“We can land men on the moon, but, for all our mechanical and electronic wizardry, we cannot reproduce an artificial fore-finger that can feel as well as beckon.”
Our hands involve a complex and intimate anatomical arrangement that includes:
- 27 bones
- 32 joints
- at least 123 named ligaments
- 34 muscles which move the fingers and thumb:
17 in the palm of the hand
18 in the forearm
- 48 named nerves:
3 major nerves.
24 named sensory branches.
21 named muscular branches.
- 30 named arteries and nearly as many smaller named branches.
There is a lot that can go wrong!
The intricate anatomy of the hand with its multi-articulate structures is unforgiving of glue like scaring, brawny oedema and disuse. The connectedness of the tissues ensures that injury to one area can easily lead to problems in another.
To test this for yourself, try to make a fist while holding your ring finger straight. Pretty impossible isn't it?
To this end the hand needs to be treated with respect and care.
Do not abuse your hands, or ignore pain.
Seek appropriate medical care from experienced practitioners.
Just like you wouldn't take a motorbike to a car mechanic, make sure you get your hands looked at by the experts in hands.