Because our hands perform many functions, it's s no wonder they have a complicated design.
Each of our hands has 27 bones. Together, the 54 bones in your hands make up a
quarter of the total bones in your body. However, their number and proximity means that if one thing goes wrong, it can also affect nearby parts of the hand and wrist.
To control movement, each hand has 34 muscles, which are found in the palm and forearm. About a quarter of the brain's motor cortex (the part that controls all movement in the body) is devoted to the muscles of the hands. But surprisingly, there are no
muscles in the fingers, only ligaments and tendons. Tendons in the hand connect muscles in the forearm to bones of the fingers and thumb.
The job of flexing and extending the fingers (or wrist, elbows, and so forth) falls to tendons. When a muscle contracts, it pulls on the tendon, which then pulls on
the bone and moves it. Flexor tendons, on the palm side of the hand, help you bend or flex your fingers, while extensor tendons, on the back of the hand, help you straighten them.
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, who would have thought that our hands that we all use every day that make them parts of us that we all usually take for granted...have such a complicated design! It's important for us to be knowledgeable and aware of this! I ensure in most of my clients programs, we always include some exercises that work our hands - especially these days given how much people are on their computers & phones! It's important for us to work out a lot of that repetitive movement and stress on our hands!
