Boxer’s Fracture

The symptoms of a boxer’s fracture may include:

• pain
• painful bruising
• swelling of both sides of the hand that happens quickly
• tenderness near the base of the pinky finger
• inability or limited ability to move the pinky or ring finger
• the knuckle of the affected finger appearing flat and no longer protruding as usual
• problems trying to grip with the injured hand
• numbness
• coldness in the hand
• If  you press on the area, you’ll feel pain. It’ll also hurt to push the finger that attaches to the metacarpal bone inward.

When making a fist, the finger that is hurt may appear misaligned. It may bend toward the thumb more than is

• This is known as rotation, and it can be a sign of a more serious type of boxer's fracture.

Boxer's Fracture Causes

Boxer's fracture get their name from one of their most common causes –

• punching an object with a closed fist. This can happen during fist fights or from punching a hard object such as a wall or filing cabinet.
• Although less common, this type of fracture can also happen when the hand isn’t clenched and strikes a hard object.

The treatment options for a boxer’s fracture depend on the severity of your injury.

Some treatments that may be used include:

• applying ice to the hand
• using a splint to hold it stable while it heals
• not using your hand for a period of time
• taking prescription or over-the-counter pain medication, depending on the amount of pain
• taping the hand as a type of soft splint, with the pinky and ring finger taped together to help in healing
• correction of the dislocated bone, which may be done with anesthesia
• physical therapy if needed to regain full use of your hand
• home exercises to regain strength and use of your hand
• Your treatment may also include surgery if the break is severe enough, if the broken bone protrudes from the skin, or if there are multiple fractures. Surgery is also used for people who use their hands for minute motor skills, such as playing the piano.

Wrist, hand and finger ROM

The motions of the wrist that you should stretch include:

• Flexion
• Extension
• Radial deviation (bending your wrist towards your thumb)
• Ulnar deviation (bending your wrist towards your pinky)
• Pronation (turning your wrist and hand over as if you Wrist, hand and finger ROM

The motions of the wrist that you should stretch include:

• Flexion
• Extension
• Radial deviation (bending your wrist towards your thumb)
• Ulnar deviation (bending your wrist towards your pinky)
• Pronation (turning your wrist and hand over as if you 
• Supination (turning your palm up as if you were holding a bowl of soup)
• You may also need to perform gentle elbow range of motion exercises if you have been protecting your hand by keeping your entire arm immobilized in a sling.

1. Grip strengthening exercises

• The towel handgrip exercise
• Putty gripping exercises

2. Finger strengthening exercises

Different ways you can strengthen your finger muscles may include:

• Working with therapy putty
• Using elastic rubber bands around your fingers to strengthen them.

3. Arm and shoulder exercise after boxers fracture

  Exercises that may be beneficial may include.

• Rotator cuff strengthening
• Scapular stability exercises
• Wrist strengthening exercises
• Elbow mobility and elbow strength exercises

A boxer’s fracture is when you break a bone at the base of your finger, near the knuckle or neck of the bone. That bone is known as a metacarpal. 

A boxer’s fracture may also be called fifth metacarpal fracture. It usually happens to the small (pinky) finger or the ring finger and is most common in men.