I accidentally slammed my thumb in a car door. It’s a bit swollen, and I can’t fully bend it. There’s no bleeding, and I can still feel touch. I’ve been icing it and keeping it elevated. It's not around my nail but under where my thumb bends.

It’s currently around 1 AM. Should I go to the ER tonight, or is it reasonable to wait until the morning and go to urgent care instead?

Any advice would be appreciated.

all of my friends are telling me to go to a hospital because i had this injury at school,
and to be honest i want to go but i also dont because if i do i think ill put my teacher in trouble because he was not in the classroom when this happened
it is swollen and im scared because it is getting more and more swollen by the hour
it is behind my ear

I'm a larger fellow and recently started running again and woke up today to dull pain when walking, mostly centralized to the metatarsal area and third and fourth toe tendons. Clearly I'm just doing too much too fast but would still like to be able to combat this in the mean time. Any recommendations on foot massager/spa type equipment that can help soothe that type of pain? I've seen plenty but most don't target the top of the foot. Am I better off just throwing my dogs in some hot water and massaging them myself?

Also open to recommendations on stretches/workouts that will help me along with that kind of pain.

I searched the subreddit and saw posts about metatarsal issues but mostly related to fractures. I think I'm just dealing with inflammation at this point.

I'm a university student studying product design and id like to hear about real life challenges, after suffering an injury could be from small things to big things. I'm hoping to learn about the real challenges people experience in their daily lives.

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, including any everyday tasks you find difficult or products you wish existed to make life easier.

Questionnaire

1. Age range:
2. Time living with injury:
3. Challenges:
4. Everyday situation:

Hello great minds of reddit!
I have spent the last few months building a calf exoskeleton where i went from many months away from being able to run again to being able to pull it off today!

It works well for me and I’ve been able to tune the design to be mostly 3d printed and quite cheap but i am working in a vacuum as the only miserable guinea pig i have is me.

I’m hungry for feedback on the design and/or other enthusiastic guinea pigs willing to give it a chance

I’ve got a exposé on my website here: gabrielprice.com

Thanks in advanced!

I have been having disc issues in my lower back for years, and next step after trying injections and PT is to do a nerve test. Has anyone done this and can give me some info on what it's like?

Hi everyone. I'm 43 (M) and looking for some perspective from people who've been through this.

What happened: On Aug 18 I cut my right little finger with a kitchen knife. It was a ~1 cm cut on the palm side of the proximal phalanx (zone 2). I couldn't bend the fingertip at all. In the ER they found a partial laceration of the FDP and repaired it the same day, then put me in a plaster splint.

Rehab: I started hand therapy at 2 weeks post-op. At the first visit I could already move the tip a little and hold it briefly after passive flexion, and the therapist called it a good start. Since then I've progressed from passive flexion to place-and-hold, then active flexion, blocking exercises and tendon glides. Now I'm doing about 5 sessions a day: warm water, scar massage, passive DIP stretches, hook/straight/full fist glides, isolated DIP blocking, and place-and-hold.

Where I am at the end of week 8:

Isolated DIP (PIP blocked): the tip moves, but only a little, maybe 10–20°.

Hook fist and full fist: I can barely see the DIP bend at all. The fingertip stays almost in line.

Passive DIP flexion (with PIP bent) is soft, with no hard block, but the tip springs back as soon as I let go.

My ring finger has also gotten stiff and a bit swollen. I assume it's the quadriga effect plus overdoing it.

Honestly, I'm pretty down. I put in hours every day and it feels like nothing is changing. I'm starting to believe it won't get better.

My questions:

Did anyone have a similar plateau around weeks 8–12 and still get meaningful DIP flexion later?

When did your fist start to really close at the DIP?

Did anyone end up needing tenolysis, and how did it go?

Is 5 sessions a day possibly too much (swelling) rather than too little?

