Broken Finger- healing time?

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Natasha

Proud Parent
My dd is training L7, fractured her pinky finger at practice. The place we go that deals with sports injuries sent us to see a hand surgeon at a facility that specializes only in hands. The surgeon determined that she did not need surgery or pins, and he re-set her finger at the office and put it in a splint for 4 weeks.
When we asked about recovery time, he told us no tumbling (i.e. backhandsprings, etc) for 3 MONTHS and that she could do bars in about 2 MONTHS. We were completely shocked at this estimate as it seems extreme to us. My dd just returned to full training the end of July after breaking her wrist 2x and she was out less than 12 weeks with 2 consecutive breaks, so I am trying to reconcile how she would need 3 months for a pinky finger. The hand surgeon really does not see kids (in fact everyone else in the office were in the geriatric category) so I am wondering if he gave us a longer estimate based on what he sees with older adults?
Anyone have experience recovering from broken fingers?
 
It depends alot where the fracture is. If the fracutre is more in the hand, growth plate or a joint of the finger, it will take longer to heal. You can call back to the md office and ask why the long recovery time, is there something that makes this fracture more serious? The other option is to get a 2nd opinion.
So sorry your dd had another injury---hope this heals soon!
 
Listen to the doctor as that is his/her expertise...my daughter fractured her finger a few years back and was out for about 6 weeks (which was what was recommended at the time) and first practice back, fractured it again and was done for the season (missed States, Regionals and Nationals for the first time so it was devastating for her) so I would err on the side of caution and listen to what they say. I'm sure if your daughter was just going to sit on the couch the recovery time would be much shorter but to do what they do in gymnastics, it has to be completely healed and ready to withstand the impact.
 
fingers and toes are usually a dime a dozen in the sport of gymnastics. but you still need to heed the doc's instructions. he saw where it is located and the angle of the fracture. it does seem like a long time, but better to get close to 2 months of healing than to be sorry as Bookworm has told you above.:)
 
Thanks for the input. My dd was an emergency work-in the day he re-set her hand, so we really didn't have time for questions or much of a discussion with the MD. She has a follow-up appt this week, so I'll have a chance to ask him more questions. She was just so excited in the past 3 weeks to be getting all of her L7 skills, and now she is back to not getting to work them at all again. She is anxious about getting her skills competition ready by January for the meets (She is already missing all the fall meets). Since most of the entry payments for meets are due before her 3 months will be up, it is hard to know whether she will be ready to compete.
 

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