Cindy McCain's handshake injury

All political spouses and their vote-seeking mates smile and extend their hands to the masses -- over and over and over, tens of thousands of times. Today in Michigan, Cindy McCain had one handshake too many, and a presumably well-intentioned grip resulted in a sprain that sent her to a hospital in West Bloomfield for X-rays. A campaign spokeswoman said McCain's had previous surgeries for carpal tunnel syndrome and the handshake exacerbated the condition.

"Funny as it may sound, handshaking is a common source of people having sore hands," says Dr. Leon Benson, professor of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University School of Medicine. "There are people, in the name of giving a strong handshake, who squeeze in a way that's pretty uncomfortable." He himself remembers having a sore hand for three days after an aggressive handshake.

But surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, unless it was within the last six to nine months, probably wouldn't make the hand or wrist any more vulnerable than normal, he said. "If you catch somebody the wrong way, it can really hurt, but I've never seen anything serious come of it." The American Academy of Orthopedic surgeons has a wealth of information on all sorts of injuries, including hand and wrist sprains and strains. (Editor's note: the above-linked page at the AAOS site wasn't loading at the time of this post. UPDATE: site loading as of 4:15 p.m.) 

Meanwhile, anyone out there with adoring fans, whether politician or movie star, might consider wearing a wrist brace to signal a vulnerable extremity. Cupping the hand could prevent a squeeze, or offering the fingers only, royalty-style, rather than the full hand. Or you could always cross your arms over your chest, bow respectfully and say, "Sorry, but I think I'm getting a cold and don't want to spread germs."

But those things might smack of social aloofness. "There are so many social issues that arise over the meaning of a handshake, that people just suffer through it," says Benson.

-- Susan Brink

Photo: Associated Press / Mary Altaffer. Cindy McCain, her arm in a sling after handshake injury.

Comments

[Dane Traber]

JFK used to hold his hand bent with fingers up to clasp the ends of peoples' fingers because it hurt to shake so many hands.

I'm all in favor of the fist bump, that's really the best way to go.

[de]

I have arthritis and know very well how difficult a handshake can be! I smile, am quite polite and up front and say: " I cannot shake hands, but I can give you a smile"

If someone does not understand that..well- I can show them my bent up hand- that usually does the trick! I like the Asian way- a polite greeting- the bow!

[Logan]

The McCain health care plan, which is just Bushes health plan copied and repasted is a huge middle class tax increase. By 2013 if McCain’s health care plan is in place it will have raised taxes on every family by more than $1,200.
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/08/08/middle-class-ad/
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/08/13/rising-cost-mccain-credit/
Anyone else dislike how McCain is going to raise taxes the bottom 99% of Americans but decrease them for the top 1%?
Anyone else dislike how McCain will decrease taxes to large corporations who ship your jobs overseas especially when 2/3’s of them already don’t pay taxes due to loopholes, subsidies, and tax rebates. Large corporations should pay their fair amount of taxes, which they currently are not, regardless how much McCain tries to mislead you and me.
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/08/12/no-corporate-taxes/

Obama on the other hand has a health care plan that saves us 107 Billion through Medicare drug negotiations, electronic medical records and his health insurance plan.
Obama on the other hand gives the bottom 99% of Americans tax cuts and will eliminate taxes for small business who employ the majority of Americans. while stopping large corporations taking your job away from cheating on their taxes
http://www.score.org/small_biz_stats.html

[Walter L. Johnson]

Cindy has my sympathy since I have also had carpal tunnel problems. She would be well advised to come up with a gesture to replace her hand shaking, which is just another cause of repetitive use injury. All politicians and their families need to remember that hands are most important simply for daily life and they should not be abused in any way.

Repeat carpal tunnel surgeries have only a 5% chance of success, according to an article from the Mayo Clinic. In addition they carry a 1% risk of creating worse problems. Cindy simply must rest her hand for six weeks or she risks permanent loss of use. McCain supporters should simply not extend their hand to shake her hand out of respect for her. Perhaps a wave or a tip of the head would be best.

[Ruscle]

She should have tried a Fist Bump.

[Bob in Redding]

Let me guess......the doctors prescribed Vicodin or perhaps Percocet. If so look for Cindy to be regular addict to the campaign trail.

[Mark Rogers]

Just an excuse, not to shake hands with the common folk. Uppity

[Salil Dave]

Doing a "namaste" Indian-style has no such side-effects. Of late I am noticing several celebrities do a namaste and a bow to the audience. Along with a cheerful smile, this is a great substitute for the handshake!

