What Causes Sharp Pain And Swelling In Thumb?

Posted on Thu, 31 Dec 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 31 Dec 2015 Answered on

Fri, 22 Jan 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I was opening a glass Snapple bottle, (it wasn't on tight or anything). My palm made a loud pop kind of noise, and I instantly had a sharp pain where my thumb and pointer finger connect in my palm. Then my palm got tingly numb. It hurts really bad to move either of those fingers. Its a little swollen, not too bad.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (52 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Bony injury can be there.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The pain and popping that you heard can be due to a muscle tear or a small hematoma in the area. The nerve compression is causing the tingling. If it is too painful to move the thumb or lift anything then a bony injury needs to be ruled out after an X-ray.
If it is only a soft tissue injury then it should heal with heat and rest in 2 weeks.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar