Hand Injuries Common in Muni? Or is just me?

After six months of riding, I finally took a fall that did damage. I was
setting up to roll a fallen log, when I bobbled on a smaller root and
did a dive into the log and landed on my grab hand. I broke one finger
(pinkie) and probably the ring finger. After soaking them in the lake I
was able to ride out. I have been taping them together once I have my
glove on. It's been two weeks, so they're getting better, I can ride but
I'm being careful.

Then Sunday my son took a hard fall, dove forward over a log and landed
on his thumb, bending it back, fortunately it was not broken. So, two
falls with injuries in two weeks, are we just due or are hand injuries
more common than I thought?

BTW, we already wear full leather gloves with splints front and back.
I'm thinking of tapping/sewing my fingers together in pairs, might even
add something to keep my thumbs from hyperextending, like a strap or
tape.


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If you do extreme MUni yo are going to get hurt somewhat sooner or
later. I have broken my leg in 3 places and might have broken or
dislocated my ring finger and/or thumb.( I did not go to get them
x-rayed I just suffered with them.) I have also recieved countles
bruises, sprained ankles and wrists. Just try to roll with the falls.
LOL

Unicorn


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Well, hands are what you tend to land on, so I'd expect hand injuries to
be fairly common. I've had a few bruised palms from falling on pointy
rocks, but nothing worse (yet). Actually, the most painful fall I've
had while muniing was landing on my hip on a pointy rock - nothing
broken but I couldn't stand up for a few minutes. I'm fairly paranoid
about padding up as well - usually wear helmet, shin/knee pads, gloves
and elbow pads (and camelbak on my back), but you don't think about
hips.

I don't tend to bend my fingers back when I fall though - I think
you've just been unlucky there.

Rob


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Nurse Ben;1137821 wrote:

BTW, we already wear full leather gloves with splints front and back.
I'm thinking of tapping/sewing my fingers together in pairs, might even
add something to keep my thumbs from hyperextending, like a strap or
tape.



You might try removing one or both of the splints; they could be
contributing to finger injuries.


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tholub
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My most common MUni injury is a sprained wrist. I use KH gloves which
help lessen the severity of the sprain but does not prevent it on bad
awkward falls. It is not too much of a stretch to think that something
that could hurt the wrist if landed slightly differently would hurt the
fingers.

edit: If your wrist can't bend due to your double splinted gloves it
might mean that your fingers end up taking more of the impact. Something
has to absorb the hit.


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saskatchewanian
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rob.northcott;1137834 wrote:
I don't tend to bend my fingers back when I fall though - I think you've
just been unlucky there.



Here is where falling technique can prevent injuries. If you're
falling with your arms straight out and your fingers fully spread apart,
you're asking for a finger injury, if not worse.

The best falling posture is to have your hand cupped, fingers together,
and your arm in a semi-circle... see http://tinyurl.com/5g366n for an
illustration of arm positioning.

The goal of a fall shouldn't be to stop yourself using your hands or
arms. Instead, one should use their arms to redirect the force of the
fall into a roll or a "splat", so the entire body takes the force, and
not just the hands.

Just like riding, you'll need to practice those falls... why not
integrate it into your daily rides? C'mon, who doesn't like getting
dirty?


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Nurse Ben;1137821 wrote:
Then Sunday my son took a hard fall, dove forward over a log and landed
on his thumb, bending it back, fortunately it was not broken.


I sustained a similar injury falling on a poorly maintained cobblestone
street several weeks ago at fairly high (for me) speed. I fell forward,
spinning slightly, didn't tuck in my hand quickly enough, and ended up
hyperextending all four of the fingers on my right hand to various
degrees.
I don't think I broke any of them (I didn't visit a doctor); all of
them but the ring finger are fully recovered, and that one just has a
slightly restricted range of motion.
I can't really imagine any kind of reasonable apparel that would have
prevented this particular injury.


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I suffered a slightly bruised palm on Sunday from some very pointy welsh
rocks. Was wearing wrist guards but its maybe slightly to the side of
their protection. This is the only injury to my hands I've had that I
can think of.


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lowlight
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Nothing more than bruises so far on hips, thighs and face. I did draw
blood on my pinkie finger once though, falling at top speed on my 26" on
asphalt ripped right through the thin part of the KH glove that covers
the fingers. I may have tried some kind of judo roll, but I am still not
quite sure what happened


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minkuni
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George Peck has suggested using finger splints, but I'm not sure where
you get them.

Increasing my hip flexor and lower abdominal strength has reduced the
frequency and severity of my UPD's, esp. the superman type. I would
think doing things that require fast foot action would also help, like
jump rope w/ ankle weights & foot-bag.

My Muni padding: helmet, knee/shin, wrist, elbow/forarm, hip/but (661
Bomber Pro), and backpack. For the street I usually eliminate the
knee/shin & elbow/forarm pads.

maestro8 - That's how I fall when I don't land on my feet.


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