Close fist

Of the Close fist is involved in many activities that are needed in everyday life. Illnesses or complaints can lead to severe impairments.

What is the exclusion?

With a big fist, the index, middle, ring and little fingers are bent so much that the fingertips reach the palm and the inner surfaces of the end, middle and base links come into contact with one another.

With a big fist, the index, middle, ring and little fingers are bent so much that the fingertips reach the palm and the inner surfaces of the end, middle and base links come into contact with one another. The flexion in the middle and end joints of the fingers is maximal, in the base joint submaximal, because further movement is stopped by the contact. Finally, the thumb is placed diagonally over the index finger.

The complete execution of the fist is only possible with a certain amount of force exerted by the flexors of the fingers and the muscles that bring the thumb into opposition. The position of the wrist affects the functionality. The execution with a slight extension (dorsiflexion) is often unconsciously preferred because the mechanical efficiency of the executing muscles is greater and the opponents (finger extensors) enable the movement better. This type of implementation is called a functional hand. Use with a flexion (palmar flexion) is also possible, but less powerful.

The small fist is a residual function when the metatarsophalangeal joints can no longer be bent. Due to the maximum flexion in the other finger joints, certain activities are still possible.

Function & task

The close fist is an indispensable requirement for many everyday, professional and sporting activities. This includes all motion sequences that are used to grasp, hold and move objects with a relatively high weight, while light things can also be held and guided with other forms of grip.

Typical activities that go hand in hand with a fist-making activity occur when an object with a handle or a similarly shaped object is grasped and moved. In the household these are tasks such as wiping, vacuuming or sweeping, while gardening it is digging, hoeing or working with the rake. The same applies to many manual activities. Bricklayers, plasterers, tilers or painters also use many devices with handles of different lengths and shapes for activities on the floor, on the wall or on the ceiling. The same type of fist activity occurs in all kickback sports such as tennis, squash, and badminton.

It is noticeable that whenever a lot of stability is required for these functions, the functional hand is the preferred embodiment. This is due to the more favorable mechanical conditions that this type of implementation offers.

When moving, the wrist, on the other hand, is dynamically brought into palmar flexion, for example with the forehand or smashing blows in kickback sports or when moving a dumbbell in weight training.

A characteristic of all types of activity described is that the objects that are being held prevent the complete fist, but the muscle activity is still fully present.

It is different in boxing and other martial arts when they are played without gloves. The stable closing of the fist is used in its complete execution in order to position the bony parts of the fingers well and thus to carry out effective actions against an adversary or against objects. This hand position can also be used as a threatening gesture, either to scare off possible attackers or to scare the other person.

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Illnesses & ailments

Functional finger joints and muscles are a prerequisite for making the fist. All injuries in the area of ​​the fingers can affect it or completely prevent it. Bruises, sprains, torn ligaments or fractures in this area are relatively common in sports or at work. In addition to the direct consequences of a fracture, it is often pain that limits mobility in the joints and prevents the fist from being closed. The functionality of the hand can be significantly restricted as a result.

Tendonitis is a typical hand disease that can impair the closing of the fist. It is a typical overload syndrome that can affect the long end tendons of the finger muscles, among other things. If the extensor tendons that run along the back of the hand to the fingers are inflamed, it is often impossible to close the fist. When the fingers are bent, the tendons are stretched and the acute increasing pain limits movement.

A similar effect can occur with the so-called tennis elbow, in which the origins of the dorsal and finger extensors are painfully irritated. Even with this disease, the stretching pain described can prevent the fist from closing. In addition, the assumption of the correct position in the wrist for the functional hand is impaired due to contraction pain.

A complete or incomplete failure of the finger flexors leads to the fact that the fist closure cannot be carried out completely or not at all. A typical disease in which this mechanism occurs is the so-called carpal tunnel syndrome. In this disease, the median nerve, which supplies the finger flexors, is squeezed in the carpal tunnel in the area of ​​the wrist. The muscles of the first 3 fingers increasingly lose their flexion function and remain in a moderate extension. Because of its typical appearance, this phenomenon is called the sworn hand. A fist is no longer possible.

Chronic polyarthritis is a rheumatic disease that primarily affects the small joints. In the hand, the wrist and finger joints are typically affected. The intermittent inflammatory process in this autoimmune disease leads to the affected joints being gradually destroyed. All hand and finger functions are affected by this process, including the closing of a fist. With increasing duration, this disease leads to massive functional losses.