Exercises for the fingers, hands and wrists

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  Introduction
  
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  Finger strengthening
  
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  Finger tendon glide stretch
  
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  Thumb stretch
  
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  Hand lift
  
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  Wrist turn
  
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  Hand wave
  

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Introduction

These exercises are helpful for problems and pain affecting the fingers, hands and wrists.

It’s a good idea to start slowly and build up gradually if you’re new to exercise. For more information and tips on getting started, see our Getting started with exercise page.

Get advice and support from a healthcare professional or fitness instructor if you have any concerns about starting a new exercise plan.

Exercises for the fingers, hands and wrists

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Finger strengthening

Begin with the palm of your hand on a tissue or towel on a table, fingers apart. Pull your fingers together by pressing your hand down into the table and bunching up the towel between your fingers. Repeat. You can also do this without using a towel or tissue, and simply by pressing down on the table and squeezing your fingers together and then stretching them apart.

Finger tendon glide stretch

Start with the fingers extended straight out. Make a hook fist, return to a straight hand. Make a full fist, return to a straight hand. Make a straight fist, return to a straight hand.

Thumb stretch

Hold your hand out in front of you, as if you’re saying stop. Begin with your thumb positioned outward. Move the thumb across your palm and then back to the starting position.

Hand lift

Place your forearm on a flat surface, like a table, with your hand hanging over the edge, palm facing down. A rolled-up towel under your wrist might provide comfort. Keeping your fingers relaxed, move your hand upward until you feel a gentle stretch, then return to the starting position.

Wrist turn

Bend your elbow to 90 degrees with your palm facing down. Rotate your forearm, so that your palm faces up and then down. You can stand or sit to do this.

Hand wave

Support your forearm on a table on a rolled-up towel for padding or on your knee, thumb facing upward. Move the wrist up and down through its full range of motion, as if you are waving.

Hand Exercises for People with Arthritis

Whether you have osteoarthritis (wear and tear on the joints) or an autoimmune inflammatory type like rheumatoid arthritis, dealing with stiff hands can be one of the most frustrating parts of managing arthritis day to day.

Your hands, made up of lots of little bone connections, are particularly prone to pain and swelling — yet you need them more than any other part of your body to complete daily tasks.

That’s where hand exercises come in.

Although osteo and inflammatory arthritis affect the joints differently, exercise has been shown in both conditions to improve flexibility and range of motion, reduce joint damage, and lessen symptoms of pain.

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, exercise increases blood flow to damaged cartilage, helping it stay healthy and prevent further breakdown; exercise also strengthens muscles around the joints to help take some of the pressure off.

In addition, for OA, “these exercises will help increase the production of synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints so we don’t feel that stiffness,” says Karen Jacobs, EdD, OT, OTR, CPE, FAOTA, an occupational therapist who works with arthritis patients and a clinical professor at Boston University.

“Exercise” doesn’t have to mean a 45-minute whole-body endurance workout. Simple and quick stretches for your hands can help keep these crucial body parts limbered up and ready for the day’s activities. As always, clear it with your doctor before starting an exercise regimen. An occupational or physical therapist who is a hand specialist can also help develop the hand exercise plan that’s right for you.

Some tips for hand exercises for before you start:

Do them throughout your day. “Many of these exercises can done [resting hands] on the table or counter, but you can also do them wherever you are: standing in line, commuting on the train or bus, even in bed, before you start your daily activities,” Jacobs says.

Be gentle. Do all motions slowly, and stop when you feel tension so you don’t injure yourself.

For each exercise, hold for two to three seconds if possible, and do reps of 10 for each hand. The whole set can be done daily. But if anything hurts, stop.

Be mindful while doing the exercises. “Breathing in with your nose and out with your mouth to help relax and reduce stress is another thing to incorporate,” Jacobs says.

Jacobs recommends starting with these hand exercises for arthritis:

1. Make a fist

Start with your fingers straight and then slowly bend your hand into a fist. Make sure your thumb is on the outside of your hand. Don’t squeeze too tightly, then straighten again.

