Are you more at risk for arthritis if you're hypermobile?

So I was helping a one-on-one client the other day.

👉 She has significant CMC (base-of-the-thumb) arthritis marked by large bony nodes where her thumb meets her wrist.

She’s someone outside our online Hand Coach Community, referred to me by a doctor in my local area. She knows nothing about hypermobility or what I do here 🤷‍♀️

As I was mobilizing her thumb and measuring her (notably stiff) range of motion, she made a comment that really got me thinking…

“Boy, when I was your age I was really double-jointed. I could bend my thumb all the way down to my arm, but look at how stiff it is now!” 

🤯 I can’t TELL YOU how many times I have helped an older adult with thumb arthritis (usually a woman) who has made a comment like this.

It makes actual SENSE in my head that having hypermobile joints, especially of the hands, could put someone at greater risk for developing osteoarthritis (or, the ‘wear and tear’ arthritis) in those joints.

Think about it. Let’s take the base of your thumbs, for example.

If your thumbs are unstable over the course of your *entire life* - they’re backbending, collapsing, and popping out of socket - the bones that make up your ‘CMC joint’ (your first metacarpal and trapezium bones, if you’re curious) are more likely to rub all up on each other during these contorted positions.

This rubbing of bones during activities, over and over again, is what eventually leads to that ‘wear and tear’ type of arthritis, otherwise known as ‘osteoarthritis.’

🤔 Intuitively, this makes sense - right??

Unstable joints cause more wear and tear on the bones that make up those joints, leading to arthritis.

💁‍♀️ Anecdotally, this also makes sense - I have seen this time and time again during my 8+ years working as an Occupational Therapist specializing in hand therapy.

Unfortunately, there aren’t *that many* research studies yet that can clearly draw this conclusion 🙄 but let me point you to a few that I could find:

“Disorders that...lead to joint instability are highly associated with osteoarthritis (OA).”

This first quote is from a peer reviewed article* asserting that joint instability is highly associated with osteoarthritis; so the conclusion they draw is that instability could potentially cause or worsen osteoarthritis.

Again, makes intuitive sense, but it’s not specific enough to hands for my liking lol.

The second article** I found is from a study of 100 patients with hand osteoarthritis (or OA).

They found that base-of-the-thumb osteoarthritis was more common in participants with hypermobility. They even stated this trend was evident even in those with only moderate laxity.

Unfortunately, this study is from 1995 and there is a huge gap in the literature - we clearly need more research on this topic.

_________________

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

“Corinne, are you saying that because I have hypermobile thumbs I’m DESTINED for thumb arthritis down the road???”

Most DEFINITELY not! 😊

However, it’s important to know that you’re probably more at risk of developing hand arthritis if your hands are hypermobile right now.

There are TONS of things you can do to offset your risk of developing hand arthritis.

In fact, by tuning into my free masterclass you’ll learn how to use your hands in more ergonomic ways without spending a penny!

Have you ever wondered about the link between hypermobility and arthritis?? Maybe you can relate to once being bendy and now you have arthritis, or perhaps you’ve noticed it in a parent or grandparent.

Comment below and let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

💛 YOUR HAND COACH,

Corinne

PS:

If you’re ready to take your hand care routine to the next level and kiss the risk for hand arthritis 😘 BYE 😘 …

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We deep dive into the best types of hand supports to ward off arthritis, 100s of ergonomic ‘gadgets’ that not only make life easier but also take strain off your hands, and over 50 hand exercises that are perfect for decreasing your risk for developing arthritis (strong muscles provides the BEST type of joint support).

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References

* Blalock D, Miller A, Tilley M, Wang J. Joint Instability and Osteoarthritis. Clinical Medicine Insights: Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2015;8. doi:10.4137/CMAMD.S22147

** Jónsson H, Valtýsdóttir ST. Hypermobility features in patients with hand osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 1995 Mar;3(1):1-5. doi: 10.1016/s1063-4584(05)80032-9. PMID: 7719952.