More on the greeting here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcgNJ7cgDVs

[Dan Katz]

I wouldn't shake her hand. She is a scarrrrrry looking woman.

[Joel]

@Walter L. Johnson

A terrorist fist bump perhaps?

[jim in portland]

Oh ya, I can picture it now, Republicans adopting the Namaste greeting. As soon as they start greeting each other with "Peace, brother".

[Paterika]

So sorry to hear about Mrs. Cindy McCaine's discomfort. I hope her pain goes away very soon. I think it is impolite to give heavy handshakes to ladies. Proper judgement is needed in this regard. This gender thing can sometimes go way out of control...You know what I'm hinting.

http://www.poetrynest.blogspot.com

[Nick]

I have to agree with Dane, the fist bump is the way to go.

[Herunar]

Polls show McCain gains in hand-injury votes.

[Frank US]

Do John McCain or conservative republicans respect the moral foundations of this country? The U.S. Constitution was designed to protect the people of America from misguided government.

U.S. Constitution: Amendment I - Freedom of Religion
Right now, for the first time ever, your tax dollars are funding religious groups you may not agree with. To add insult to injury, conservative judges have ruled that taxpayers do not have a right to challenge this expenditure.

Amendment IV - Search and seizure
Under the guise of court action against abortion, Conservative republicans had John Ashcroft subpoena all the medical records of literally thousands of women just like you and members of your family. Conservative republicans are invading your privacy every day. Unfortunately for all of us, they don't appear to care about our U.S. constitution, or by extension, the people of our great country.

Amendment X - Powers of the States and People
John McCain and conservative republicans have tried consistently to overturn States Laws. They used your tax dollars to destroy the will of the people of Oregon, and the famous "Death with Dignity" law; they lost, but undoubtedly will try again. Conservative republicans and John McCain do not respect States Rights.

Amendment VIII - Cruel and Unusual punishment
Would you rather die, or support a government which supported and sanctioned torture? The founding fathers would rather have died, and in fact they were proud to fight and die for our government: A government which specifically outlaws cruel and unusual punishment for very important reasons.

John McCain and the conservative republicans have destroyed the moral foundations of our country. I urge you to keep this in mind in the coming election as we rebuild our nation together by voting Democrat.

[steve]

i hate shaking ppls hands. I love the fist bump, or the asian bow, or a smile. Quick etiquette lesson: it is rude for men to extend a hand to woman, the woman must initiate the hand shake.

[MATT]

Just an excuse to get pain killers for her addiction. I never seen any other potential first lady's get in a sling. This woman is drug addicted and needs help.

[Jay]

How is Frank US's post relevant?? .... Oh it is liberal .... yea that makes anything relevant with the press.

[End handshaking now]

Can we PLEASE banish this custom of shaking hands? It is unsanitary and disgusting.

[blooper]

Sounds like old Cindy is hurting for some of those pills again. Oh I hurt my hand, medicate me!!

[Juan]

Perhaps Cindy should get some pain medication. Then again, maybe not!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5KzCXVDiQ8

[no bo]

and if it was michelle obama's hand there would be outcries for an apology

[patricia]

"POLLS SHOW MCCAIN GAINS IN HAND-INURY VOTES." Herunar (about six comments up)

BRILLIANT...

[Bo]

"Or you could always cross your arms over your chest, bow respectfully and say, "Sorry, but I think I'm getting a cold and don't want to spread germs."

Geez but I get tired of people telling me that lies are an acceptable form of social interaction. Is having a sore wrist such a worse social disease than a cold that it justifies a bald-faced lie?

Offer them your left hand, for crying out loud. Life is only as complicated as we make it. If someone gets offended by my left hand, so what. That's their baggage, not mine.

[Paterika]

"Can we PLEASE banish this custom of shaking hands? It is unsanitary and disgusting." More unsanitary than deep kissing would you say, I'm smiling.

[mike]

terrorist fist jab all the way

[edward]

THIS IS NEWS?

[Chuck P]

So, is this a real injury or just the whining of a pampered ultra-rich socialite who has had her fill of circulating among the dirty masses?

[eNews Reference]

Everyone is not cut out for the rigors of campaigning... http://www.enewsreference.wordpress.com

[Thomas Mc]

Redneck Republicans always think they have to prove who's stronger.

[Staunchly remaining un-subscribed]

Apparently the times continues to simply print anything with a political name in it (in this case McCain) hoping to draw folks in. Sure it has a different slant in the copy, but if that was really what you're hoping we'll want to read, why let these cut and paste freaks, nay- morons- such as "logan" and "frank us" spew their irrelevant spiel? Is it that they convey your real message of "hope"?
Hey, its your party, invite who you want... But when you're making up that resume when you inevitably go bust, wash your proverbial hands of the mess you're making of free journalism in this country, and don't make the mistake of putting your time at this job on it.

