Pain in both upper index fingers which won't go away

[675438]

Hi everyone, I'm always shy posting in forums but it's got to a point I know nowhere to turn

for over six months I've been dealing with pain in my upper right index finger when punching, I've taken breaks for a couple weeks in phases but it wouldnt heal, like all other injuries I assumed it would go away, but it never did. I also had the same pain in my left upper index finger but it felt much more minor.

Last october I decided to not use my right hand completely for a month and a half, and just go to training using my left. over time I developed the same problem with my left, apart from when I make a fist, my left index fingers middle joint sticks up.. however my right hand looks normal despite both upper index fingers experiencing the same pain

after the month and a half break, I punched again and the pain came right back just the same as before, as though I never rested.

I've had an xray, nothing showed, doctors havnt been able to help.. I use winning ng-2 gel pads, gauze on each hand and 16 oz winning gloves every time I train.. it doesnt stop the pain

I was supposed to be going into an amateur bout last november but didn't because of my hand, I don't want to keep wasting time.. it really feels like it will never go away and I don't know what to do

When I put my gloves on, and lightly tap the punching surface of the glove with my palm, I feel a sharp sensitive pain in both my upper index fingers when i do it, so its not just with punching its with tapping too

I know I wrote a lot but I don't know any other way to describe it more accurately.. I'm really sorry about that... but I appreciate anyone for having read.. if anyone has had a similar problem and knows what to do or has any suggestions, thank you

Liam

[DinoCop]

Liam

Mate you felt the pain even after a month of inactivity because it wasn't healed up yet and had been injured worse than you think.
Looks like when you hit the bag, you hand gets deeper into the glove, but there is not much room in the thumb section for your thumb to go deeper so your thumb pushes hard to the glove's inner layer.

I also had that pain on my left wrist, right thumb joint, right elbow and right index finger due to punching the bag. I knew that soon I would end up broken some part of my body. Since half a year I've been off the gym and bags and I can say it took more than 3 months for my body to completely heal. Stay off the bag at least.

[675438]

Hi there Rovi, I really appreciate your reply, I will do as suggested and stay off the bags and pads for at least 3 and a half months, and return hitting lightly.. and in the meanwhile spar only, I only ever spar with light hits. The injuries on my hands first appeared when my old foam injected gloves began to start breaking. I just hope I havnt damaged them permanently. in time when it heals I will come back here and let you and people passing by know, incase anyone else experiences the same. Anyway, take care Rovi, again I really appreciate you having stopped by to help

[MarvellousMike]

Hi mate.

I feel your pain. I have exactly the same problem. Worse in my right, not as bad in the left. The only thing that helps is rest so try and train without punching things as best you can. You will need upwards of 3 months off hitting things to recover and it may still return. Evaluate how you are wrapping your hands and try different methods. Ice your hands after training and massage them beforehand. Too much hand wrapping can be just as bad as not enough.

One of the things with boxing is you do pick up injuries and if you rest up for 3 months every time you get a niggle you end up never competing. Sore hands, tennis elbow, twinges in your shoulders. It's a tough, high impact sport. I have dealt with sore hands for a long time but it's something i'm willing to put up with to compete at the sport I love. When it gets too much, i'll quit.

[stephenmc]

Can I just suggest you get rid of those fcking gel pads and get real hand wraps and wrap properly... also you can't compete with them so you should get used to wrapping yours hands properly....

Being honest it's kind of hard to give an answer without actually seeing what way your hitting the bag....
It could be that your not hitting it right, (you wouldn't believe how many people hit the bag wrong) or you hit it wrong once or twice and it hasn't healed....
Are they your own gloves?? If not they mightn't fit you properly, are you making a proper fist in the glove?
Also it may sound ******, but have you actually checked the fingers? It could be that their is a small tiny cut, or something stuck in it....
Could also be a muscle/tendon.

You will pick up a lot of injuries along the way, most people fight with more than one injury,
Your body does start to toughen up after awhile though.

[675438]

Hi Mike and Stephen, I'm really sorry about my late reply, I didn't get an email informing

That's what I'm doing Mike, I'm resting and no longer hitting, except very light touches with sparring, but yes I am afraid that i've damaged it forever. and that it'll return. Because like you said, I didn't want to let an injury stop me from training and I assumed it would go away, but it never did and it's too bad to just let it remain like this

I think it's my fault Stephen, about hitting incorrectly, because I have a short reach I have a bad habit of over reaching my hook to compensate for my reach, and in doing so my hits land without a flat fist, it's the index fingers which face the impact. I'm just not sure the repetition of this has finally given way after 2 years and I've damaged them forever. I'll certainly be hooking differently from now on, I just have to get so close to hook properly and it feels awkward

You're right about gloves not fitting properly, for a long time I wore 16 oz because I assumed more padding meant more protection, but because my hands are so small, only 7.5 cm across the knuckle, there is so much room in them my hands only fill around half the glove. Even 12 oz are too big. I noticed in bigger gloves, my middle finger joints are sticking forward rather than a flat fist. so my mid-finger joints land on impact first sticking forward on the punching surface of the glove which is not good. So I'm looking into getting some good 10's

Doctors said it's a soft tissue injury, I don't understand why my index fingers crack when they get caught, even when slightly caught (since the injury on both index fingers), when there is no sign of a break on the xray. But I don't know if tendons/ligaments can crack too in response to being caught. Even slight punches with a little weight behind them hurt too much for me to keep punching. I can hit exceptionally hard for my size (5'8 - 160 lb), but I'm a complete shadow of myself in terms of hitting since dealing with this for so long, hence I don't want to go back to bouts until its gone completely. I don't want to lose on that. Small hits can make me wince even, its that bad

I got the winning gel pads to lessen the pain, the winning 16's are my own gloves, likewise I got them too in hope of it helping with the pain. thats why I was willing to make such an investment, the pain is just too bad. and has been for 6 months plus now. i use 3/4 of an average gauze roll on each hand, with the gel pads covering the top of my index fingers, it has helped, but only to a degree. Only today I caught it when moving my hand, I havnt punched in a couple weeks, but it's regressed again. it's a brittle, dull but sharp feeling. The way it feels, really feels like it will never be right again. But hopefully that's just pessimism and not reality

Anyway thank you all, I'll let you know how it goes in three months plus, take care everyone. I'm sorry about my long response, I always had difficulty being brief