The Hand Owner’s Manual: A Hand Surgeon’s Thirty-Year Collection of Important Information and Fascinating Facts

Do I have carpal tunnel syndrome? Is knuckle cracking dangerous? Which is better for a sprain, heat or ice? The reader will find answers to these and hundreds of other questions in “The Hand Owner’s Manual.” Dr. Meals shares his 30-year experience of preventing and treating hand conditions that commonly include pinched nerves, broken bones, and arthritic joints. Practical information abounds for athletes and musicians as well as for all who use computer mice, kitchen knives, and steering wheels. Should prevention fail, Dr. Meals describes clearly how the hand’s various tissues heal, allowing the owner to understand treatment options, to avoid surgery if possible, and to maximize recovery. “The Hand Owner’s Manual” also heightens the reader’s appreciation for the hand’s vast influence on the entire human story. Dr. Meals light heartedly answers interesting and diverse questions such as why identical twins have different fingerprints, how much professional musicians actually practice, what it is like to be a hand model, and how the term southpaw originated. The book is a lively, informative, and comprehensive celebration of the human hand, which Aristotle described as the tool of tools. As such, he would surely recommend this manual for all owners.