About a month to a month and a half ago, I had a pretty bizarre finger injury and I’m still trying to understand what actually caused it and whether what I’m feeling now is normal.

I was playing basketball and guarding a friend. I knew he was about to do that rip-through move you see guys like Jalen Brunson and KD use. As he did it, I swiped at the ball hard. At first, I thought I just jammed my finger. Then I looked down and saw blood.

When I opened my hand, I saw a deep laceration on my right ring finger, right in the fold/webbing area near the base of the finger (the crease where the finger meets the palm). It was deep enough that I could see tissue underneath (not bone, but definitely deeper than skin).

I went to urgent care first, but they said the cut was too deep and in too awkward of a spot and that they didn’t want to botch it, so they sent me to the ER. After waiting a few hours, the ER doctor stitched it up — 3 stitches. I was told it was important to preserve finger movement because of the location.

For weeks I couldn’t really use my right hand. I couldn’t get it wet properly, couldn’t work normally, and had to baby it a lot. After about two weeks, the stitches were removed, but the area was still very moist and clearly not fully healed yet.

Now it’s been over a month and a half. The wound itself has sealed and there are no stitches anymore, but the finger still doesn’t feel normal:

	•	When I fully spread my fingers apart, I feel a tight pulling sensation

	•	If someone gives me a fist bump and hits the knuckle/back of that finger, it’s very sensitive

	•	Gripping or picking up objects causes pain

	•	No open wound anymore, but it feels like the deeper tissue or nerves haven’t fully healed

If I had to estimate, I’d say it’s maybe 60–70% healed.

What’s confusing to me is how this happened in the first place. There was:

	•	No sharp object

	•	No contact with a nail

	•	No cut from the rim or floor

	•	Just a fast swipe at the ball

The only thing I can think of is that when I swiped, the finger got forced back hard enough that the skin split right at that crease from tension/friction.

So my questions are:

	1.	Does this sound like a hyperextension + skin tension tear rather than a “cut”?

	2.	Is lingering tightness/sensitivity at 1–2 months normal for a deep laceration in this location?

	3.	How long do nerves/tissue in the finger webbing typically take to calm down?

	4.	Anything I should or shouldn’t be doing while returning to basketball and the gym?

Laceration on the rigid/fold of my right ring finger… I don’t really know how it happened it’s bizarre