Hands | Finnish men now have narrower fingers – this is what it tells experts about the modern world

“Phone and touch screens don’t need power, it was different before when you were cutting wood and doing other physical work. The use of hands has changed,” he says Tommi Vasankari.

Over previously reported on the narrowing of men’s fingers. In the article, goldsmiths told about the attention. Vasankari, doctor of medicine and head of UKK, considers it quite natural that the different use of the body is reflected in the fingers.

“Fingers have muscles in addition to bones, and when muscles are used, they get stronger,” says Vasankari.

But what kind of effects does the phenomenon have on health and sports? A left-handed person does not consider the narrowing of the fingers to be very worrying in terms of health.

“However, I wouldn’t worry about the fingers, but, for example, the muscles of the legs, which are directly related to health challenges.”

On the other hand, for example, the compression force test correlates with life expectancy. According to Vasankar, especially if the test results deteriorate, the person probably feels worse and has weaker muscles elsewhere in the body.

Through that, it predicts the body’s situation more broadly.

“But if the test is used on young and healthy people, I don’t think the predictive value is that great.”

Bone development is especially affected by movement during childhood and adolescence.

“For example, in tennis, the playing hand of young women is stronger when they have practiced it before puberty.”

Bone growth can’t really be controlled later, but the thickness of the fingers can be influenced by training. Various finger jumps are usually done, for example, as aftercare for fractures.

“A variety of rubber band exercises or squeezable balls. It’s a muscle, it’s also a muscle in the fingers.”

In many finger muscles are needed in sports. In power sports and racket games, the compression force helps to hold onto the equipment, in wrestling and judo, fingers are needed when trying to grab hold of the opponent.

Vasankari believes that the narrowing of the fingers can reduce the number of people who would be well prepared for these sports.

“If the change is visible to a large enough extent, it affects everything in life, movement and work. There are fewer people who would basically be well equipped to do something that requires the muscles of the fingers.”

Also a wrestling hero Pertti Ukkola findings support that men’s hands have become smaller.

“While shaking hands with young people, I have noticed how small the hand feels. Of course, it is due to many reasons. No more chopping wood or doing work that strengthens your fingers,” Ukkola reflects.

Finger strength helps a lot in wrestling. Especially in long training sessions, you have to be able to hold the opponent.

“Of course it’s useful. The hands must definitely be sinewy and have strength in the fingers. Especially during training, when the skin is slippery and the other is held tight. Finger strength is certainly needed in quite a few sports.”

In the gym you can grow hands, but strengthening your fingers requires a special kind of work. Ukkola himself belongs to the generation that has done a lot of physical work that strengthened the fingers.

“Since I was 12 years old, I’ve been in forest planting and as a young man in logging. You have to have strong fingers when you have to hold a hoe and a cookie.”

As a country boy, he has had to make sure that there are enough trees at home when his father went to work for a week.

“Father gave the task of making a certain number of trees. Then when it was always postponed, you could saw late into the night. Yes, it strengthened my hands and fingers.”

In his wrestling career Ukkola also practiced finger strength.

“I pulled jaws with one finger, even with my index or middle fingers. It succeeds when the relative strength is strong and the weight is low.”

According to the old wrestler, the shrinking of the hands is a worrying phenomenon. According to Ukkola, a wrestler should have strong fingers, hands and wrists.

“When you shake hands with an opponent on the mat, if it feels like a girly thing, it reminds you that this is not your hair.”