What is a Flexor (Flexor) Tendon?
Flexor tendons are strong, connective tissue structures that connect the muscles in the front of the arm to the bones in the fingers and the thumb on the inside of the wrist. These tendons allow us to bend our wrist, hold a cup of tea, button our shirt, open jars, and perform daily activities that require us to bend our fingers and thumb.
How do Flexor Tendons get Injured?
Flexor Tendon Injuries usually occur as a result of a cutting-object injury on the inside of the hand. Injuries may also occur due to sports or arthritis conditions. Arthritis-related bone spurs or inflammatory joint fluid can wear down and sometimes tear flexor tendons.
What are the Symptoms of a Flexor Tendon Injury?
The symptoms of a Flexor Tendon Injury include pain, swelling, tenderness, and inability to bend the finger.
When you cut your hand, it may be a simple skin cut, or one or more of your finger's flexor tendons may have also been cut during this cut. After you cut your hand, when you try to move your fingers, the doctor checks the movement of your fingers to determine if there is a tendon injury.
What is Jersey Finger?
Typically, "Jersey Finger" occurs when the finger is caught in another player's uniform (Jersey) or clothing. The tendon creates a lot of force at the end of the bone, breaking the bone at the point where the tendon attaches rather than tearing the tendon itself.
How to Recognize Flexor Tendon Injuries?
Hand-wrist inside cuts should be taken seriously. A Flexor Tendon Injury is serious. To determine which tendons are affected, the tendons are tested individually. If the injury is caused by glass or other debris, an X-ray can be taken.
How are Flexor Tendon Injuries Treated?
Cut or torn tendons do not heal on their own and require surgery. In surgery, the cut tendon ends are located and sutured.
What Does the Patient Expect During the Post-operative Period?
Tendons are made up of live cells. If the cut ends of the tendon can be brought back together, healing begins from the cells inside as well as the tissues outside the tendon.
The quickest surgery after a flexor tendon is cut increases the success of treatment. There are many ways to repair a cut tendon, and certain types of cuts require a specific type of repair. In the finger, it is important to protect certain pulley structures. There is very little space between the tendon and pulley structures for a repair to be made. If the nerve and blood vessels near the tendon are damaged during the cut, they may also need to be repaired.
What is the process after a Flexor Tendon Cut Surgery?
After the surgery and depending on the type of cut, the injured area is restricted in movement with a splint. A very special limited movement program can be started in the first week.
Special rehabilitation is often required after Flexor Tendon surgeries. If unprotected finger movement starts too early, the tendon repair is likely to be damaged and the tendon may break. 4-6 weeks later, the fingers are allowed to move slowly and resistively. Healing takes place in the first three months after repair.
If it is difficult to bend the finger using its own muscle power, it may mean that the repaired tendon has separated or there are adhesions in the wound tissue. The scar from the tendon repair is a normal part of the healing process. However, in some cases, the scar (scar tissue) can make bending and straightening the finger very difficult. Depending on the injury, additional treatments may be needed to loosen the wound tissue and prevent it from interfering with finger movement. If hand rehabilitation fails to heal, surgery may be needed to release the wound tissue around the tendon.
