A right hand dominant 12-year-old female cheerleader suffered a fall on an outstretched right hand with a side-bending injury to her third right finger. There was immediate pain and swelling with obvious deformity. Her coach suspected a dislocation and attempted an unsuccessful reduction before referring her to our clinic.

Her past medical history was not significant and she had no prior injury to this finger or hand.

Exam revealed a very tender, swollen and erythematous carpal-metacarpal joint with ulnar deviation of the distal portion of the digit. The patient was unable to perform active or passive range of motion due to pain. Capillary refill was normal and sensation was intact over the distal digit.