2. Bend your digits

Stretch your hand in front of you, palm up. Then take each finger and move it very slowly to the center of your palm. Hold it, then straighten.

3. Thumb bends

“Sometimes people have more issues with their thumb,” Jacob says, so when doing the digit exercise for your thumb, “bend it toward your palm—if you can reach your pinky that’s cool, and if you can’t, go as far as you can, hold and then start again. ”

4. Make a C or an O

Move your fingers like you’re going to grab a little ball, and try to form a shape of a C or an O. Go as far as you can (an O would be making a complete circle with your fingers and thumb). Straighten your fingers and repeat.

5. Thumbs up

Have your hand in a loose fist with the pinky side of your hand on a table. Then point your thumb to make the thumbs up sign, put it down, and repeat.

6. Finger lifts

With your palm flat on a table, fingers spread slightly, lift each one slowly off the table, then back down before raising the next.

7. Wrist bends

Hold your left or right arm out with the palm facing down. Then take the other hand and gently press your whole hand down toward the floor. “People overdo this exercise so be very careful,” Jacobs says.

8. Easy squeezes

“Some people have a tennis ball or a stress ball and they like to squeeze that gently,” Jacobs says.

Hand Exercises to Avoid with Arthritis

Are there any had motions that aren’t good for people with arthritis? “A lot of repetition: typing on the computer all the time, constantly using one of your digits like texting with a thumb,” Jacobs says.

Also, “anything that might be heavily weighted you want to be very careful about, so avoid lifting something that’s very heavy,” she says. “You don’t want to injure yourself by overdoing it.”

In addition, you can keep of log of your activities and when you have pain, in order to identify individual triggers.

Keep Reading

• Prevent Arthritis Hand Pain in Your Daily Activities with These 10 OT-Approved Tips
• Tips to Take the Pain Out of Getting Dressed with Arthritis
• Kitchen Hacks for People with Arthritis Pain

Therapeutic exercise for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Sets of exercises for hands and feet

Exercises for hands

In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, sets of exercises for the hands (including with various projectiles: a ball, a rubber egg, a stick, pieces of foam rubber) restore fine motor skills, strength and fine coordination of the hands, improve the range of motion in the finger joints, skin-articular sensitivity.

1. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table with your palms down. Raise your hands up and down 8 times.

2. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table. The forearm rests on the table, the palms look down. Raise the hand, bending the arm at the wrist (while clenching the fingers into a fist), hold this position for 5 seconds. Lower your hand to the table (fingers straightened), 6 times.

3. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table with your palms down. The forearm rests on the table. The fingers are clenched into a fist. Move the fist relative to the wrist to the right, then to the left, hold this position for 5 seconds. Return the arm to its original position, 6 times.

4. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the edge of the table with your palms down. Take your thumb down over the edge of the table, then bring it back to its original position, 8 times.

5. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table with your palms down. Place the brushes on the table, take the thumb away, raise only the fingers up and down (do not take your palms off the table), 8 times.

6. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table with your palms up. Touch the bottom line of the little finger with your thumb. Hold this position for 3-5 seconds. Fully straighten the thumb, 6 times.

7. Put the hands on the table. With half-strength tension, gather your fingers into an incomplete fist and relax, 8 times.

8. Put the hands on the table. Spread your fingers apart and connect, 8 times.

9. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table with your palms down, forearm resting on the table. Raise straight fingers alternately up. Hold each finger up for 5 seconds.

10. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table with your palms down, forearm resting on the table, fingers together. Take the thumb to the side, the other fingers alternately lead to the thumb. Do the exercise slowly. When all fingers are brought to the thumb, hold this position for 3 seconds.

11. Put the hands on the table parallel to each other. Collect fingers in a “pinch”, the hands in the wrist joint move inward, 8 times.

12. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your hands on the table, hands parallel to each other “on edge”. With the tip of the thumb, touch all the fingertips in turn to form one circle, all joints are bent. Straighten your fingers before bending the next finger.

13. Starting position: sitting at the table. Put your elbows on the table and move towards each other. Palms press one to the other. Extend the elbows to the sides as much as possible (without separating the palms) and connect, 8 times.

