Arm positioning poll

**Zzyber** · 12-15-2008, 03:38 PM

Ok so here's the question. I am currently undergoing physical therapy on my right shoulder due to an injury. This is irrelevant to the question just a bit of background. So during my therapy the therapist held his hands at his side and told me to do the same. His thumbs when his arms were at rest faced outward as mine faced inward. He pointed it out and said that most peoples hands faced such as his did. So my question is with your arms relaxed at your sides which way do your thumbs face. Inwards (towards your body) or outwards (towards the front).

**Harmony** · 12-15-2008, 05:05 PM

Wiggling.... Seriously, if I put my arms at my side, I'll fidget and wiggle my fingers.

**ClydeB** · 12-15-2008, 05:17 PM

Not a good test subject. When I do that I close my fist loosely and point my thumbs straight down. Can think Uncle Sam for that bit of body language.

Interesting bit of knowledge. I will have to take a look at some people I suspect are INTJ like me versus everyone else. See if that's something I can spot.

**Nihilum** · 12-15-2008, 05:21 PM

Sideways.

**Monte314** · 12-15-2008, 05:32 PM

inward

**thod** · 12-15-2008, 05:33 PM

It seems to me that the natural position for the arm is with the thumbs pointing towards your front, that is palms facing towards the legs. It is however easier to turn the hand so that the palm faces behind you, that is thumbs inward, than the reverse.

**gedreosan** · 12-15-2008, 10:40 PM

Mine face inward.

**Zzyber** · 12-16-2008, 04:54 AM

	Originally Posted by thod To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	It seems to me that the natural position for the arm is with the thumbs pointing towards your front, that is palms facing towards the legs. It is however easier to turn the hand so that the palm faces behind you, that is thumbs inward, than the reverse.

See I find it the oposite. It is more natural to have them facing inward and is actually uncomfortable to hold my arms to where they point outward.

**rewhu** · 12-16-2008, 06:49 AM

I just stood up. My thumbs were pointing in. So did the physical therapist say that the inward position is wrong? Are we supposed to make an effort to point our thumbs outward?

Also, I'm curious if thumb position has an effect on spinal posture.

**Vagrant** · 12-16-2008, 10:14 AM

Mine face diagonally forward. Hah.

**TheLastMohican** · 12-16-2008, 10:41 AM

	Originally Posted by Vagrant To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Mine face diagonally forward. Hah.

Mine too; between inward and forward.

**Arcani** · 12-16-2008, 11:14 AM

Well, they point down, but they are between my hand and my body, so I guess that means they face inward and like TLM and Vagrant, they are angled forward.

That's an interesting bit of trivia, I wonder if it has anything to do with introversion versus extroversion. Now I'm going to be looking for this to see if he was right and outward is more common, it just seems awkward to me.

**Autoptic** · 12-16-2008, 11:22 AM

Define face. The underside points out and back, and my palms face in and back.

**Zzyber** · 12-16-2008, 12:51 PM

	Originally Posted by Autoptic To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Define face. The underside points out and back, and my palms face in and back.

If you stand and put your arms at your side do your thumbs touch your legs or do your fingers?

**Autoptic** · 12-16-2008, 12:56 PM

	Originally Posted by Zzyber To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	If you stand and put your arms at your side do your thumbs touch your legs or do your fingers?

thumbs

Technically, they don't touch.

**jikin** · 12-16-2008, 01:06 PM

Inward.

I've always thought that medical drawings of the human body looked akward since they seem to always have the thumbs facing outward. It never occured to me that it was because most people's would.

**ElstonGunn** · 12-16-2008, 01:15 PM

Diagonal, but slightly more toward my body. Looking down at them, it's like ENE on a compass.

**searcher** · 12-18-2008, 10:09 AM

My thumbs and my fingers touch my legs, so I guess that would be diagonal as well.

**rara avis** · 12-18-2008, 11:06 AM

Diagonal. My thumbs do touch my legs first, I suppose.

If I stick my thumbs out straight when my arms are relaxed, lines drawn at the angles of my thumbs would intersect at around 10-12 inches in front of my body, I think.

If it matters, I have ridiculously (I mean it; people find it amusing) good posture.

Slightly off-topic - I think your physical therapist is annoying, to be implying rules of rightness for things like this.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I've always wondered what draws someone into that field, anyway- it seems to require a personality that enjoys being intrusive.

**Nomadofthehills** · 12-19-2008, 11:46 PM

Those "rules of rightness" are usually based on muscular balance and ideal development/posture. Muscular imbalances and improper posture usually lead to injuries down the line.

**Zzyber** · 12-30-2008, 11:40 AM

From this small poll it appears that perhaps he was incorrect with his theory. But I would need a much larger subject base to make a complete case.

