TITLE:
Establishing a Calculation Method for Estimating the Normal Circumference of the Proximal Interphalangeal Finger Joints
AUTHORS:
Satoru Nakamura, Daisaku Tokunaga, Ryo Oda, Daigo Taniguchi, Shogo Toyama, Maki Asada, Hiroyoshi Fujiwara, Yutaka Kawahito, Takahiro Seno, Toshikazu Kubo
KEYWORDS:
PIP Joint, Circumference, Ring Gauge
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Rheumatology and Autoimmune Diseases,
Vol.7 No.4,
November
24,
2017
ABSTRACT: Objective: To estimate the normal circumference of the interphalangeal (IP) thumb
joint and the proximal IP (PIP) joints from the index finger to the little
finger using individual physical parameters such as body height and body
weight. Methods: The maximum size on the ring gauge was recorded which
caused resistance when the IP joint of the thumb or PIP joints of the index to
small fingers were passed through the gauge. RG was defined as the ring gauge
number with the same diameter as the circumference of the IP thumb joint and
PIP finger joints from the index finger to the little finger. There were 300 healthy subjects and 600 hands. Univariate and
multivariate analyses were used to
analyze the relationships between RG and the parameters of age, sex, height, weight, and dominant hand, and regression equations were derived. Results: Age, sex and body weight were all statistically significant predictive factors
of RG in all fingers. R2, the coefficient of determination in the regression
equation, was almost 0.7 for all fingers, indicating that a moderate or strong
correlation was observed between RG and the regression equation. Conclusions: The circumference of the IP thumb joint and PIP finger joints from the
index finger to the little finger can be estimated in healthy individuals using
a calculation formula that takes age, sex, body height and body weight into
account.