Ayurvedic Treatment For Mallet Finger With Herbal Remedies!

ABSTRACT

Our hand is very important for us. They are capable of doing works like holding something, touching and feeling. We write with our hands and we even talk with our hands it adds more value to our words when we use our hands, but sometimes our hands can get injured due to many reasons and we can have deformities like fracture, swan neck deformity and mallet finger. We will be talking about mallet finger deformity in this article.

INTRODUCTION

Mallet finger injury involves injury to the extensor tendon muscle over the distal interphalangeal joint. This can result in the deformity and loss of extension and flexion of the muscle. This joint is also named as mallet finger, baseball finger and drop finger. These injuries mostly occur during a work environment or during a sports injury. Commonly involved fingers are the middle, small and ring finger of the dominant hand. As this is a traumatic deformity it can occur to anyone, the most common involved groups are young to middle aged people.

RELATIVE ANATOMY OF MALLET FINGER

Our finger has three phalanx which helps in the movements of the finger and all the phalanges are joint with the ligament and on the surface of bones there is a tendon known as extensor tendon. The extensor tendon is attached proximally to the phalanx and originates in the forearm. Central continuation of the extensor tendon attaches to the middle phalanx of the finger which exerts an extensor force across the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP). Mallet finger deformity arises due to the injury of this tendon and discontinuity in the tendon.

CAUSES OF MALLET FINGER

1. Due to any sports which hits the extended finger like injury with a ball which can break the continuity of the tendon.
2. Some minor force injury can also lead to the injury to the tendon like making a bed, putting on socks. Mostly in old aged women.

CLASSIFICATION OF MALLET FINGER

It can be classified as:

1. Acute mallet deformities- Deformities occurring within 4 weeks of injury.
2. Chronic mallet deformities- Deformity occurring after the 4 weeks of injury.

There is a classification scheme presented by Doyle’s which divides mallet injuries into 4 types:

• Type 1 – It is a closed injury which can occur with or without small dorsal avulsion fracture.
• Type 2 – These injuries are open type which are due to laceration of the DIP joint.
• Type 3 – In this type there is loss of skin and tendon substance which occurs due to the deep soft tissue abrasion.
• Type 4 – This type of injury is mainly involved where there is deformity of the extensor tendon muscle and fracture of the phalanx which can be medial or proximal phalanx.

SYMPTOMS OF MALLET FINGER

Following are the symptoms which can be seen in the mallet finger deformity:

• Painful finger
• Redness around the injured area
• Swelling of the finger
• Bruising due to the injury
• Incapacity of the finger tip to straighten up can also hamper the movement and daily chores.

DIAGNOSIS OF MALLET FINGER

It can be diagnosed with the help of different imaging techniques like:

1. X-ray
2. MRI
3. Ultrasound

TREATMENT OF MALLET FINGER

Treatment can be surgical and non-surgical according to the severity of the injury and dislocation of the fracture:

1. NON-SURGICAL

This is done in the type 1 injuries and in the closed injuries of the mallet finger. It can be rehabilitation treatment and the first line of treatment for the mallet finger.

1. SPLINTING- Different splints like stack splint, perforated thermoplastic splint, aluminum foam splint these splints will help in the demobilizing the joint and straighten it which helps in fast healing of the mallet finger.
2. CASTING- Plaster can be applied on the interphalangeal joint. This can be applied to the persons whose splint can’t be applied like to the children.
3. EXERCISES- Physiotherapist can tell you some exercises which will help in the recovery of the joint and strengthen the muscles which will be beneficial for the movement.

2. SURGICAL

This can be done to the patient who has open injuries of type 3-4 mallet finger deformities and also to the patients who are having difficulty in performing their jobs with the splint. Also in the complex injuries.

The surgeries can be open or closed. In open surgery the skin is cut and the tendon is exposed. Some hardware like pin, wire, screw and plate which helps to straighten the joint deformity.

RECOVERY FROM MALLET FINGER

This condition usually takes 7-8 weeks to heal but it can take longer if the patient is not following the proper routine of splinting. Most of the patients recover completely and sometimes it may heal with the small bump on the joint which doesn’t cause any functional deformity.

AYURVEDIC CORRELATION OF MALLET FINGER

In ayurveda this condition comes under the sandhimukta (joint dislocation). There are 6 types of joint dislocation which are told in ayurveda:

1. Utpishta- Swelling on the both sides of the joint which worsen at night. It can be correlated with fracture dislocation.
2. Vishlishta- There will be mild swelling with constant pain and it can be correlated with the dislocation due to the tear of the ligament in modern times.
3. Vivararthita- It is a deformity with the lateral displacement of the joint and in modern times it can be correlated with the anteroposterior dislocation.
4. Avakshipta- It is a severe pain deformity with the downward displacement of the joint. In modern times it can be correlated with the downward displacement.
5. Atikshipta- It has wide displacement with severe pain and in modern times it can be correlated with the gross displacement.
6. Tiryaksipta- In this there is oblique displacement of bone with the unbearable pain and in the modern it can be correlated with the oblique displacement.

