Pointing out the obvious


Here's a quick, little experiment to try, courtesy of an article in this month's issue of Arthritis Today:

Hold out your hand (either one, palm down.)
Is your index finger shorter than your ring finger, even by a few millimeters?

Turns out most women tend to have index and ring fingers that are of the same length, while men typically have index fingers that are shorter. If you're a woman, and your index finger is shorter than your ring finger, you may be three times more likely to develop osteoarthritis in your knees.

I don't usually put much stock in these kind of things...although I do get a kick out of them every once in awhile. I was in the doctor's office when I was reading this Arthritis Today article, and I casually glanced down to check out the fingers on my right hand. Sure, there was a slight difference in length between the two, but I didn't think much of it. I finished the article, then happened to glance at my left hand, and I literally let out a little screech when I did: there was a noticeable difference between the two fingers on my left hand, and my pointer finger was clearly shorter! (Kind of stubby, in fact.)

Guess these things do work sometimes! Let me know how your fingers measure up. My mom noticed a digit variance (we like to throw around the technical terms here at Despite Lupus), and she, too, has OA in her knees and hips. Yes it could be genetic...but maybe not!

Have a great weekend (and thanks to my mom for providing me with a hard copy of the article.)

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