Infectious Mononucleosis

Ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb are one of the more common soft tissue ligamentous injuries of the hand. Historically called a Gamekeeper’s Thumb, this injury is now more commonly referred to as a Skier’s Thumb because it is so common in conjunction with falls during skiing. The ulnar collateral ligament spans the MP joint of the thumb. It originates at the distal portion of the thumb metacarpal and inserts on the proximal phalanx of the thumb. The function of the ulnar collateral ligament is to prevent abnormal motion of the thumb in a radial direction. The ligament becomes very important for stabilizing the thumb for any pinching type activity. Forceful grasping when the ligament is not functional can be difficult to do as well as painful. The most common mechanism for injury of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb is a fall onto the outstretched thumb which forces the thumb in a radial direction. This can occur with almost any sport. The propensity of this liga-ment to rupture with skiing injuries is caused by one of two factors. Some skiers will hold the strap between the thumb and grip of the pole when they are skiing and then when they fall it forces the thumb into a radial deviated position. There have been some poles that were designed in theory to help avoid this position. However, newer poles fail to prevent the injury because the skier can also rupture the UCL as the thumb hits the slope during a fall. In this case, the thumb will sometimes act like a rudder as the skier falls down the mountain. Careful examination is the hallmark of making the correc