ABSTRACT
Hand injuries – the commonest of all injuries – are important out of all proportion to their apparent severity, because of the need for perfect function. The metacarpal bones are vulnerable to blows and falls upon the hand, or the longitudinal force of the boxer's punch. Injuries are common and the bones may fracture at their base, in the shaft, through the neck or at their head. The fingers are usually injured by direct violence, and there may be considerable swelling or open wounds. Injudicious treatment may result in a stiff finger which, in some cases, can be worse than no finger. The hand swells up rapidly and the diagnosis is easily missed unless a true lateral X-ray is carefully examined. Finger carpometacarpal joints (CMCJs) can occur after punching or falling on the fist. Rarely CMCJs are damaged in a high-energy motorcycle collision. Often there is an associated fragment of bone from the hamate.