AYURVEDIC TREATMENT OF MALLET FINGER

As this joint displacement is explained in ayurveda, there is also an explanation of treatment of the dislocation of the joints.

There are three types of basic treatment according to the ayurveda for the joint discoloration and fracture

1. Bhagna sthapana (reduction)
2. Bhagna sthirirkara (immobilization)
3. Punaha cheshtha prasara (rehabilitation)

Some herbs which are used for joint dislocation are vata (Ficus bengalensis), palasa (Butea monosperma), Madhuka (Madhuca longifolia), aswatha (Ficus religiosa). Different types of bandha (bandages) are applied for the treatment of joint dislocation. It can be correlated with the splint and bandages according to the modern system.

TREATMENT FROM PLANET AYURVEDA FOR MALLET FINGER

Planet Ayurveda has many medications which are very helpful for the mallet finger disorder and also help in the mobilization of the finger. These medications are pure ayurvedic formulations and are made under the guidance of expert ayurvedic doctors. All the medications are standardized and are free from chemicals, preservatives and fillers.

LIST OF MEDICATIONS

1. EKANGVEER RAS
2. BOSWELLIA CURCUMIN
3. RUMOGIN 5 CAPSULES
4. VATKULANTAK RAS
5. NIRGUNDI OIL WITH MAHAMASH OIL
6. ASHWAGANDHA CAPSULES

1. EKANGVEER RAS

This medication is in the tablet form which is made up of ras sindoor (mercury based calx), gandhak (purified sulfur), nag bhasma (lead calx), tamra bhasma (copper calx) etc these all ingredients are helpful for the numbness and this very helpful for the movement disorders.

Dosage: 1 tab to be chewed once a day with plain water after meals.

2. BOSWELLIA CURCUMIN

This medication is in the capsule form. It contains two ingredients: shallaki (Boswellia serrata) and haridra (Curcuma longa); this is very beneficial for removal of toxins from the body and helps in fast healing. It will reduce the inflammation and the pain of the finger.

Dosage: 2 cap twice daily with plain water after meal.

3. RUMOGIN 5 CAPSULES

These capsules contains 5 ingredients which are haridra (Curcuma Longa), Sonth (Zingiber officinale), shalakki (Boswellia serrata), maricha (Piper nigrum), pippali (Piper longum) all these ingredient will be helpful for decreasing the inflammation and the pain of the injured area and will help full in recovering the movements.

Dosage: 1 capsule twice a day with plain water after meals.

4. VATKULANTAK RAS

It’s a herbomineral formulation which contains combination of herbs and minerals like baheda (Terminalia bellerica), jaifal (Myristica fragrans), purified sulfur and purified mercury are added in this formulation which will help in improving blood circulations and will strengthen the nerves and muscles in there which will aid in movement of the finger.

Dosage: 1 tab twice daily with plain water after meals.

5. NIRGUNDI OIL WITH MAHAMASH OIL

Nirgundi Oil contains base of sesame oil (Sesamum indicum), manjistha (Rubia cordifolia), haridra (Curcuma longa), nirgundi (Vitex negundo) etc massage with these herbs will strengthen the tendons and bones and will help in increasing the blood flow which promotes healing of the dislocation and tearing.

Mahamash Oil contains masha (Phasleolus mungo), dashmoola (group of 10 herbs), Shyonak (Oroxylum indicum), it is also made in the base of sesame oil (Sesamum indicum) which is very good painkiller and and helps in soothing pain and inflammation, helps in stiffness caused by the mallet finger.

Usage: Warm oil massage on the affected area.

6. ASHWAGANDHA CAPSULES

These capsules contain extract of the ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) it is a very good medication for inflammation and it will help in making new tissues of the extensor tendon.

Dosage: 1 capsule twice a day with plain water after meals.

CONCLUSION

Mallet finger is a disorder which occurs due to the tearing of the extensor tendon of the finger. It can be of different types depending upon the severity of the injury. The injury usually occurs on the extended hand. This is really a painful condition of the finger and movement is also restricted due to the tendon injury. Mostly the treatment consists of using splints on the affected part and surgery is the ultimate treatment for this condition. In ayurveda there is also a treatment for the rehabilitation and fast healing of this condition. We have discussed in this article, for any querry visit www.planetayurveda.com