Who here has back-bending fingers or thumbs?

[davismanLV]

Huh!! I never even looked. Does this count??

 

[Uke]

I knew I shouldn’t have clicked on this thread. . I have no problem watching brain surgery or even a complete autopsy! But when appendages go in directions they aren’t supposed to, I get queezy. If some tv show has a “fail” video on w/ a skateboarder near steps/hand railing, I turn my head and reach for the remote!!

My wife's nephew is a paramedic. He's dealt with all sorts of gruesome stuff. He, however, is totally freaked out by birthing stuff. Even hearing the word "placenta" changes the color in his face. Some of his older colleagues have gone for years and have never had to attend to a birth. The nephew, on the other hand, has had to deal with the situation twice in about 3 years. Ironically, his wife is a labor and delivery nurse!

 

[dwasifar]

My mother could wiggle her ears - now there's something that I wish I could do!

I can do that too.

 

[jp]

My carpalmetacarpal thumb joints in both hands have always been capable of "non-standard" range of motion (as demonstrated in photos above). They didn't become painful until 5 years or so ago. Unfortunately, while my manual contortions have always made for entertaining parlor tricks, they offer no advantage whatsoever when it comes to playing guitar/bass.

I don't think that I suffer from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, because my hyper-mobility is limited to only one joint in each hand, rather than being a more generalized condition all over my body.

Because the tips of my thumbs won't bend, it's always been pretty much impossible for me to achieve "correct" left (fretting) hand positioning on the neck. As a result, I've been a "thumb wrapper" from day one.

Interesting -- I've had the exact opposite experience. The extra mobility has allowed me to achieve some "stretches" I wouldn't have been able to nail otherwise. Pushing that big ole joint forward, however, doesn't help me perform the thumb-over grab more easily, as it pushes the neck away from my hand. Hmmm. . .

 

[dwasifar]

The tips of my thumbs won't bend past straight at all, but other joints will do weird stuff:

That's a nice manicure you have there. It looks a lot like this lady's: https://lambertiphysiotherapy.co.za/what-is-joint-hypermobility/

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Just to clarify: the first PIC was my thumb.



That one isn't. With my arthritis, it's painful for me to do that one anymore, though it didn't used to be when I was young. So I just found a generic PIC of that second contortion for purposes of illustration, which caused me no discomfort whatsoever...

 

[Wilmywood]

I can do that too.

But can you raise one eyebrow and roll your tongue as well as wiggle your ears? I can. Those are all genetically determined.

 

[chazmo]

I can walk and chew gum at the same time. Does that count?

Seriously, I think this was called "double-jointedness" when I was a kid. It freaks me out to see what people can do with their fingers, but these days the joints have stiffened, I have trigger finger, and gentle swelling in most of my joints (doesn't hurt yet). I used to be able to make loops with all my fingers stacked on each other but those days are long gone. Double-jointedness is cool, but I wonder if if leads to flexibility issues later in life.

 

[Stuball48]

But can you raise one eyebrow and roll your tongue as well as wiggle your ears? I can. Those are all genetically determined.

Always heard those were an inherited trait from one parent or one of your four grandparents or even one of your eight great grandparents??

 

[Wilmywood]

Always heard those were an inherited trait from one parent or one of your four grandparents or even one of your eight great grandparents??

Something like that. All I know is that they are congenital, can't be taught or learned.

 

[Wilmywood]

I can walk and chew gum at the same time. Does that count?

Seriously, I think this was called "double-jointedness" when I was a kid. It freaks me out to see what people can do with their fingers, but these days the joints have stiffened, I have trigger finger, and gentle swelling in most of my joints (doesn't hurt yet). I used to be able to make loops with all my fingers stacked on each other but those days are long gone. Double-jointedness is cool, but I wonder if if leads to flexibility issues later in life.

I had trigger finger once, my orthopedist shot the tendon with cortisone and solved it. He said the alternative was to open up my palm and cut the sheath the bulge in the tendon was binding up in. Thank God the shot worked.

 

[dwasifar]

But can you raise one eyebrow and roll your tongue as well as wiggle your ears? I can. Those are all genetically determined.

Yes and yes. I guess I'm a repository of physical quirks.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Seriously, I think this was called "double-jointedness" when I was a kid.

That what I've called my own condition most of my life. It's only recently that I've learned the technical term for it: "joint hyper-mobility".

 

[Ross]

"Yes and yes. I guess I'm a repository of physical quirks."

Me too.
Tongue rolling, independent eyebrows, sun sneezing, and who knows how much other quirkyness.

 

[dwasifar]

"Yes and yes. I guess I'm a repository of physical quirks."

Me too.
Tongue rolling, independent eyebrows, sun sneezing, and who knows how much other quirkyness.

OMG, photic sneeze. I have such a bad case that sometimes I have to hold an eye open with my finger to get the sneeze out before I can function after stepping outdoors. Otherwise I get trapped in a loop. Sun hits my eyes, I scrunch up my face to sneeze, eyes close up, can't see sun, sneeze goes away, open eyes, repeat.

 

[Bernie]

I have the back bending thumbs : seems to me it makes it that, one gets less strength in doing barres, which isn't a good thing...

Some necks would fit me better than others. I like the Furch neck. I've liked too some necks that are almost flat on a rather large width at the back (there has been a Taylor neck on one guitar - probably a limited 2008 I think [or 10 ? ] series -, that I tried in a shop but never saw ever again since that time - would love to know if it has a specific name in order to find one back -)...

I've done quite a lot of hitch-hiking when I was younger, but I think I had hitch-hikers thumbs before that (wasn't peculiarly good at it either)