Grip - after Broken Fingers

[alistair]

I had an accident over the winter and broke all the bones in the fingers of my right hand. Although I have recovered some mobility in my I still can not make a fist.
When I've tried to hold a handgun the tips of the fingers do not wrap around the front of the grip as I cannot move the tips, and when I use my left hand to fold the tips around the side I experience extreme pain.
Anyone have experience with unorthodox rips or arthritis fingers and holding a handgun?

[HiBC]

I'm not a Doctor or physical therapist. I won't give you any medical advice because you deserve better than I can offer.

A "default setting " rule to go by is : "If it hurts when you do that,don't do that".

However,Joints that have not moved through full range of motion for an extended period might become painful to move.

My suggestion would be to discuss it with your Doctor,and maybe phyisical therapy is in order.
IMO,the guidance of a professional would be a good idea.

6 weeks of having my knee in a splint made it very painful to bend my knee.

A slow,gentle regimen of stretching freed it up. I tell you that for the purpose of optimism. There is hope.

Its too important to follow internet hack advice. Talk with your Doctor

[Aguila Blanca]

Have you tried Shooting left-handed? Does the right hand have enough strength and mobility to serve as the support hand rather than the firing hand?

I second the suggestion for physical therapy. Several years ago I had surgery on my left hand to relieve DuPuytran's (sp?) Contractures (a.k.a. 'Claw hand" or "Viking's disease"). The surgery involves opening up the palm of the hand and slicing and dicing the fascia surrounding the tendons that operate the fingers. The hand was completely useless after the surgery, but physical therapy brought it back.

[ghbucky]

I'm going to second HiBC: this is not the place to seek advice.

A few years ago I had a bicycle accident that didn't seem to cause any problems. I had some pain in my right shoulder that I just worked around. But, it reached a point where I was having problems sleeping. On examination, the doc observed that I had almost not strength left, and close to no mobility. I had a frozen shoulder.

Long story short, I went through several physical therapy visits and religiously followed the treatment regimens, and now I have full mobility back with 0 pain.

Doctors and PT know their stuff and can get you back to full form IF you do your part.

[Jim Watson]

Agree that you need specialist attention to your right hand.

In the meanwhile, shoot left handed.

A guy here had a right elbow injury. He could shoot right handed but only a few rounds before pain set in. So he taught himself to shoot left handed.

[Carl the Floor Walker]

Not to get off topic, but reminds me of the great western movie "One Eyed Jacks" with Marlon Brando. The scene where his hand is tied to a hitching post and smashed with the butt of a Shotgun. Later he goes off in solitude to mend his hand. Ends up tying two fingers together and learns to shoot all over again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph0FDAKKE54

I wish the OP luck. I think if there is a will there is a way. Just let pain be your guide.

[NoSecondBest]

I’ve been going through a similar situation since January. Ten weeks of intense physical therapy have brought me back to where I can hold a handgun well enough to shoot somewhat. I’ve been told that it takes six months to even evaluate where you’re at before any further consideration can be made for further surgery. I sought out a second opinion from a very large orthopedic hand surgery center and was told the same thing. You need a good hand surgeon for further evaluation and need to give it some time. It’s a slow process getting back. I agree, this isn’t where you’re going to get your answer. See a doctor who specializes in this area.

[jmr40]

Physical Therapy will make a huge difference. This is normally a required part of treatment after such things.

[gwpercle]

Yes sir , but you may not like my answer .
Shoot with your left hand !
Not being funny , lost eyesight in right eye and use of right hand ...gave up shooting .
Helping At a skeet range with Boy Scouts and one of the instructors says come on shoot a few clay targets we have a bunch left over ... I say I can't ...he says you got a left eye and a left arm ...shoot left handed ! He showed me how to stand ...Took some getting used to but lefty shooting isn't that hard it's not like writing ...writing lefty was a pain .
I actually smoked the first clay out of the thrower ... I was amazed ...missed a bunch but was shown it is doable .
Shooting a handgun is easier , hold in left hand , shoot with left trigger finger but aim with right eye ...try different gripping holds to find what feel most natural ...little practice and you will tearing out X's .
Gary

[alistair]

Thank for the input. I am going through PT and although fingers now move and curl, there is no movement in the tips (except in trigger finger).

[HiBC]

Some of this stuff heals slow and then has to be retrained. Talk with the pros.

[Mike38]

If after complete physical therapy you still can't use your right hand, switch to the left. I know a guy that was a High Master classification in Precision Pistol that had a stroke and lost some of the use of his right hand. He started training left handed. He eventually worked his way up to Master classification. So it is possible.

[eflyguy]

I know a motorcycle racer who lost his right arm. Modified a bike to operate throttle, front brake and clutch with solely his left, and he's still beating just about everyone on the track.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

[RETG]

From my experience, you will adapt. Years ago, about 23 to be exact, I broke my hand and the knuckle for the little finger was basically destroyed. Even today, when making a fist the finger cannot fold over. It took some practice and training, but after about two weeks of returning to work I was able to qualify as good as I did prior to the damage.

[Drm50]

When I was 24 got hurt on construction of new mine. Was swung into some bracing and it hit my back. It damaged/ bruised nerves controlling right arm and hand. My arm hung like dead meat and could do nothing with hand and fingers. I was scared. It took about 6 months of squeezing rubber ball and forcing arm to lift with weights around wrist to start recovery. I have never regained full grip of hand. I went beyond what Docs were telling me to do and they attributed my recovery to it. If I was awake I was squeezing the ball and forcing the arm.

[gwpercle]

I've been there and gave up shooting because I didn't realize how adaptable the human body and brain is . The shooting instructor who told me ...you can still shoot ...do it left handed (post #9) , opened a door and proved to me I could shoot and shooting left handed / left eyed wasn't that hard at all ... don't give up , don't stop working on getting mobility back and in the meantime ... practice trigger-nomics with the left hand , pretty soon you just might find yourself ambidextreous !
My oldest daughter is like that , can shoot and even write with either hand .
Keep on keeping on and never say die !
Gary

[603Country]

Luckily I can still shoot either handed these days, but a few decades back I messed up my right shoulder. Being a hard core tennis player back then, I decided to teach my left side to play tennis like the right side. It was a good plan, but took a long time, and I was never as good left handed. Same with handguns, that I’m better right handed than left handed, but with time and practice I’m sure I could raise my skill level. I’m sure anyone could if they devoted time, patience, and ammo to it.

Legend has it that, many years ago, a pro basketball player said “I can shoot with either hand, I’m amphibious”. You too can be amphibious…