Medical Vertical Limit: Finger Straightening & Consequences

[bioquest]

In the movie Vertical Limit *spoiler alert*



a girl gets her finger crooked and she tells the guy she's a nurse and he has to straighten it. How much time do you have to straighten a crooked finger/whatever before it sets like that and they have to lose the finger or something and also what are the consequences of that?

 

[Evo]

What do you mean by "gets her finger crooked"? Do you mean broken? She wouldn't be in jeopardy of losing a finger that's just broken if she doesn't have it set.

 

[bioquest]

the scene with her finger is here (Don't watch it if you're planning on seeing Vertical Limit- spoiler alert)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTxJMzwGAY&mode=related&search=

in resident evil apocalypse (For those who remember it/watch the scene) the girl got her finger crooked like that too and straightened it herself and it obviously hurt a lot when they both had it straightened. So what are the consequences of not straightening it and in what time period do you have to do that in?

 

[Evo]

I had my finger broken and pulled out of it's socket, it was pointing backwards. I put it back in place and went to the doctor, who even after 3 months couldn't see I had multiple fractures in 2 fingers, by the time I went to an orthopedic surgeon, the bones had healed crooked. The consequence of not setting the bones if they are displaced just means the finger will heal crooked and will need to be re-broken in order to reset it. The sooner the fracture is set, the better, but generally within 5 days, at most 10 days. But I'm not an expert, so perhaps someone will correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Evo]

the scene with her finger is here (Don't watch it if you're planning on seeing Vertical Limit- spoiler alert)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTxJMzwGAY&mode=related&search=

in resident evil apocalypse (For those who remember it/watch the scene) the girl got her finger crooked like that too and straightened it herself and it obviously hurt a lot when they both had it straightened. So what are the consequences of not straightening it and in what time period do you have to do that in?

That was it, the tip of one finger was bent? She could have straightened it herself. And she claimed to be a nurse?

 

[DaveC426913]

I had my finger broken and pulled out of it's socket, it was pointing backwards.

I so did not need that mental image.

Right up there with "the hobbling scene" in "Misery".

 

[Moonbear]

the scene with her finger is here (Don't watch it if you're planning on seeing Vertical Limit- spoiler alert)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTxJMzwGAY&mode=related&search=

in resident evil apocalypse (For those who remember it/watch the scene) the girl got her finger crooked like that too and straightened it herself and it obviously hurt a lot when they both had it straightened. So what are the consequences of not straightening it and in what time period do you have to do that in?

I'm not watching the clip provided, but do recall the scene to which you're referring from Resident Evil Apocalypse. That appeared to be a simple dislocation, not a broken bone.

Even if a bone is broken and not set properly, there is a possibility that it can be re-broken to properly set it if it's interfering with normal function (it is obviously preferable to fix it right before the bone starts mending in an odd position).

 

[devil-fire]

i would bet its good to reset dislocated joints because its harder to do with loads of swelling in the area. i would think the swollen tissue would get in the way of a proper set.

note in that clip there is no swelling at all. when i dislocated my pinky finger at a 45 to the side, it was about 3x normal size in under an hour. if those were well fitting gloves and she was agitating the injury by falling on her hands when she stumbles through snow and it was a few hours old, it would be hard to get the glove off.