[Nimish Thakkar]

I have had a scaphoid injury in the past and can very well relate to the side effects of handshaking. The namaste works very well in most settings.

Nimish Thakkar
http://www.resumecorner.com

[Steph]

Jay, you ALMOST got it right; it is relevant because it EDUCATES on policies of John McCain. It is LIBERAL because it educates. You're forgiven, of course, because conservatives shun that education thing...

[Chris]

Allow me to quote the great Moe Syzlak "Old people are no good at everything."

[Russell]

I want to know more about John's 1st wife!

[Greg]

MATT... the question is will the media drag that aspect into it like they do everything with Obama?

Or maybe John McCain did it.
Is there any video footage of when she hurt her hand?
Maybe she got mad after the rebuttal by Hilton and he had to put her in her place.

You know John doesn't like to lose any battle and will whatever it takes to win.
hmmmm....

[Demeta]

SO glad Cindy could get medical help, unlike many AMericans. And, OSHA does not consider carpal tunnel a "real" problem for workers, but poor Cindy must have great insurance, as does her husband. He has a health report of 1,200 pages since 2000 because he has the socialized medicine we provide for Congress. Oh, Obama has one page of "problems". Now who do you want for President? I go for a healthy guy and a wife who is strong, not addicted to prescriptions.

[Brad]

That's why she should use the fist bump, or secret terrorist fist jab as Fox News called it.

[Joe Bradshaw]

Somewhere out there, there is a muscular version of the Michael Scott character from "The Office" that is responsible for the sprained hand. He is, of course, totally oblivious about what he's done.

[jesse]

Sex, Money and Power

Adultery cast a shadow on a person's ethics. It does not necessarily mean that the offending person is a bad person but it defines one’s credibility and respect of the political office held or aspired for.

John McCain had a well-documented affair on his first wife, with his current wife. He even married her before a divorce was legally granted. Simply, because Cindy was young, beautiful and with lots of family money to support his political ambition. But he then later went on to cheat on Cindy with a much young and beautiful lobbyist Vicki Iseman.

Vicki Iseman represented telecommunication companies on the Senate Commerce Committee that John chaired. They contributed tens of thousands of dollars to McCain's campaigns. In return, McCain championed de-regulation for them. He pressured the FCC to uphold marketing agreements that allows television companies to control two stations in the same city and introduced a bill to create tax incentives program for them. Two times, he tried to advance legislation that would permit a company to control television stations in overlapping markets. If John Edwards' political career is over, why isn't John McCain's? Is McCain credible enough to be trusted to serve as a President? Once a cheater shall always be a cheater and shall do or say anything to achieve his desires. The President office shall be for sale. As he likes to say, “My friends watch-out.”

[Chris]

A handshake injury? C'mon, we all know she's just trying to get painkillers.

[Ian]

The Obama Campaign drones who post all over the net are are as annoying as their tactics are obvious.

I have never voted for a Republican for President, I am 37 years old, I have never skipped a vote. I would have voted for Clinton.

I do not trust Barak Obama, his words are beautifully crafted, but I do not have any trust that he will honor his word.

No increased capital gains taxes, No increased income taxes, NOBAMA.

[Marie]

Interesting that the word "uppity" is used by a poster to describe Cindy McCain. I'm quite sure he wouldn't have dared use it to describe Michelle Obama.

Obama has a plethora of things wrong with him besides his jug ears and his Bigfoot sized wife (that's not racist, that's making fun of the fact that she is HUGE!). The man has no idea what being an American is, what love of country is, what love of God is.... he makes fun of people who "cling" to their religion... and oh yes, their guns too! He tries to appear more like "us" by whining about the price of arugula at Whole Foods(!), he tries appealing to the common man by bowling and scores a pathetic 37. On a more serious side, he plays the race card every chance he gets, he glosses over his terroristic friends, his racist, anti-Semitic preacher. He will destroy this country if given half a chance. You thought Bush was bad... this guy will be the end of Western Civilization.

[John McNary]

Steven Colbert sleeps well tonight ... knowing his first segment is filled with hilarious wrist-strong gags all week.

[Karl Spencer]

Love how some of your readers take this time to rant on McCain. Give it a rest people. Stop passing along the leftist rhetoric and look at facts. Can anyone give me 10 things that Obama has passed (that he authored) while either in the Illinois State Legislature or while a U.S. Senator? Democrats need to stop it already with the candidate d'jour and find someone that means what they say.