Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Mechanical advantage
This post is all about finger health. Yes, finger health. Because in our world, the finger may be the most important part of the body.
Crimping, especially with your thumb on top of your other fingers, puts enormous stress on your joints and can lead to tendon injuries. The reason? Crimping puts your hand at a mechanical disadvantage because the joints are compressed or extended to their very limits.
Conversely, open-hand positions like on slopers create the same muscle development as crimping, with the fingers in a less vulnerable position. Overall, the best thing to do whenever you feel even one bit of finger pain is to S.I.E. What’s S.I.E.?
Stop Ice Evaluate
What’s actually happening in there when your fingers crimp? Take a look under the hood. Here are anatomical sketches of “flexor tendon pulleys and sheaths” at http://www.wheelessonline.com/image2/phl1.jpg, http://www.wheelessonline.com/image2/phl2.jpg, and
http://www.wheelessonline.com/image2/phl3.jpg
Now, in this age of specialization we wondered: are there orthopedists who specialize only in finger health? According to a Wikipedia entry, yes. Of orthopedic surgeons applying for certification with the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery between 1999 to 2003, the percentage specializing in “Hands and upper extremity” was 8.7% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthopedics). ¶ Wednesday, April 23, 2008
This post is all about finger health. Yes, finger health. Because in our world, the finger may be the most important part of the body.
Crimping, especially with your thumb on top of your other fingers, puts enormous stress on your joints and can lead to tendon injuries. The reason? Crimping puts your hand at a mechanical disadvantage because the joints are compressed or extended to their very limits.
Conversely, open-hand positions like on slopers create the same muscle development as crimping, with the fingers in a less vulnerable position. Overall, the best thing to do whenever you feel even one bit of finger pain is to S.I.E. What’s S.I.E.?
Stop Ice Evaluate
What’s actually happening in there when your fingers crimp? Take a look under the hood. Here are anatomical sketches of “flexor tendon pulleys and sheaths” at http://www.wheelessonline.com/image2/phl1.jpg, http://www.wheelessonline.com/image2/phl2.jpg, and
http://www.wheelessonline.com/image2/phl3.jpg
Now, in this age of specialization we wondered: are there orthopedists who specialize only in finger health? According to a Wikipedia entry, yes. Of orthopedic surgeons applying for certification with the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery between 1999 to 2003, the percentage specializing in “Hands and upper extremity” was 8.7% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthopedics). ¶ Wednesday, April 23, 2008
