# What in the world happened to Keith Richards' fingers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046 "2002-10-13T04:15:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cholo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Cholo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cholo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/1 "2002-10-13T04:15:33Z")
I noticed it a couple of months ago when Mick Jagger and Keith were being interviewed by Matt Lauer on the Today show. Keith is sitting next to Jagger and is closer to the camera. As you may know, Keith speaks somewhat animated with his hands and to my amazement, his knuckles closest to the fingernails look bloated. He looked like he had artheritis…yet he plays guitar for living. Could this be? Being a big Stones fan, I bought the new Rolling Stone with a shirtless Keith on the cover (the checkout clerk took one look at that shot and said “That ain’t right”!) and took it home to read. There’s a huge photo of Keith on page 48 that has a facial shot with him posing with his fingers in a “devil horns” gesture. His fingers still look very strange. I’ve never noticed this about Keith before…here’s proof he was once normal. Flip back to page 52 and you can see a pretty good picture of Keith back in 72’ backstage replacing the cap on a Jack Daniels bottle and his fingers look perfectly normal. Anybody have any idea what the bloated knuckles might be? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/2 "2002-10-13T05:01:12Z")
I haven’t seen the pictures but arthritis sounds right. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/3 "2002-10-13T20:45:56Z")
Ummm, most people have at least some form of minor arthritis by their mid 40’s. Keith is how old? 600? What’s the big surprise? ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/4 "2002-10-13T20:53:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\*Ummm, most people have at least some form of minor arthritis by their mid 40’s. \*\* You wouldn’t have a cite for that, would ya? And to me, _most people_ implies at least 70-75% of the population over 40. Which is a roundabout way of saying I have a very hard time believing it. Though I could be wrong. But in this case, I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Cholo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Cholo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cholo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/5 "2002-10-13T20:59:03Z")
I’ve never seen arthritis like this though and Keith is only 59. It definitly looks abnormal. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/6 "2002-10-13T22:27:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WSLer \* > \*\*most people implies at least 70-75% \*\* Doesn’t that strictly mean at least 51% (or 50.1 or 50.01…)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/7 "2002-10-14T00:46:21Z")
It’s either arthritis, or because that’s the only place left where he can find a vein… [d&r] ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/8 "2002-10-14T02:04:25Z")
Keith Richard’s style of playing isn’t all that challenging. He plays everything using an open G tuning and just slaps his index finger across all five strings (no bottom string) to play a chord. In his words, it just takes [“five strings, three notes, two fingers and one asshole”](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=keith+richards+%22five+strings%22+%22one+asshole%22) to play like him. He could probably replace his fingers with wooden sticks and still sound ok. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/9 "2002-10-14T09:55:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WSLer \* > \*\* > > You wouldn’t have a cite for that, would ya? \*\* Well, my doctor told me that less than a week ago. That’s about all I can help you with, maybe **Qadgop** will take notice of this thread and have something better. Also, I think every person I’ve ever known over 45 (and half the people _under_ 45, as young as 15) have some form of arthritis. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/10 "2002-10-14T11:11:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\* > > Well, my doctor told me that less than a week ago. That’s about all I can help you with, maybe **Qadgop** will take notice of this thread and have something better. Also, I think every person I’ve ever known over 45 (and half the people _under_ 45, as young as 15) have some form of arthritis. \*\* Is this arthritis that you _feel_ and _see_, or some sort of latent arthritis that has not yet shown itself? I will soon be 48, my husband just turned 50 and AFAIK,neither he nor I nor any of our contemporaries have any arthritis. Saw a recent photo of Richards and noticed the swollen knuckles. I immediately thought that it had to be from playing the guitar, but really have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/11 "2002-10-14T11:27:42Z")
According to [The CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/arthrits.htm), over 28 million Americans over the age of 45 have arthritis. That might not be most (and I say might because I don’t know how many Americans there are over 45), but any way you look at it that is an amazingly high number. I say again: Keith is how old? What’s the big surprise? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/12 "2002-10-14T13:57:08Z")
IANA Drug User, but doesn’t cocaine, or at least super-excessive use of it, do something to one’s fingers? Obviously it does something to a person’s nasal cavity if snorted, but I thought I read somewhere that it causes problems with extremities - makes them swollen, maybe hardens the nails, too? If I get a chance, I will see what I can find… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/13 "2002-10-14T14:01:17Z")
Well, a quick Google turned up all of the expected symptoms, but nothing on extremities, so maybe I don’t know what the heck I am talking about. Carry on… ---
**Author:** ![anitoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@anitoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anitoes)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/14 "2011-06-27T17:55:18Z")
It looks like Keith has Heberden’s Nodes. Heberden’s nodes are bony enlargements of the joint closest to the fingertip – also known as the DIP joint or distal interphalangeal joint. These are caused by repeated trauma at a joint. It is a form of osteoarthritis. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/15 "2011-06-27T18:00:02Z")
And apparently cause zombies. Which, of course, I didn’t see at first and went and fact checked the ‘Keef is 59’ thing. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/16 "2011-06-27T18:33:25Z")
And in other news, Keith Richards is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/17 "2011-06-27T18:44:34Z")
> [@Caprese](#): > > Saw a recent photo of Richards and noticed the swollen knuckles. > I immediately thought that it had to be from playing the guitar, but really have no idea. That would be my vote. Does playing cause stress on those knuckles over time? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/18 "2011-06-27T19:05:34Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > And in other news, Keith Richards is still alive. That’s a good take-away from this thread. Another might be, “Holy crap, I bet his arthritis is REALLY bad by now!” 😃 ETA: [YIKES!](http://therockerblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/keith_richards_dpa.jpg) Don’t click if you’re easily startled! ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/19 "2011-06-27T19:24:04Z")
Joints that are under repetitive stress are often more subject to the effects of [osteoarthritis](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/17105.htm). It makes perfect sense that in Keith Richards it would most affect those joints stressed by picking a guitar. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046/20 "2011-06-27T19:26:29Z")
> [@Cholo](#): > > Flip back to page 52 and you can see a pretty good picture of Keith back in 72’ backstage replacing the cap on a Jack Daniels bottle and his fingers look perfectly normal. Clearly a doctored photo. Keith never put the cap back on a bottle of whiskey in his life.😉 As far as the fingers go, I would expect that his fingers should look just as gnarly as the rest of him. So if his fingers look a little freaky - hey, it’s Keith Richards… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-happened-to-keith-richards-fingers/132046.md?page=2)