Football is an intense, physically bruising game that can leave your body bruised, sprained, broken and torn. Often, these injuries are pushed to the side via tape, elastic wrap or casts so you can make it through the season. Whether this is safe and whether your body will suffer long term are other issues altogether. Finger sprains are a painful and potentially serious injury. Whether you can play football with a finger sprain will depend on a number of factors.
Severity
According to the Langone Medical Center Department of Pediatrics, finger sprains come in one of three grades of severity. A grade 1 sprain means the ligament overstretched and may have a micro-tear but is still stable. A grade 2 sprain means the ligament has some partial tearing but not a full rupture, and the joint is mildly unstable. A grade 3 sprain has resulted in a severe or complete tear of the ligament, and the joint itself is extremely unstable. Before you consider playing football, have your primary care physician diagnose your sprain severity.
Positions
The position you play will factor largely in whether you can play with a sprained finger, regardless of the severity of the injury. For example, if you're a lineman, you rarely have to grab onto anything, so you may be able to play with a finger sprain just by putting a cast on your hand. If you're a quarterback, however, you may have issues playing with a sprained finger on either hand, considering you're required to grip the ball with both hands on every play.
Warnings
Playing with a sprained finger can lead to serious, irreversible long-term damage that requires surgery. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, if you play with a grade 3 sprain and do further damage to the joint, the ligament may not properly heal as time goes on, in which case you will need to have finger fusion surgery. This is a procedure that literally fuses two bones in your finger together, rending them completely immobile.
In-Game Assistance
If your doctor clears you to play football with a sprained finger, you can dull or even eliminate the pain with over-the-counter pain medication. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen can reduce swelling and pain in the finger. Wrapping the joint with elastic bandages compresses the joint, provides additional support and prevents the finger from moving beyond its natural range of motion. No in-game injury Band-Aids can eliminate the injury, though; they can only mask it. Extreme caution needs to be taken when playing football with any injury, regardless of how severe.