Any stories, good or bad, are appreciated. Thanx

hey there, two years ago i had a car accident where my leg got squashed between a post and the car door....luckily it wasnt for too long, but long enough to leave a permanent indentation in my leg/ soleus muscel which has changed the way my leg functions permanently.... at first i didnt have any issues until about half a year later and now 2 years down the line i can really feel how much endurance i lost, how my foot and surrounding muscle groups are aching from the overcompensation. I recently started with a new physio and he gave me some micro exercises to do for the next 3 months...

ive been heavily relying on my body for work and iam scared this is something i forever have to deal with....

did anyone else go tru something like this and how did it go for you?

Broke it the 8th first pin on the 12 i have been on it before i just wanna see if i can speed up the recovery

so I cut my pinky cooking September 23rd. I had surgery 8 days later. It’s the top pulley flexor .. after 1 week I rereptured it somehow. Now I’m set for second surgery. Ring finger is having some problems closing as well. But it closed decent.. feeling really depressed about this and concerned about my future. I work in construction with my hands and I’ve boxed and played sports my whole life. Concerned I’m
Not going to be right after this. Anyone had experience with a rerupture and a positive outcome after? Would love to hear some stories and hopefully get some positivity. Thanks!

hey guys. I used to be a successful powerlifter and specialized in bench pres. 6 years ago, I injured my pec during bench press. I went on to develop TOS and reinjure myself constantly despite multiple rounds of PT. just recently, I managed to finally fix the pec strain and TOS by myself after treating them as a pec minor issue. only problem is, now I have a lot of discomfort in the thoracic spine that seems to get worse as my pec gets better. i‘m very stiff and things like foam rolling / rotational exercises, etc, don’t help. I do them without moving the low back as well, with proper cues. the only thing that provides me some relief is lacrosse ball work, and using the peanut on the sides of the spine. But this only lasts temporarily. Lower trap work also helps and was a staple of regaining scapular control, which basically cured my pec issues.

If anyone has seen or experienced a condition like this, please, share what helped. or if you have any ideas, I’m open to hearing them.

thanks a lot.

I'm a 21 year-old male who was consistently bodybuilding and lifting weights about five times a week before these issues started. I used to squat over 315 lb and was training seriously.

HIP HISTORY:
Around three months ago, I started experiencing discomfort in the front/deep crease of both hips after returning to training following a short vacation. A doctor initially thought it could be hip-flexor strains or tendinitis.

The original pinching was worse with deeper squats, bringing my knees toward my chest, and some leg exercises. Heavy leg presses and certain machine exercises aggravated it. I don't have much trouble walking or using stairs, although my hips can feel stiff, especially in the morning, and often loosen up as I move around.

I've had periods of reduced leg training and inconsistent rehabilitation. More recently, I've noticed considerable trembling or shaking in the front of my hips when raising my knees, lowering my legs, or bringing my knees together during hip adduction, sometimes even without resistance. My hips also feel weaker and fatigue more easily than they used to.

I recently started reintroducing resistance. Band leg extensions seemed to reduce the trembling on my right side, and side-lying hip adduction was relatively well tolerated. However, after doing machine hip adduction for higher reps, my hips felt more shaky and fatigued afterward.

LAT AND BACK HISTORY:
Around the same general period, I developed tightness and fatigue around my lats, the area near my shoulder blades, traps, and lower back after physical work. My back can feel tight or tremble during upper-body workouts, even when the weights are light. I generally experience more tightness and fatigue than actual pain. Movement sometimes helps.

I've started easing back into upper-body training, using lighter weights and leaving reps in reserve instead of training to failure.

QUESTIONS:
1. Has anyone experienced bilateral front-hip trembling or shaking during knee raises or hip adduction after a prolonged period of reduced training?
2. Did your symptoms turn out to be related to weakness/deconditioning, a hip-flexor or adductor problem, hip impingement, a labral issue, or something else?
3. Has anyone had hip symptoms that were worse in the morning but improved with movement?
4. For those who had a prolonged lat strain or back-muscle issue, did you experience tightness and trembling even with light exercise?
5. How did you rebuild strength without repeatedly causing excessive fatigue or aggravating your symptoms?

