Skier’s Thumb: Cause, Symptoms and Treatment
Skier’s Thumb: Cause, Symptoms and Treatment
There are various kinds of injury that occurs while playing any sort of sports. Skiing is one of the most common activities. During wintertime most people enjoy skiing. But there is a certain danger to it as well. One needs to be very careful as they can end up hurting themselves badly. One of the most common injuries occurred by skiing is skier’s thumb. In the year 1955, the skier’s thumb was originally noted as a ligament injury. If the injury is severe, one also needs to take medical help and go through surgery. Another name for skier’s thumb is gamekeeper’s thumb.
Causes for the skier’s thumb
The most common cause for the skier’s thumb is downhill skiing. Nearly 8% to 10% of the skiing accidents have serious ligament injury. When someone falls on an outstretched hand, our body creates necessary pressure that leads to stress on the thumb and tearing a ligament. This occurs mainly when someone is holding a skiing pole while falling down. If the thumb gets stuck in the snow in high velocity, it can also cause a ligament tear. Although skiing is the most common cause, a skier’s thumb can occur for various other reasons. During a car accident, when the driver has his thumb wrapped around the steering wheel can also lead to skier’s thumb. Any accident where our thumb is bent in a bad position can cause skier’s thumb.
Symptoms for the skier’s thumb
There are various symptoms for the skier’s thumb. Some of them can occur within minutes and some takes hours. Few of them are discussed below.
Home remedy for skier’s thumb
Some of the ways a skier’s thumb can be treated at home are discussed below.
Skier’s thumb medical treatment
Even if there are home remedies applied, one should make sure to consult an orthopedic. The doctor will do some tests such as x-ray and see whether the ligament is in bad condition. After this, the doctor can suggest if surgery should be done or not.
