Case Report: Isolated Radial Collateral Ligament Thumb Tear in a Teenage Cheerleader Base: A Rare Injury from an Overhead Stunt
Russell Baker · 2026
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Description
Russell Baker reports a rare thumb injury in a teenage cheerleader, torn while catching a falling teammate, in a 2026 case report. The 17-year-old worked as a base, the lifter in an overhead stunt. She reached the emergency ward with a sore right thumb. At its base joint the exam found tenderness and looseness, the marks of a torn ligament. Plain X-rays showed no break, which can lull a team into calling it a sprain.
A magnetic scan told the truth: the radial collateral ligament, the band on the thumb's outer side, was fully torn. Such tears are rare anywhere, and rarer still in young athletes. Surgery repaired the band, and she recovered in full. Baker's warning is aimed at emergency doctors: when that joint is tender and loose, name the ligament tear even with clean films, so the repair window is not lost.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Russell Baker |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 7 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |