Should I go to the doctor or wait a couple of days? (1 Viewer)

[CaseyLS]

Last night I was playing basketball and one of my buddies had the great idea of throwing me an alley oop. First off, even though I can dunk very easily I have never tried an oop, basically because I am very uncoordinated. So I get a good run at the goal and I went up and my friend threw the ball up and quite a bit behind me but I went for the ball anyway. As I caught the ball I realized I didnt have a chance of throwing down and I was also basically parallel to the ground and didn's have a chance of landing on my feet. In a sporadic effort to not severlly injure myself I tried to grab the rim with both hands. I was only able to get a good grip with one hand and the other I jammed on the other side of the rim. Since I was running at near full speed, I was pulled off the rim rather violently and then went crashing to the ground and I landed on both feet and both hands.

Basically to list my injuries:
Left Arm:
Two jammed fingers- both are still very sore

Right Arm:
Wrist hurts like hell from landing- kinda feels like I sprained it

My elbow and shoulder also hurt like a mother. I think I hurt them when I tried to grab the rim. It felt like some one was tugging really hard on my arm.


So basically, should I wait a few days or should I go to the doctor ASAP. I usually wait if I do anything to my ankles and the soreness always goes away but I haven't ever jacked up my arms.

And to top it off, I didnt even make the damn shot.

 

[Leila Dougan]

Well, getting medical advice from an internet forum is usually not the wisest thing to do. If you're in doubt, definitely see a doctor. If you've broken something, it's best to get it fixed now rather than after it's healed incorrectly.

Do you have insurance? Most medical insurance/HMOs have a "nurse hotline" that you can call up (for free) and speak to a nurse. They will let you know whether you should see a doctor or not, and what you can do to ease the pain.

 

[Hunter P]

walk it off

 

[CaseyLS]

I am goignt to call my mom tonight because I am still on their insurance plan. I have also thought about going to the student health center here at K-state but they'll probably think I injured myself performing some complicated sexual act. (They are somewhat known for this)


I do plan on going to shoot around later this evening.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I've had more than my share of strains but never one serious enough to go to the doctor, I figure if I'm in good enough shape to walk off the court/field then I'll be ok. Assuming nothing is broken (which sounds like the case) the doctor will give you a prescription for an otc pain medication and tell you to take it easy for a couple of days. So Hunter has the best advice, walk it off

 

[Jed M]

No pain, No gain.

Actually if its not sore, but really in pain, I would go to a doctor. Best case scenario is a prescription for some pain killers. Worst case scenario is a broken bone, but it will take longer to set the longer you wait to see the doctor.

If you don't have insurance I might wait a day just to see what happens because that can get really expensive w/out it.

 

[Jay H]

Sounds like you may have hyperextended the arm from the socket. If you pulled your arm out, then you'd know about it for sure

Sounds to me a whole lotta bruising to me. I'd walk it off, but then again, that's just me. Take some advil or ibuprofin for any swelling and take it easy on the wrists and stuff.

Jay

 

[Philip_G]

I'd drop by student health, won't cost you anything and they can refer you elsewhere if they need to.

 

[Ted Lee]

if it doesn't cost you any money, definitely go see a doc. why take a chance?

 

[Steve_Tk]

I'd agree with walk it off. If your sore in a month then you damaged something.

The only one that I would be worried about is shoulder.

 

[brentl]

Three words for ya ..... rub and tug .....

Brent

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Please tell me someone caught this all on video!

I say: Rub some dirt on it!

 

[CaseyLS]

Well I took the "walk it off" approach and my arm feels fine, so I guess I didnt do any damamge to it.

I played last night and tonight, not only did it feel alright, I had 2 of my better nights of basketball and I was finally able to complete a dunk I had been working on. I always have guys throw me alley-oops and I can't ever handle the ball. So, I have been working on bouncing the ball off the ground to the back board, and back to me in mid air. I have been able to catch the ball but never able to throw it down. I finally got it tonight

I may try it in a game sometime but I think that would be showing off just a bit too much.