Hi! I tripped & fell on 1/25/14 & of course my hand was bruised & extremely swollen, limited ROM. I had it in a thumb spica splint for a 1 1/2 wks til I could get an apt to see a hand specialist 2/5. They put it in a cast for a month & took it off on 3/5. When they removed it my thumb was extremely stiff & painful, could barely move it. I ve been having hand therapy twice a week & my ROM has improved drastically. The only problem is that the MRI I had on 3/18 showed I had a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament. The Dr says that I m stable & surgery doesn t look needed & I can go to work in 2 wks if I feel ok (I m a RN). What do you think of his decision? They re going to make me a thermoplastic splint to wear as needed. Right now I take off the regular big thumb spica splint off about 6 times a day. I do the heated rice, picking up marbles, & ROM exercises, ice, etc. The pain is minimal 2-4 / 10 (used to be 6-7 / 10 in beginning). So, is surgery always indicated with a complete tear? Or if you re progressing, is it possible to not have any surgery & make a full recovery? I m concerned b/c I m a nurse & my hands are my life. Been outta work for 2 months now & missing it, but also don t wanna come back too soon as I m still having some pain & stiffness. I still can t bend it all the way down, & my strength is only 1/2 my right hand per PT (I m right handed & my left thumb is where the injury is). So what would be your next step or what do you think about my situation? And fortunately none of the XRays show any fractures, but I m feeling the ligament is a lot worse injury.