How to Treat Jammed Fingers

Unfortunately there is no way to heal jammed fingers faster than what your body can do already, but there are ways to make the your jammed finger heal more comfortably.

A jammed finger or toe happens when there’s an impact injury, resulting in tremendous pain and swelling. A simple jam can be easily treated at home and the pain will subside in a week or two.

With this easy set up you will have no more jammed finger pain. The best way to treat a jammed finger is the RICE method, or the RICE injury treatment method. What is RICE treatment? R -Rest, I-Ice, C-Compression, E-Elevate. To apply the RICE treatment on your jammed finger, you will want to Rest the jammed finger (don't use it), apply Ice to the jammed finger (DO NOT FALL ASLEEP WITH ICE APPLIED, THIS COULD CAUSE FROSTBITE), Compress the jammed finger, and keep the jammed finger Elevated!

Instructions

What you’ll need:

• Ice
• Epsom salts
• Finger or toe splint

Asses the severity of the injury. An obvious fracture, immediate bruising or mobility loss could be signs of a dislocated or broken finger or toe

• Soak, ice and elevate the jammed finger or toe for 20 minutes a day until the pain goes away. Use epsom salts for further pain relief.

Immobilize extremely painful jams by using a finger or toe splint. Use a specific finger splint found at drugstores or wrap a popsicle stick / tongue depressor with medical tape against the finger or toe.

• Tape the jammed finger or toe to a healthy one next to it. This is usually done for shorter fingers or toes that are too small to use a splint. This will also help with mobility and pain relief. 

Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain relief. This will also help the swelling on your jammed finger go down. Once the swelling is under control, the pain is usually reduced.

• Make certain you can bend and straighten each finger. If not, you may not just have a jammed finger or toe, but may have a broken or fractured finger. Call your doctor to make an appointment.

If you are wondering what to do if you think you have a broken or jammed toe, check out Broken Toe Help!