

Dr. Shiel's Patented Handshake for Arthritis Patients





Normal Handshake

Normal Handshake Normal Handshake Normal Handshake

The problem is that this vertical hand position allows for the maximal force of grip to be exerted. Furthermore, for someone who suffers from arthritis of the hands, this manner of grasping results merely in discomfort rather than a pleasant greeting. (This is especially true when the person with arthritis encounters politicians and long lost friends!) In a vertical grasp, the tender "knuckles" that are frequently inflamed and swollen by arthritis are smashed together. Moreover, the shaking maneuver causes a forceful twisting of these joints during the repetitive upward and downward motion of the handshake. All of this inevitably causes intense local pain in the hand.

How can you avoid the traditional handshake? Try Dr. Shiel's Shake!

[Here now exclusively for readers of MedicineNet.com!]

My handshake works like this. If you have arthritis of the hands, you should never extend your hand vertically for a handshake. Instead, extend your hand with the palm down, backside of the hand up (as the patient at the left in the photos below). This forces the person with whom you are shaking to gently grasp your hand by turning their hand palm up into yours.

Dr. Shiel's Handshake
Dr. Shiel's Handshake Dr. Shiel's Handshake Dr. Shiel's Handshake

This hand position is mechanically much less powerful so that the force generated is substantially reduced. Furthermore, this avoids a crushing of the knuckles and finger joints that can be tender from arthritis. It is also a telltale sign to those you greet that you do not want to hand wrestle. As a result, the greeting can be made in a cordial fashion without any explanations needed - and without pain!

(You may thank MedicineNet.com and Dr. Shiel for releasing his secret! ...Since the original publication of this handshake in 2002, a patient of Dr. Shiel's came up with another method of avoiding unnecessary hand pain from a handshake. Simply holding any visible object in the right hand can also immediately avoid the handshake entirely!)

Medical Editor: Leslie J. Schoenfield, MD, PhD

Last Editorial Review: 7/6/2004