Mallet Fingers, Symptoms and Treatments

So you injured your finger from playing basketball, and now you think you have a mallet finger? Well, here are some facts, tips and all the other things you need to know about it—presented in a simple, comprehensive manner, of course.

First of all, mallet finger is not the same as jammed finger. Mallet finger involves the distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) while the jammed finger occurs more commonly and affects the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint. DIP and PIP joints are just fancy words for the farthest and middle joints in your finger. Each finger has 3 parts called phalanges and interphalangeal only means between these parts. See figure above.

The mallet finger is so-called because it resembles a mallet or a hammer. Your muscles can control bones through connections like tendons. But in this case, no matter how much you try to lift the bony end of your finger, it does not rise and simply droops. This is because the tendon holding the most distal portion of your finger is injured or torn; this tendon is called extensor digitorum.

This tendon at the end of your finger is quite thin (only about 1 mm thick) and is very prone to injuries during sports like baseball or basketball. If treatment is not sought promptly, the PIP joint will also be involved. Through the continuous pull of the muscles over its intact tendon, it will hyper-extend and look as if it’s curved upward. All the while, your DIP joint remains drooped downward and in the end, your finger would have a swan neck deformity (see above figure).

If you have a mallet finger and its appearance does not bother you anyway, you should still have it checked by a physician lest you want it to proceed to a swan neck deformity. If this happens, the functionality of your finger will then be compromised.