Usually, osteoarthritis of  the hands happens as part of nodal osteoarthritis (a form of osteoarthritis that runs in families). Mostly, the women gets affected by this in their 40s or 50s, around the menopause (time when menstruation ends and it’s no longer possible to conceive). McGee and Mathiowetz performed this study to depict whether a joint-protection strategy changes the mechanics of opening a sealed jar.

To solve the objective of this study, 31 adult women with hand osteoarthritis tried to open a “sealed” jar instrument when using and not using nonskid material. For each trial, grip force, torque, success, and pain were noted.

This resulted in participants using less grip force when twisting with their left hand. The prominent  torque and success, besides the least amount of grip force across time, and pain was recorded when the left hand turned the lid, the jar was held vertically, the right hand supported the base, and nonskid material was utilized.

It was culminated from the study that women with hand osteoarthritis should be educated to consider the hand they use and their technique when opening sealed jars. The load on arthritic joints, pain, and dysfunction might increase with the utilization of nonskid material without additional reasoning. Further research on task kinematics and the kinetics of the stabilizing hand is required.