Whether you are playing basketball, skiing or sledding, a minor miscalculation can bend your thumb way out of bounds. Although not typically considered a critical injury, thumb hyperextension can be painful and debilitating. The associated pain is generally confined to the thumb; however, some people also experience headache pain after a thumb hyperextension.
Hyperextension
Hyperextension involves moving a limb beyond its normal range of motion. Thumb hyperextension occurs when the thumb is pulled too far back toward the outer hand. When this happens, the main ligament that connects the thumb bones generally tears. Also referred to as a sprained thumb, the injury most commonly occurs after falling and landing on an outstretched hand. However, the injury can also occur any time a force pulls the thumb back out of place, such as getting your thumb slammed in a car door, bending it back too far during gymnastics or jamming it into another player during a sports game.
Symptoms
Immediately after the thumb hyperextends, you are likely to notice significant pain near the thumb joint. This pain often becomes worse while moving the thumb or bending it backwards. After several minutes, the area may begin to bruise and swell. If your thumb's ulnar collateral ligament was torn, you may have a difficult time pinching, plucking or grasping items between your thumb and index finger.
Potential Headache Causes
A headache is not one of the common symptoms associated with a sprained or hyperextended thumb. However, headaches can develop as an indirect symptom of the injury. For example, stress or anxiety caused by persistent thumb pain could lead to a tension headache. Generally starting at the back of the neck, tension headaches eventually spread forward until they cover both sides of your head. The pain is often persistent and squeezing, and is typically accompanied by tension in the shoulders, neck and jaw. On the other hand, headaches might also be caused by the pain medications you are taking for a sprained thumb. According to MayoClinic.com, frequent use of pain medication can lead to rebound headaches that occur daily and worsen as a medication's effects wear off. Although rebound headaches can occur with frequent use of simple pain relievers, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, they are more likely to occur with frequent use of stronger prescription medications.
Considerations
Typically, headaches associated with a thumb hyperextension occur only after several hours or days of persistent pain or frequent medication use. However, if the headache occurs very quickly after the thumb injury, it could indicate a more serious problem. If your sprained thumb was caused by a fall or serious trauma, the accident may have caused deep injuries within your spine, neck or head. Although the injury itself might not be immediately obvious, a severe headache that develops soon after the accident could be an early symptom. To ensure your health and safety, seek medical advice for any headache that develops suddenly, occurs after a head or spine injury, cannot be relieved by pain medication or is accompanied by a stiff neck, confusion, weakness, numbness or seizures.
