How long will it take for this to heal?

How long will it take for my knuckle to heal?

• i was punching my heavy bag and i bruised my top knuckle of my right hand ring finger. the pain has decreased but it's still thereto an extent. i was wondering how long will it take to heal? if it will heal? and is there anything i can do to decrease healing time? please be detailed and thanks.

• Answer:

  Hi. When did you injure your knuckle? It sounds like you may have sprained the joint between the bones in your hand and your finger. It may take at least week or two before your injury heals completely. My rule of thumb is ice, ice, ice. Ice decreases swelling and inflammation which sounds like what's going on with you. Take a bag of vegetables and put it on the affected knuckle for 20 minutes once an hour for the first 48 hours. Heat may make your hand feel better but heat increases swelling and inflammation. Make sure to put a towel between you and the vegetables so you don't make your skin too cold. Sounds like quite an injury! I hope you feel better. If anything worsens, see you doctor promptly. I hope I helped!