Hands Archive

The strength of your hands may hold clues to the health of your heart. A study in the December 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that people with stronger handgrips had more favorable findings on measures of their cardiovascular health than those with weaker grips.

The study included more than 4,200 adults ages 20 and older who were part of a nationwide health study. Researchers used a device called a dynamometer to measure each participant's hand strength, adjusting the readings based on body mass index. They found that higher handgrip strength was associated with lower blood pressure, lower triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood), lower blood sugar, and higher HDL (good) cholesterol.

Ask the doctor

Q. My right hand goes numb when I open a can or use hand tools. Is this something I need to worry about? Do I have carpal tunnel syndrome?

A. The hand receives its sensory information from three different nerves, and irritation of any of them can lead to numbness. In the hand, numbness is often related to the way that the nerve is compressed or squeezed slightly when you bend your wrist, as happens when you open a can. Excess vibration or repetitive hand motion when you use tools may also cause numbness.

A strong or weak hand grip carries more than just social cues. It may also help measure an individual’s risk for having a heart attack or stroke, or dying from cardiovascular disease. As part of the international Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, researchers measured grip strength in nearly 140,000 adults in 17 countries and followed their health for an average of four years. Each 11-pound decrease in grip strength over the course of the study was linked to a 16% higher risk of dying from any cause, a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, a 9% higher risk of stroke, and a 7% higher risk of heart attack. Interestingly, grip strength was a better predictor of death or cardiovascular disease than blood pressure. What’s the connection? It’s possible that grip strength measures biological age.

There's more to optimizing care than pain medication. See a hand therapist to obtain a personalized strategy.

Wear-and-tear osteoarthritis is very common in the knees and hips, but it strikes the hands, too. When the cushioning cartilage within the finger joints begins to break down, leading to pain and inflammation, all the usual remedies apply, such as appropriate use of medication.

Hand pain and stiffness, often tolerated without medical attention, can be successfully treated.

If you've ever awakened with numb hands, had your finger lock while filling out a crossword puzzle, or tried in vain to open a jar, you know what it's like to have your hands fail you. Yet you don't have to accept discomfort and disability as a consequence of aging. There are a host of treatments that can alleviate pain and improve function with minimal recovery time.

Medical professionals are an important part of managing arthritis. For example, your doctor can make sure you're taking the right medications, and physical or occupational therapists can help you find safe and effective ways to exercise and modify your daily activities. But ultimately, the day-to-day work of managing your arthritis falls to you.

One way you can be active in managing your arthritis is by adapting your daily routine to relieve pressure on your joints. The following techniques can help you avoid stiffness and lighten the burden on your joints.

Physical therapy, splinting, and corticosteroid injections may relieve symptoms temporarily.

You may suspect that you have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) if you experience numbness, tingling, and weakness in your hand. CTS is a common condition that doesn't go away on its own. "The longer you wait to get help, the less likely you will respond completely to treatment, if the process has progressed beyond a certain point," says Dr. Chaitanya Mudgal, a Harvard Medical School assistant professor.

The truth – and the myth – behind the cracking knuckles debate

Cracking your knuckles may aggravate the people around you, but it probably won't raise your risk for arthritis. That's the conclusion of several studies that compared rates of hand arthritis among habitual knuckle-crackers and people who didn't crack their knuckles.

The "pop" of a cracked knuckle is caused by bubbles bursting in the synovial fluid — the fluid that helps lubricate joints. The bubbles pop when you pull the bones apart, either by stretching the fingers or bending them backward, creating negative pressure. One study's authors compared the sudden, vibratory energy produced during knuckle cracking to "the forces responsible for the destruction of hydraulic blades and ship propellers."

Q: I have strong hand cramps that curl my fingers into a claw shape. I can only straighten them by using my other hand. What can I do to keep this from happening? 

A: What you describe sounds like carpal spasm. Spasms, or cramps, are involuntary muscle contractions. The most common causes of spasms are overused muscles (in the hands that might be due to writing or typing) and dehydration. Other causes of muscle cramping include low levels of calcium and magnesium.

These nonsurgical solutions will enhance daily activities and independence.

Hand pain is more than just annoying. The stiffness and swelling that go along with hand pain can sap strength and diminish the ability to carry out routine functions, like buttoning clothes.

One common cause of hand pain is osteoarthritis—when the shock-absorbing cartilage between bones in the finger joints and at the base of the thumb becomes worn or damaged. Hand pain can also result from nerve conditions, like the pain and tingling you feel when there is pressure on the median nerve in the wrist or the ulnar nerve near the elbow. Sometimes hand pain results from tendinitis, an inflammation of the tissue that attaches muscles to the bones. Here are five methods to help manage hand pain, retain hand function, and avoid surgery.