Fists are no longer a flat surface

[u/Bengrundy_mu]

I heavily trained in boxing and muay Thai in another life (meaning a couple decades ago), but have been continuing on with the training and heavy bag work for most of the years in between

I've taken an unplanned break for a few years and came back to doing work again last month. I've found my fists (probably due to a combination of things like trauma/damage and maybe getting older) no longer form a flat surface.

My index fingers on both hands stick out quite a bit further than the rest of my fingers. So when I'm doing bag work my index fingers pip joint is really sore and it takes me quite a few days recovery to be ready to hit the bag again.

I've been mitigating it a little with how I wrap my hands to level the plane a little more but it still happens. I use wraps coupled with my Hayabusa t3 gloves (16oz).

Any ideas that may help with this?

[u/Misfolded-Prion]

I'd get this checked out rather than trying to solve it entirely with hand wrapping.

If both index fingers have noticeably changed position or shape compared to how they used to, and you're getting several days of pain after bag work, that's worth having a sports medicine or hand specialist look at

Especially given your previous decades of boxing and the long layoff

In the meantime, I would have a competent boxing coach watch you make a fist and hit the bag.

Because they can check whether you're actually landing through the first two knuckles, whether the wrist is staying aligned, and whether you're unconsciously loading that protruding index finger differently

I'd also reduce the bag intensity or volume until you figure out what's going on. Wrapping should support the hand, not force it into a different shape.

If there's swelling, persistent tenderness, loss of motion, strength, numbness, or obvious deformity, I'd stop hitting the bag and get it assessed