Strumming without the index finger.

Hi. I'm going to start doing more strumming as opposed to fingerpicking. I have a problem though.

When I was about 18 months old I got a teddy bear ribbon wrapped round my right index finger and (apparently) nearly lost it. To this day (62) I have a ring of skin just above the knuckle. This has, for some reason, nerve damage maybe, made this fingernail much weaker than all the others - it splits very easy and always at the same line. This means strumming with an index finger gets painful quickly.

When I strummed before I tried various things to protect it, none of which worked, and since then have used a soft pick, which I don't really like.

What would people suggested for a finger or grouping that doesn't use the index at all ; using the middle finger index finger style ? Strumming with the three other fingers ? Or should I persist with the soft picks ?