Double-Jointed? You May Have Less Arthritis

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Double-Jointed? You May Have Less Arthritis

Joint Flexibility May Lessen Wear and Tear on Joints

By Jeanie Lerche 

WebMD Medical News  Reviewed By Brunilda  Nazario, MD

on Tuesday, July 06, 2004

July 6, 2004 -- Being double-jointed has a few uncelebrated rewards: Your

arms turn inside-out. The lotus position in yoga comes easy. Now, research

shows you may be less likely to develop hand osteoarthritis.

A team of researchers has found that increased flexibility of the fingers --

commonly called double-jointedness -- may actually protect finger joints

from osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative arthritis,

is the most common form of arthritis and increases with age.

" This study demonstrated a protective effect, " writes researcher V. Kraus,

MD, PhD, with Duke University Medical Center, in the current issue of

Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Very few studies have looked at this relationship in humans, notes Kraus.

However, it's been widely believed that premature osteoarthritis may be a

direct result of double-jointedness -- at least in studies involving the

knees.

Kraus set out to investigate the link more fully -- enrolling more than

1,000 volunteers whose families had at least two siblings with

osteoarthritis of at least three finger joints.

Each volunteer's joints were examined and scored for the degree of

double-jointedness. X-rays of the finger joints determined the existence of

joint damage from osteoarthritis.

Volunteers with the most flexibility in their finger joints were found to

have the lowest risks of osteoarthritis of hand joints. Overall, 4% of the

volunteers were double-jointed. And these people were 66% less likely to

have osteoarthritis of the hands, reports Kraus.

The extra joint flexibility may prevent arthritis by redistributing load on

hand joints, say the researchers.

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SOURCE: Kraus, V. Arthritis & Rheumatism, July 2004; vol 50: pp 2178-2183.