Ways to Exercise With a Broken FingerBroken Finger
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Ways to Exercise With a Broken Finger

Ways to Exercise With a Broken Finger
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Updated on July 31, 2025
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A broken finger can preclude you from certain activities and make your daily life awkward, from driving to sending a text message. And they can take between six and eight weeks to heal, as well as an additional four to six weeks to regain full strength. This can be a barrier to some exercise, as you should avoid lifting heavy objects until around 12 weeks of recovery.

However, provided you stick to the proper guidelines and follow your doctor's advice, certain exercises will allow you to continue working out with a broken finger.

How to Work Out With a Broken Finger

Fitness enthusiasts needn’t sit out their entire workout with a broken finger. You can still exercise. However, you may need to make some modifications, especially for upper-body workouts. If you work with a personal trainer, for example, they may modify a routine to prevent further aggravation of the site of the fracture while continuing to improve finger strength and flexibility when it’s safe to do so.

Deformity and finger stiffness can impair finger function, such as when gripping objects.

 You might find that an upper body workout with a broken finger is quite difficult when you start. However, depending on the severity of your pain, you may want to try specific exercises that require minimal grip strength or hand use. These might include:
  • Chest-press machines or shoulder-press machines that allow you to use open palms
  • Abdominal crunches
  • Body weight exercises that use the lower body, like body weight squats, split squats, and standing and walking lunges
  • Cardiovascular training
Your cardio routine should remain relatively unaffected by your broken finger, unless you prefer activities like biking, rowing, or others that require gripping a bar or handle. Outdoor activities like walking and jogging shouldn't cause any issues with your finger. However, be careful of falls, as putting the hands out to break falls is a common cause of breaks, and you risk re-injuring the finger.

If you'd prefer to spice up your cardio training, try playing a sport like soccer that doesn't involve much use of your arms. Sticking to non-contact sports might be the best option until the pain subsides, but you should be able to resume contact sports as soon as the pain allows.

You should avoid certain exercises with an injured finger, such as:

  • Any strength-training exercises that use grip strength, which include upright rows, pull-up variations, and barbell or dumbbell exercises
  • Cardiovascular exercises like biking and rowing that involve a tight grip while holding a bar
  • Push-ups, as these require your hands to carry a lot of weight.
  • Catching or throwing a medicine ball

Rehab Your Broken Finger

Once your doctor approves it, you can perform specific strengthening movements for your finger, as this body part likely experienced a degree of weakening while you were healing. Rehab exercises can also reduce stiffness and swelling and support a better outcome for recovery.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recommends the following exercises:

  • ‌Range of motion:‌ Use your uninjured hand to straighten out and bend the injured finger. Stop immediately if you feel pain.
  • ‌Grip strengthening:‌ Make a fist with the hand that has the injured finger, or squeeze a stress or tennis ball.
  • ‌Finger extension:‌ Put your hand with the injured finger flat on a table and try lifting up the finger.
  • ‌Picking up an object:‌ Use the injured finger to pick up small objects like coins using the finger and thumb.
  • ‌Do activities using your fingers:‌ Try writing or tying your shoes.

You may not be able to complete all these exercises, so consult a doctor, physical therapist, or hand therapist to determine a suitable rehab routine first. Certified hand therapists (CHTs) rehab many hand injuries. They’re either a physical or occupational therapist who specializes in hand treatments.

Each injury is unique, and your return to a regular workout routine will be highly individual. When speaking with a doctor, be sure to ask about when you can expect to see improvements, what to do if you feel worse, and which daily activities to avoid while still healing.

Takeaway

  • While a broken finger can temporarily limit certain activities, you can still engage in cardiovascular exercises like walking or jogging with little risk.
  • Avoid any strength-training exercises requiring significant grip, such as pull-up variations and weightlifting, as they might worsen the injury.
  • Once approved by your doctor, incorporating finger-specific rehab exercises can significantly enhance the recovery process and support better outcomes by improving finger strength and flexibility.
  • Seek professional guidance on suitable workouts and avoid rushing back into activities that could risk re-injury of the finger.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Finger (Phalanx) Fracture. National Health Service. February 7, 2024.
  2. Everything You Need To Know About Musculoskeletal Injury. American Council on Exercise. March 13, 2025.
  3. McDaniel DJ et al. Phalanx Fractures of the Hand. StatPearls. August 8, 2023.
  4. Broken Finger. Cleveland Clinic. December 26, 2024.
  5. American Academy of Family Physicians. American Academy of Family Physicians. June 2025.
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Scott Haak, PT, DPT, MTC, CSCS

Medical Reviewer

Scott Haak, PT, DPT, has been a member of the Mayo Clinic staff since 2000. Dr. Haak serves as faculty for the Sports Medicine Fellowship program at Mayo Clinic Florida. He is certified by the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) as a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), is a Certified USA Weightlifting Coach and Certified USA Football Coach, and possesses a MTC (Manual Therapy Certification) from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.

Haak is an exercise enthusiast and enjoys running, weightlifting, and sports performance training. He is the president and director of coaching of a youth tackle football organization, JDL Providence Football, and currently coaches high school football and weight lifting.

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Jennifer Purdie

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Jennifer Purdie is the author of Growth Mindset for Athletes, Coaches and Trainers published by Ulysses Press. She is also a TEDx speaker on running, certified personal trainer for the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and Fitness and Nutrition Specialist from the American Council on Exercise. She contributes regularly to Under Armour's My Fitness Pal, Runner's World, Fodor's Travel, healthyway.com, healthline.com, verywellfit.com, The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, GOOD Magazine, San Diego Magazine, Phoenix Magazine, Salon, VICE and Buzzfeed. She also served as a ghostwriter for U.S. News and World Report and as a copywriter for the American Council on Exercise.

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