[Purpose] In the present study, the distance between the tips of the middle fingers of both hands with arms diagonally stretched behind the back was measured, and its relationships with the dominant hand and stiff shoulders were examined. [Subjects and Methods] Subjects were 44 healthy elderly people (25 males and 19 females) aged 60years or older, and they responded to a questionnaire regarding the dominant handandstiff shoulders. The subjects were asked to stand up and diagonally stretch both arms behind their back as much as possible, and the distance between the tips of their middle fingers (MMD) was measured with a scale. There were elderly persons whose dominant hand was placed over or under the shoulder, and the MMD was compared between thesetwo groups; the distance was also compared between stiffshoulder and nonstiffshoulder groups. [Results] Fortyone subjects were righthanded, and three were lefthanded. Sixteen subjects complained of stiff shoulders. The MMD was significantly greater in the group whose dominant hand was placed under the shoulder, whereas no significant difference was noted between the stiffshoulder and nonstiffshoulder groups. [Conclusion] The ranges of extension and medial rotation of the shoulder joint on the dominant side were smaller. The movement of the shoulder joints was not significantly related to stiff shoulders.
