bullet or something..lol

Mine's broke in the same place.  It's been a month now and it's about 75%, I can almost make a fist with it again.  I've had a bunch of bows to build as well and it really slowed me down but didn't completely stop me.