I can't flip the bird because my finger is Crooked!

Curious about people's opinions and advice about my crooked finger.

So I popped a tendon in my middle finger back in May and didn't really take good care of it. I figured OK I can take some time off from climbing but I am not going to sit on my ass for multiple weeks and months during the peak of kayaking season so I did kayak and bike.

Now my finger is pretty well crooked - bent at about a 45 degree angle at the middle knuckle. I still haven't climbed but have done pullups on the hangboard with no problem and very very mild pain.

Is this something I should be concerned about? My friends tell me I should get it looked at but I don't have insurance and honestly I don't see what the big deal is. It works pretty well just looks a little funny. The way I see it is that it's better to have a finger that is a little crooked but functional than a finger that is stuck in the straight position. I mean why do we need to have straight fingers anyway? Nothing we do requires us to have straight fingers except flipping people off and I don't really do that much anymore in my calmer older age. As an aside I will never be a hard climber - just enjoy mellow (up to 5.10) long routes and have no desire to climb 5.14.

Thoughts or advice?

Most people aren't worth a middle finger; try the pinkie. They're sometimes confused, but they get the idea.

Get it looked at! Especially if you had insurance. If you don't have insurance, get insurance, then have the injury. (wink, wink). It does sound serious.

Welcome to the Crooked Finger Club ! I too have a permanently bent middle finger, also at the middle joint. I would say mine is bent about 30' towards the index finger. It has been this way for over 20 years (high school football injury). Never had it X-rayed or anything. Regardless, it is not arthritic and I have full range of motion, so I'm OK with it. In your case,I assume the 45' bend is towards the palm of your hand and not laterally (to the side) like mine? If it doesn't heal well, you could lose your ability to flex and/or extend the finger. Do you know any athletic trainers or physical therapists that would look at it for you? Get some opinions on it.

Top Reasons To Leave a Crooked Finger Alone: 1) When you flip someone off, they do a double take ("WTF? did you see that dudes finger?")
2) Practical Jokes; complain that someone broke it while shaking your hand. Or let people touch it and pretend it hurts like hell 3)Outrageous Stories - "I hung off it too long while sending Cobra Crack" 4)Sex - my finger is angled perfectly to find the G-spot, and the gnarly deformed joint provides extra pleasure (or so I'm told....)
5) Great finger locks
6) Post-climbing party tricks - I can bend it about 45 degrees towards the index finger, plus I have a pinky finger that I can hyperextend 90 degrees backwards.

That is All.

if it flexes but doesn't extend I believe the term is mallet finger. I had this going on with my pinky finger last fall from a sports injury (not climbing), the treatment included a splint, which could be reasonably fashioned from all kinds of things. The key was to keep it on and leave it on for up to 6 weeks. The extensor tendon likely ruptured and therefore you are unable to straighten it. It will grow back if caught soon enough otherwise the solution would be surgery. Without insurance I can only imagine how expensive that would be...try the splint, give it a little hyperextension and leave it on. Hope it helps.