Laterality and grip strength influence hand bone micro‐architecture in modern humans, an HRpQCT study

Abstract

It is widely hypothesized that mechanical loading, specifically repetitive low-intensity tasks, influences the inner structure of cancellous bone. As such, there is likely a relationship between handedness and bone morphology. The aim of this study is to determine patterns in trabecular bone between dominant and non-dominant hands in modern humans. Seventeen healthy patients between 22 and 32 years old were included in the study. Radial carpal bones (lunate, capitate, scaphoid, trapezium, trapezoid, 1st, 2nd and 3rd metacarpals) were analyzed with high-resolution micro-computed tomography. Additionally, crush and pinch grip were recorded. Factorial analysis indicated that bone volume ratio, trabeculae number (Tb.N), bone surface to volume ratio (BS.BV), body weight, stature and crush grip were all positively correlated with principal components 1 and 2 explaining 78.7% of the variance. Volumetric and trabecular endostructural parameters (BV/TV, BS/BV or Tb.Th, Tb.N) explain the observed inter-individual variability better than anthropometric or clinical parameters. Factors analysis regressions showed correlations between these parameters and the dominant side for crush strength for the lunate (r = 0.640, P < 0.0001), trapezium (r = 0.836, P < 0.0001) and third metacarpal (r = 0.763). However, despite a significant lateralization in grip strength for all patients, the endostructural variability between dominant and non-dominant sides was limited in perspective to inter-individual differences. In conclusion, handedness is unlikely to generate trabecular patterns of asymmetry. It appears, however, that crush strength can be considered for endostructural analysis in the modern human wrist.

Trabecular variation in the first metacarpal and manipulation in hominids

“…Studies of trabeculae in the thumb have mainly focused on humans. Right human Mc1s have a significantly greater BV/TV than those from left hands (Stephens et al, ), consistent with cross‐cultural right‐hand bias in our species (Faurie, Schiefenhvel, leBomin, Billiard, & Raymond, ; Reina et al, ) though the trabecular difference was small in absolute terms (Reina et al, ; Skinner et al, , ; Stephens et al, ). While BV/TV is significantly greater in the Mc1 head of both humans and chimpanzees relative to the base (Lazenby, Skinner, Hublin, & Boesch, ; Stephens et al, ), the species differ in the Mc1 base.…”

“…However, these differences are slight in absolute terms (Sarringhaus et al, ; Skinner et al, , ) and so Mc1 side unlikely to meaningfully affect the current analysis. Conversely, humans are cross‐culturally right‐handed (Faurie et al, ) and this is reflected in Mc1 trabecular bone (Reina et al, ; Stephens et al, ). Therefore, the human sample was drawn from right hands to avoid potential bias related to handedness.…”

“…Many of these studies have focused on the metacarpal heads, likely due to the biaxial movements afforded at the metacarpophalangeal (McP) joints as well as their proximity to prehensile and locomotor substrates, which together allow for relatively straightforward functional interpretation of trabecular morphology. Further trabecular bone architecture has been shown to correlate with grip strength in some human hand bones, including the trapezium (Reina, Cavaignac, Trousdale, Laffosse, & Braga, ). Indeed the region of the trapeziometacarpal (TMc) joint in which osteoarthritis first develops, thought to therefore endure the most substantial habitual load (Koff et al, ), is also the area in which trabecular bone is densest on the Mc1 (Stephens, Kivell, Pahr, Hublin, & Skinner, ).…”

Early Holocene morphological variation in hunter-gatherer hands and feet

“…Further, the bioarchaeological record shows that DJD and MSM patterns were shared between the sexes which suggests that males were not likely regularly engaged in hunting or the markers of habitual spear-throwing were offset by changes in other aspects of wrist anatomy ( Maki, 2013 : 238). A previous study on a population with clear handedness identified only two bones exhibiting directional asymmetry, the lunate and trapezium ( Reina et al, 2017 ) which suggests handedness is not likely to be archaeologically visible.…”

The Feasibility of High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (HR-pQCT) in Patients with Suspected Scaphoid Fractures

“…Although the use of HR-pQCT in scaphoid fractures may thus be interesting for diagnostic and research purposes, the feasibility of in vivo HR-pQCT scanning of the scaphoid bone is not yet fully explored. To our knowledge, Reina et al performed the only in vivo HR-pQCT study on the scaphoid bone thus far, investigating the patterns in trabecular bone between normal dominant and nondominant radial carpal bones (22). In that study, nothing was reported about motion artefacts or image quality of the HR-pQCT scans.…”