A broken finger usually causes immediate, significant pain plus swelling or deformity, but the only way to know for sure is to have it examined and X‑rayed by a medical professional.

Key signs to watch for

• Strong pain at the injured spot, especially if it gets worse when you try to move, press on, or lightly tap the finger.

• Rapid swelling and bruising within minutes to hours after the injury.

• Finger looks “wrong” compared with the others: crooked, twisted, bent at an odd angle, or shorter than the same finger on the other hand.

• Very limited motion or inability to bend/straighten the finger, or a grinding/catching feeling when you try to move it.

• Numbness, tingling, or a pale/white color, which can mean nerve or blood‑flow problems and needs urgent care.

Broken vs jammed or sprained

Symptoms can overlap, but some clues help.

• Sprain/jam: usually duller pain, some swelling and stiffness, and the finger still moves (though it hurts), with no obvious deformity.

• Fracture: sharper pain, more dramatic swelling/bruising, deformity or misalignment, and motion is often severely limited or impossible.

When to get urgent help

Seek emergency or same‑day care (ER or urgent care) if:

• The finger is visibly deformed, pointing the wrong way, or you can see bone or an open wound.

• You cannot move the finger at all or pain is severe even at rest.

• There is numbness, tingling, or the finger looks very pale/blue or feels cold compared with others.

If pain, swelling, or function is not clearly improving over 1–2 days, or you are unsure whether it is broken or just jammed, arrange an urgent care or primary‑care visit for an exam and X‑ray.

What to do right now

Until you can be seen:

• Rest and avoid using the injured finger; remove rings on that hand if you safely can before swelling worsens.

• Apply a cold pack wrapped in cloth for 15–20 minutes at a time several times a day, and keep the hand elevated to reduce swelling.

• You can loosely tape the injured finger to the one next to it as a temporary splint if there is no obvious severe deformity, but do not force it straight.

If you describe how it was injured and what it looks/feels like (including if you can move it), a more tailored suggestion on urgency can be offered, but any doubt about a fracture should be checked in person with an X‑ray.