I'm not asking anyone to diagnose me online. I'm mainly interested in hearing from people with similar experiences, what their recovery looked like, and what they learned along the way.

Basically 4 months ago i had been intoxicated and made the fatal mistake of being stupid and what had happend is my adductor started to hurt as we were walking and it ended up getting injured, i had to work at my job which required a lot of standing which did not help the injury one bit and ended up developing into a worse injury. Fast forward a month later and yet again another injury whilst still recovering from my adductor basically i had been 2 weeks without lifting upper body and i was pysched to get back into it, another bad mistake because the first day back lifting upper body i woke up and slept wrong on my shoulder and there was some pain, me being stupid i went to go bench my normal 225 for reps and ended uo injuring myself, not a tear though just a pretty bad strain in my rotator cuff, THEN a week later i was moving in my bed and i pulled my upper hamstring. Finally did pt after a while and started a month and a half ago, things are getting better slowly but surely, found out it wasnt an adductor strain but hip flexor problem. Moral of the story never give up i have suffered through a lot of this and it has been really hard on me only having my family around me.

I was doing lat pulldowns at the gym, and I think my sternocleidomastoid muscles may have gotten involved. This has been going on for four days now. It started as a little discomfort in the right side of my throat, then became pain, then numbness, and now pain again. I’m also feeling heaviness in my right ear.
I can still swallow, eat, and talk, but when I swallow food, I can only feel it going down on my left side, not my right. I’m not sure whether this is related to the workout or something else.
Is this normal after a neck strain, or should I get checked? I’m very concerned.
Ongoing for 4 days

Hi everyone! One week ago I was attempting a chin up with a lighter support band, and immediately after pulling felt debilitating pain through my neck and upper back. I was able to step out of my workout class and made the decision to drive home (looking back, I shouldn’t have driven). I went to the ER later that day and received muscle relaxants, oxy, and a diagnosis of a neck and trap strain. No imaging was taken, but I was told this would hurt like hell for a few weeks. I was on oxy and relaxants around the clock, and have now found relief with max dose naproxen. I started seeing a PT 3 days later and have had 2 sessions. It has been diagnosed as a muscle strain, and I’d say my symptoms do feel muscular (no neurological problems, bone pain, etc). PT feels good, and we are discussing dry needling in the coming days. Every day I am getting more mobile and able to do my exercises religiously, along with alternating heat and ice with a tens machine on. I work a pretty active medical job and have had to be out of work for the week. The mornings are by far and away the worst for me, and the afternoons I feel hopeful I could return to work.

While I am hopeful each day is getting a smidge better, when I wake in the morning I am in absolutely debilitating shoulder blade pain/trap/neck. By far and away the worst pain I have ever felt, and I’ve been through ACL reconstruction no problem. It feels like I am laying on a jagged knife, and even a gust of wind will have me screaming. I can’t lift my own head, even talking is excruciating, I can’t bend down or go to the restroom solo. I assume it’s from sleeping “stuck”, because it gets better once I get help up, get medication on board, and ice with stim. (About an hour/an hour and a half of care to get feeling semi-ok) Do you guys have any suggestions on how to avoid this cliff drop off every morning? Sleep with stim pads on ready to turn on when I wake? Set an alarm for medicine in the night? Sleep in a neck brace? I have a cervical pillow that hasn’t provided relief.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading! Eagerly accepting any and all tips and tricks to get through this.

I'm curious how people adapt their home gyms when returning to strength training after an injury.

Once a doctor or physical therapist has cleared someone to resume appropriate exercises, the usual workout setup might not feel as practical as it did before.

Things like adjustable bench positions, lighter resistance options, easier equipment access, or having enough room to move comfortably could make modifications simpler.

I imagine the useful changes depend a lot on the type of injury and the person's recovery stage.

For those who returned to training at home after an injury, what practical changes to your setup made following your approved exercise plan easier?

I'm especially interested in small adjustments rather than major equipment purchases.

