You know those questions that you get asked at least once in your lifetime, like would you rather go blind or deaf? Would you rather loose an arm or a leg? Well, if you think those are tough ones to answer, what about this - would you rather lose your pinkie finger, or your big toe?
Weird question I know, but after coming across an article on the NY Times website this morning, I was intrigued by this author's title- "Get Along Without a Pinkie? It's Tougher than You Might Think". Right away, before even beginning to read the actual article I try to pick up my cell phone without using my pinkie, and I was able to with ease. On a second try, I realized it was easy because no matter how I tried to immobilize the little finger, it still moved. So what would it really be like if you were pinkiless?
According to quoted hand therapist Laurie Rogers, "You'd lose 50 percent of your hand strength, easily." That is crazy! On top of it, pinkie fractures occur twice as often as fracturing any other finger, even the thumb. This is hard for me to believe because I have jammed and shut doors on my pinkies multiple times, and never have broken it. But Dr. Scott G Edwards, chief of hand and elbow surgery at Georgetown University Hospital, says that people think that if they can move their finger and it doesn't hurt then its not broken. Edwards says "That's simply not true."
So if you recently shut your car door on your pinkie, I would highly suggest getting it checked out! The sooner you get your pinkie fixed, the less damage will occur. In worse cases, it can entail surgery to insert pins or plates into the bone, followed by extensive finger rehab. It sounds pretty dramatic for just a little finger, but it is better than losing half of your hand's strength. Thankfully for me, my pinkie's have recovered from their living-on-the-edge lifestyle, dodging doors and car trunks. I have learned though, that if I do hurt my little guys on the end again, it is best to get them checked out, or my writing career could be over before it even started!
MS
(Here is the article if you would like to check it out!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/health/16pink.html?ref=health )
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Personally... as hard as they described it to lose a pinkie finger, its gotta go. I think that I could get along with 50% of my hand strength but I couldn't alter the way I walk/run/jump. Big toe injuries are more debilitating than pinkie finger injuries in my mind.
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