Bend your pinky, and the rest shall follow

[Mr. Sheepshead]

Whenever I bend my pinky finger, the ring and middle finger follow along. And I have no control over them! I cannot force the ring or middle to stay straight. Why on Earth do my hands do this?

[Cartooniverse]

Your fingers have a tendon-cy to be connected along the back of the hand, and so move with a lack of autonomy.

[KarlGauss]

You may have Dupytron's contracture. See your doctor. It can be treated fairly easily with a minor procedure.

But, never take medical advice over the internet!

[BrothaTJ]

Oh my god my hands do this too! Hehe seriously though I don't think it's anything to worry about, I can't forsee a situation where this would ever cause a problem.
Weird what we find out when we have a little too much free time on our hands...literally

[irish_bill]

I can bend the 'pinky' on my left hand till it touches my palm while my other fingers stay upright. I think its because I play the guitar.

Why is it called a 'Pinky'?

[AWB]

irish_bill: Why is it called a 'Pinky'?

'Cuz calling it 'big toe' would be stupid. :D:D

[sdimbert]

I have always been able to bend my *left* pinky down while keeping the other fingers straight, but I can not reproduce this feat with my right.

Wierd.

(And I don't play the guitar. But I play the banjo. Poorly. Very poorly.)

[Tymp]

I think it’s normal for the movements of your fingers to affect each other. When I was a little kid, this annoyed me to no end. I set about training my fingers to move independently with precision. It kinda makes sense for your fingers to move together since that’s usually what you want them to do. There are not terribly many practical applications of the ability to bend a single finger to palm without the others. I can only think of a few uses for this skill. Playing a musical instrument, tying elaborate knots, and sewing are all that I can come up with right now.

[Saint Zero]

I've played Clarinet for years, and can move my pinkies independently of the rest of my hand. You need to to hit that B/E/Eflat/whatever else may rest down there (I've played a lot of different type Clarinets).

[yabob]

Another guitar player here - same effect. I can operate the fingers of my left hand a lot more independently and flexibly than my right, although I'm definitely right handed. Maybe if I got rid of that flat pick, and learned to finger pick ...

All of these anecdotes about musical instruments suggest that you could "treat" this though physical therapy if you really wanted to go to the trouble.

[Montfort]

I did something incredibly stupid when I was a little league baseball player -- I tried to barehand a pop fly while playing second base. I have no idea why I tried to do so, but I remember it vividly. It didn't even hurt, and I finished the game even as my hand swelled beyond imagination.

Anyway, I ended up breaking the pinkie in my left hand. It didn't quite heal properly, and sticks out just a bit when I hold my fingers out in a "normal" position. But, it often allows me to stretch and reach an extra fret while playing guitar or bass, and it's a cool story to tell, so I don't mind. :cool:

[pepperlandgirl]

I can't bend ANY of my fingers without the rest following them. That would explain why I gave up the guitar.

[Delta-9]

Add me to the list of guitarists who can bend their left pinky independently, but not the right.

20 years of fingering necks and there's finally a payoff!
:)

[Lance Turbo]

Originally posted by irish_bill
...Why is it called a 'Pinky'?

Pinky comes from the Dutch wor pinkje. It means something like "little one." I don't think it has anything to do with the color pink.

[kellibelli]

Cant move the pinky independantly, my index finder will, but it make the very tip of my middle finger wiggle! My RING finger OTOH, moves well indepentantly.

::going back to playing with my fingers - thanks a bunch!::

[SaxFace]

I played upright bass for 12 years and my bass instructor gave me the following hand strengthening exercise:

Hold your hands in front of you, palms facing away and thumbs pointed inward. Remember to keep your thumbs firmly pointed inward. Independently raise (or try to) each finger, one at a time.

The hardest finger will be (or should be) the ring finger. Keep practicing and your hands will be stronger and your fingers more flexible in a week or two.

[Padeye]

The tendons that contract your fingers go to the upper arm muscles. Place the fingertips of your left hand on the inside of your right forearm and move your right hand fingers. All that connection makes completely independant finger movement difficult at best. As much as guitar playing this is one thing that makes precision shooting difficult. It takes a lot of training to squeeze a trigger with the index finger without any movement or change in pressure in the rest of the hand.

[Sunshine]

Quoth sdimbert
I have always been able to bend my *left* pinky down while keeping the other fingers straight, but I can not reproduce this feat with my right.

Wierd.

(And I don't play the guitar. But I play the banjo. Poorly. Very poorly.)

Me too. Exactly. (Except for the banjo part. I mean, I don't play the banjo at all. Or anything else, for that matter.)

[tcburnett]

Originally posted by Tymp
I can only think of a few uses for this skill. Playing a musical instrument, tying elaborate knots, and sewing are all that I can come up with right now.


The fact that almost no one else can do it makes it a great way to amuse and astound your friends. It took me awhile to learn (also when I was young), but now I can give the anti-finger by curling my middle finger while leaving the rest straight. Of course, this has no practical use.

[aseymayo]

Sorry, I came in here looking for an etiquette lesson. How to Hold Your Teacup in Society and Rule the World style of thing. (Doesn't Emily post here?)

I do beg your pardon.

[TheNerd]

I too can curl my left pinky while keeping the other fingers straight. I can't curl my right without moving the others, but I can then uncurl the rest of them while leaving the right pinky curled.

All of the other fingers can curl/uncurl independently.

I played trombone for several years.

Who here can hold a pencil in their pinky and index fingers such that the middle two are curled under and not touching the pencil? I can, but again only on the left hand.

[Chronos]

I can do all of the tricks mentioned in this thread with either hand (more easily with right), but then again, my fingers are majorly screwed up. I can also do things like bending the last knuckle of a finger independently of the rest of the finger. What I can't do, is straighten all of them... If I try, the bottom knuckle on each ends up popping out. I understand it's due to a combination of heridity and too much knuckle-cracking... the only musical instrument I play is bass tuba, which doesn't require that great a degree of independent movement.

[Mr. Sheepshead]

But, I play drums (very well), I play guitar (okay), I play cello (mediocre at best), I type quickly, and am generally dexterous with my hands (lots of video games have helped). Could it be though, that I've developed more of a 'grip' style? With drums there is a certain amount of tenderness involved (believe it or not), but it's mainly in your grip and wrist action. I'm going to try SaxFace's excercises however, just to see if I can convert.

[Annie-Xmas]

I can do it with my right hand. Comes from
decades of crochetting; I have a permanent
callus where the crochet hook rubs my
right pinky.