World Series champion, and reliable catcherMartin Maldonado surprisingly played through the entire world series with a broken hand. Certain media outlets reported it was the “bone near the little finger.” He is supposed to have surgery in the off season.
This brings up a good question on whether or not one should delay surgery whether you are an elite athlete or not. Most hand injuries need immediate attention, whether it is a broken bone, ligament injury, tendon injury, infection, tendonitis, and so on. It is always best to consult a hand specialist and get as much information as possible as to the risks, benefits, and alternatives of delaying treatment until the end of the season. Any type of fracture runs risks of non union (or not healing) or traumatic arthritis (the cartilage wears down between two bones). Other issues could be persistent pain, diminished performance, damage to ligaments surrounding bones, and malunion (bones did not heal in good anatomical alignment).
Though we do not know the exact bone injured, based on reports one can make an inference that it is most likely the hamate bone. So let’s talk about hamate bone fractures. The hamate is one of the wrist bones, it is an odd shaped bone close to the little finger. Quite often players that use sticks (golf clubs or bats) can injure the “hook of the hamate” I small portion of the bone on the palmar side as a result of the stick impacting it. Hook of the hamate fractures can cause pain, and quite often numbness or tingling of the ring and little fingers.
The reason it causes numbness and tingling is because the hook of the hamate runs close to the ulnar nerve. Hook of the hamate fractures can heal with casting or immobilization, but quite often they need surgical fixation, or excision. The hook is small and not always necessary, so it is usually easier to excise it, and move on. Other types of fractures of the hamate are usually rare, but can occur from catching 90 plus mph pitches from Astros ace stars. The usually heal on their own with immobilization, but sometimes need fixation.
Whatever injury Martin Maldonado had, we certainly tip our hat to him and the whole team for winning the world series, and hope to see him healthy and ready to go in the new season.
