There are no muscles in the human hand,
There appears to be a good reason it isn’t Dr. Keith… 
I think the spinners went out of fashion with power steering. Not needed anymore.
I was told that by the specialist in carpal tunnel syndrome that a company I worked for hired to solve the companies repetitive movement injuries.
Just Google “hand anatomy” to see that some muscles for the little finger and the thumb are in the hand.
Hey, my bad. I should have verified it before posting. I guess the specialist they hired wasn’t so special after all. That my explain why the number of workers comp cases due to carpal tunnel did not go down.
Don’t limit yourself to just Honda, Toyota, Subaru or Nissan. Look into Hyundai, Mazda, Chevy, Lexus, Ford, Acura, Infinity, and even Chrysler.
Unfortunately, the skinniest, hardest steering wheels are usually found on the cheapest, smallest cars. Most of those are bad in other ways. If you’re near a Honda dealer do check out the Fit. A new one has just come out, but it is much like the old one. The Fit is amazingly roomy, better than a Civic in many ways. I haven’t studied the steering wheel, but it is the cheapest Honda so may have a thinner wheel, especially in the base trim level.
Another good little car is the Mazda2. It is very basic and much smaller than the Fit, but well made and a good city car. Not a car I’d want to make a long trip in, but great for everyday driving. The Yaris is the cheapest Toyota and very basic. It has never gotten much love from either car magazines or Consumer Reports, but it is quite reliable. Given the choice I’d take the Mazda2, but I don’t remember their steering wheels.
Avoid the terrible Nissan Versa, Mitsubishi Mirage, and Chevy Spark. They’re cheap, badly made, underpowered and all-around awful. The Ford Fiesta is quite nice, but has had some reliability problems. The Hyundai Accent and related Kia Rio are perfectly all right, roomier than most competitors and decently made.
I know some of these will have steering wheels that are too thick, but entry-level cars like this are more likely to have skinny wheels than the mainstream compacts like the Civic and Corolla. There are others like the Fiat 500 (a poor value), Toyota IQ (cramped and a poor value), and the Dodge Dart (cheap interior, but maybe worth a look).
Good luck.
Okay, I’ll say it - BUICK. Jap/Korean cars tend to have higher steering wheel effort that may exacerbate your problem. Buick has been criticized for “detached” steering feel, but it may be what you need.
Some cars have heated steering wheels. Maybe the heat would help to relieve the pain.
Could you add some padding on top of the armrests on the door and the center console high enough to reach your elbows? It seems to me that if you could rest one or both elbows there whenever you’re driving in a straight line that it might take some pressure off your hands.
Have you tried squeezing one of those little exercise balls for the hand whenever you can safely drive with one hand for a minute? Maybe some gentle motion like that would keep your hands from tightening up in one position.
Check out this video.
I understand that the most comfortable possition for your hand is at the bottom where this guy put the seam to start with.
Could you look for a new car where the center bottom is free of spokes and no electronic’s in this portion of the wheel. The core of the wheel should be steel and they could cut thru the rubber to the metal and peal that portion of the cover off of the steel.
Then you could cover that portion with a cover like the one in the video. One of these covers would not work though, because they are made to fit over that fat wheel. You would need something made custom for the size after the rubber cover is removed. I’d cut it an inch from the spokes and flair that last inch, so it all blends together nicely.
I’d ask around for a local “Boot repair shop” that may be willing to make the cover, and that they would be willing to do a rush job for this. It would be a simple job to cut a strip of leather, punch the holes for the sewing or lacing, glue it up and sew or lace it up.
I wait a month to get my good boots back. Thats why I suggest that you make arrangements ahead.
I would also see if the dealer would get you a letter from the maker…Ford, Toyota, etc., that this would never void the warranty. After all this is for a dissability!!!
I’d buy the car with the warranty letter as part of the deal.
Let the boot shop know when you will take delivery of the car, so they have a heads up and color.
Have the dealer remove the wheel and their mechanic cut the rubber off, so they are assured the steel wheel was not weakened. Then have them reattach the wheel.
Drive over to the boot shop and they can do the cover.
yosemite
Thanks, all. I have been to the doctor and told I have arthritis. I am supposed to wear a hand splint, with which I can theoretically still drive, but I am not so sure. She also told me that wider ought to better (which someone mentioned in the first set of comments), but all I can say is that that has not been my experience so far.
She also reiterated another person’s suggestion for a wheel cover, which I also don’t get, as that will only make it thicker.
I had not heard of heated steering wheels until yesterday, when a guy at one dealership told me that that’s why all steering wheels are thicker now, so that they can fit the heating elements in. Of course only the higher end models have those, but they aren’t going to make separate steering wheels. I may not like how it affects me, but it helps every so slightly to know there is some logic behind it.
I’ll take a look at this video and see if is clearer to me than what you have written. I have no idea what a boot shop is.
Steering wheels have been getting smaller and fatter for decades. For most people a thick, soft steering wheel is easier to grip. Before power steering wheels had to be big so people could turn them at low speeds (especially when stopped.) . A small wheel with power steering makes the car easier to handle without having to move the hands as much. Heated steering wheels were rare on anything but very expensive cars until the last few years. The steering wheels got thick long before heated wheels became optional.
@Tmbaker; A boot repair shop where you can have new soles and heels put on boots and shoes.
“I’d ask around for a local “Boot repair shop” that may be willing to make the cover”
What else would you go to a “boot repair shop” for.
Most larger cities have them and some small cities too.
Yosemite
the good ones are called peachy cobblers…