Thanks for your help guys and girls.

View Poll Results: Thumbs face inwards or outwards
Thumbs inward	40	78.43%
Thumbs outward	11	21.57%
Voters: 51. You may not vote on this poll

12-15-2008, 03:38 PM	#1
Zzyber Veteran Member [70%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 2,812	Ok so here's the question. I am currently undergoing physical therapy on my right shoulder due to an injury. This is irrelevant to the question just a bit of background. So during my therapy the therapist held his hands at his side and told me to do the same. His thumbs when his arms were at rest faced outward as mine faced inward. He pointed it out and said that most peoples hands faced such as his did. So my question is with your arms relaxed at your sides which way do your thumbs face. Inwards (towards your body) or outwards (towards the front).
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12-15-2008, 05:05 PM	#2
Harmony Core Member [172%] MBTI: ISFP Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 6,912	Wiggling.... Seriously, if I put my arms at my side, I'll fidget and wiggle my fingers.
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12-15-2008, 05:17 PM	#3
ClydeB Veteran Member [83%] MBTI: INTx Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 3,348	Not a good test subject. When I do that I close my fist loosely and point my thumbs straight down. Can think Uncle Sam for that bit of body language. Interesting bit of knowledge. I will have to take a look at some people I suspect are INTJ like me versus everyone else. See if that's something I can spot.
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12-15-2008, 05:21 PM	#4
Nihilum Member [17%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 709	Sideways.
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12-15-2008, 05:32 PM	#5
Monte314 Core Member [407%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 16,304	inward
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12-15-2008, 05:33 PM	#6
thod Core Member [162%] MBTI: INTP Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 6,502	It seems to me that the natural position for the arm is with the thumbs pointing towards your front, that is palms facing towards the legs. It is however easier to turn the hand so that the palm faces behind you, that is thumbs inward, than the reverse.
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12-15-2008, 10:40 PM	#7
gedreosan Member [08%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 341	Mine face inward.
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12-16-2008, 06:49 AM	#9
rewhu Veteran Member [55%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,220	I just stood up. My thumbs were pointing in. So did the physical therapist say that the inward position is wrong? Are we supposed to make an effort to point our thumbs outward? Also, I'm curious if thumb position has an effect on spinal posture.
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12-16-2008, 10:14 AM	#10
Vagrant Core Member [155%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 6,222	Mine face diagonally forward. Hah.
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12-16-2008, 11:14 AM	#12
Arcani Member [23%] MBTI: INTX Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 930	Well, they point down, but they are between my hand and my body, so I guess that means they face inward and like TLM and Vagrant, they are angled forward. That's an interesting bit of trivia, I wonder if it has anything to do with introversion versus extroversion. Now I'm going to be looking for this to see if he was right and outward is more common, it just seems awkward to me.
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12-16-2008, 11:22 AM	#13
Autoptic Core Member [105%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4,230	Define face. The underside points out and back, and my palms face in and back.
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12-16-2008, 01:06 PM	#16
jikin Member [26%] MBTI: ENFJ Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,079	Inward. I've always thought that medical drawings of the human body looked akward since they seem to always have the thumbs facing outward. It never occured to me that it was because most people's would.
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12-16-2008, 01:15 PM	#17
ElstonGunn Core Member [150%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 6,034	Diagonal, but slightly more toward my body. Looking down at them, it's like ENE on a compass.
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12-18-2008, 10:09 AM	#18
searcher Veteran Member [67%] MBTI: INTP Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2,687	My thumbs and my fingers touch my legs, so I guess that would be diagonal as well.
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12-18-2008, 11:06 AM	#19
rara avis Core Member [163%] MBTI: INTP Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 6,521	Diagonal. My thumbs do touch my legs first, I suppose. If I stick my thumbs out straight when my arms are relaxed, lines drawn at the angles of my thumbs would intersect at around 10-12 inches in front of my body, I think. If it matters, I have ridiculously (I mean it; people find it amusing) good posture. Slightly off-topic - I think your physical therapist is annoying, to be implying rules of rightness for things like this. To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I've always wondered what draws someone into that field, anyway- it seems to require a personality that enjoys being intrusive.
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12-19-2008, 11:46 PM	#20
Nomadofthehills Member [11%] MBTI: INTP Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 466	Those "rules of rightness" are usually based on muscular balance and ideal development/posture. Muscular imbalances and improper posture usually lead to injuries down the line.
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12-30-2008, 11:40 AM	#21
Zzyber Veteran Member [70%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 2,812	From this small poll it appears that perhaps he was incorrect with his theory. But I would need a much larger subject base to make a complete case. Thanks for your help guys and girls.
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