THE EFFECTS OF AGE AND OSTEOARTHRITIS ON THE DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF THE FIRST CARPOMETACARPAL JOINT

Abstract

The first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the hand experiences frequent heavy loading from common tasks, such as pinching. Additionally, factors such as age and arthritis cause instability of the joint furthering the effects of the heavy loading. Since very limited research is done on the dynamic analysis of the CMC joint, the following is a proposal for analyzing the CMC joint response in 60 female subjects (20 between the ages of 18-29 with no arthritis, 20 between the ages of 50-69 with no arthritis, and 20 between the ages of 50-69 with arthritis). While the subjects perform a key pinch on a pinch meter to the maximum force, an ultrasound probe will capture the dynamic changes in the CMC joint space. 2 custom LabVIEW programs will measure the change in CMC joint space and record the increase in pinch force via force sensors on the pinch meter. The pinch force at each time point will be normalized to the subject’s maximum force and will be correlated to the change in joint space. The graph of normalized pinch force vs change in joint space will be plotted for analysis. The expected results of this study are that the slope of the young population will be greater than the old population and the slope of the healthy population will be greater than the arthritic population. This study can provide a data set for female CMC joint dynamics. Future studies could be done on the male population and varying grades of arthritis.