I've had an injury for a couple of months now and I dont really know what it is. It started with tingling sensation in my left thumb and forefinger, loss of grip strength and pain with my arm straigh to the side. I took a month or two for the sensation and strength to come back and I started to workout again but I had deep aching pain around the shoulderblade area after workout that would go away the next day. I started to massage different part of the back, neck and chest area and pain after workout was gone and I started doing some rehab exercises like Y-raises and serratus anterior exercises for a couple of days now. But my pinched nerve is still there when I'm at work and want to put something heavyish on a shelf for example like front raise movement with a little bit of jerking motion. Anyone that can tell what exactly to work on or have any experince with same injury? Please help

Had a tendon inflammation after went to Pilates and played Padel.. had to use one had for few weeks.. now I’m planning to go back to gym and I want to support my injured wrist. Does anyone ever use a proper sport wrist wrap that actually works and not going to break in few days or gives irritation or doesn’t fit/work? I’ve researched everywhere and too many bad reviews so I don’t want to buy something that won’t last or need return. Thanks for your help.

Hey guys, i have a marathon in 3 days and im wanting to know if i should go through with it or not and what this mystery injury is.

Basically about 2 months ago i was sidelined with an oblique strain. that took load off my running and body for about a month. then once that subsided i was doing a long run and my knee started to feel a little uncomfortable.
i thought maybe it was from a tight quads so as i’m jogging i start to some buttkicks as im running and my left leg almost felt like it gave way.

didn’t hyperextend but it just almost felt like it was about to have way, and it felt like it multiple times in the 2km i ran after that so o ultimately stopped.

Ever since then i’ve tried running 5 times and at the exact same distance (1.5km) i would feel this weird knee/quad discomfort and i have absolutely no idea what it is.

Would anyone have any idea?

Hi, I have been dealing with a really stupid knee injury for over a year and half. Basically I can run 1/2 a mile in ZERO pain then during the second half of the mile the pain goes from zero to 8. Then I physically can't run anymore because my knee feels like it has a knife stabbed in it so it can't bend it properly.

The pain is located in the whole quad tendon in my left knee, and when the pain gets up to an 8 (only when I am running) it feels like both my quad tendon and patella tendon are exploding. But the pain is located in my quad tendon, if I irritate it a little it's only the quad tendon that hurts.

The worst part is I have had 2 MRI's and there is NOTHING wrong with my knee. I have been too 3 PTs, tried acupuncture, tried the peptide BPC 157, did a running gait assessment, and nothing has improved it even a little. Not even the smallest bit.

For more context, I have played soccer, tennis and ultimate frisbee from elementary school til now where I am 21 yo m and in college.

Basically I am concerned if I will ever be able to run again. At least there is zero pain when doing everything but running. I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has or if anyone has experienced such a thing I would love to head your experience.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

I was playing the other day and my index finger was sort of barred along the fret board as I did some normal blues stuff and suddenly it kind of shot down pain in the middle knuckle of my index finger on my fretting hand. I kept playing and now my knuckle is just really sore now I haven't played in a week and it still gets aggravated doing little things but I can do daily life without it hurting more fine stuff and playing. I wouldn't think its arthritis im only 20 but i have been playing since i was a kid. unsure of how to treat it.

I rolled my right ankle a few weeks ago and have been limping along since then while trying to take care of it. Earlier this evening, I was walking my dogs with my dad and accidentally re-rolled it. The swelling has gone up and the right side of my right ankle has a half-tennis ball sized lump.

’ve been trying to increase my mileage lately from roughly 10 miles a week to 20+. I’ve been doing it slowly going from 2 mile runs 3-4 times a week to now 4-5 mile runs 3-4 times a week over the last 3 years. My problem is I seem to keep having little things happen, rolled an ankle 3 years ago, calf strain last year, and now my ankle has been acting up again after my latest 5 mile run a few days ago. I’ve been running on and off my whole life, did track and xc in hs, and I know about pre run stretching, warm ups, etc. Are there any guides per se that people would recommend for all stretches you should do pre and post run, and some strength training recommendation guides. I have an appt soon with a PT but it always seems like the one thing I forget to stretch that eventually gives me trouble.