14. Starting position: sitting at the table. Put your elbows on the table. Palms press one to the other. Spread your fingers apart and half-strength clench into a fist, 8 times.

15. Starting position: sitting at the table, put your elbows on the table. Spread the brushes to the sides, holding the wrists together, 8 times.

16. Straight arms put on the table, hands parallel to each other “on edge”. Spread your fingers in a “fan” and then reconnect, 8 times.

17. Put your elbows together on the table, join your palms, bend your arms to the right and left. The exercise is performed first in one direction, then in the other direction 8 times, always leaving one elbow on the table.

18. Starting position: sitting at the table, place the palms and forearms on the table “on edge” parallel to each other. Exercise: close the “gate” – touch the fingertips of one hand with the fingertips of the other, while the forearms are parallel to each other, lie on the table, bend the wrists, then open the “gate” – starting position, 8 times.

19. The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise. Raise your thumb up and down, 8 times.

20. The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise. Perform the “gate” exercise with one fingers, do not bend your wrists, 8 times.

21. Starting position: sitting at the table, place the palms and forearms on the table “on edge” parallel to each other. Take each finger up one by one (except the little finger), then return to the starting position, 8 times.

22. Starting position: sitting at the table, place the palms and forearms on the table “on edge” parallel to each other. Make circular movements with your thumb, moving it first towards the palm, then take it as far as possible to yourself and return to its original position through the outer side of the hand, 8 times.

After completing the exercises, you need to quickly rub your palms, clap them. Lower your arms and relax.

Hand exercises with projectiles (ball or rubber egg, stick)

1. Starting position: sitting at the table. Take a tennis ball or a rubber egg in your hands. Place the brush “on the edge”, squeeze the projectile, bending your fingers into a fist (half strength), count to four and relax for 5 seconds.

2. Put the ball (or egg) on ​​the table, put your hand palm down on top of the projectile. With a smooth movement, move the palm forward, rolling the projectile to the base of the hand, without pressing on the projectile, 8 times.

3. Starting position: sitting at the table. Extend your arms in front of you, do not squeeze the ball (or egg) – the hands calmly hold the ball, repeating its shape. Bring the projectile to the shoulders, then raise your arms up. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Raise your arms up and then, repeating the movement to the shoulders, return to the starting position, 8 times.

4. Take the ball (or egg) into a fist, put your elbows on the table. Perform circular movements with the brush towards you, making a full turn, then return to the starting position, 8 times.

5. Starting position: sitting at the table. Roll the ball (or egg) from the fingers to the wrist joint, covering it as tightly as possible, 8 times.

6. Put the stick on the table, put all fingers of the hand, except for the thumb, on the stick. The thumb remains on the table. Roll the stick on the table from the fingers to the wrist joint. First, the outer, then the back side and the edge of the palm. 4 seconds with each hand.

7. Put the stick on the table, put all fingers of the hand, except for the thumb, on the stick. The thumb remains on the table. Move your thumb up to the stick and down to the table. 4 seconds with each hand.

8. Sitting at the table, put your elbows on the table, take a stick. Move the stick with your fingers only up, for 4 seconds with one or the other hand. Rotate the wand in one direction and the other, for 4 seconds with one or the other hand.

After completing the exercises, you need to quickly rub your palms, clap them. Lower your arms and relax.

Foot exercises

Foot exercises are very important for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. After 2-3 weeks of training, pain decreases, with longer training, mobility improves. With the help of exercises, orthopedic insoles and special shoes, you can prevent the development of serious deformities of the feet or their aggravation. Gymnastics begins with a warm-up: rolling feet on the ball. To warm up the upper ankle joint and calf muscles, a 5-10-minute ride on an exercise bike is suitable.

1. Sitting on a chair or lying on the floor, extend your toes, hold this position for 5 seconds, then pull your fingers towards you and hold this position for 5 seconds, 8 times.

2. Move the foot slowly in a clockwise circle to the count of ten with each foot.

3. Bend all the toes, hold this position for 3-5 seconds, then straighten the toes and hold this position, 8 times.

4. Raise the thumb off the floor, hold this position for 3-5 seconds and place it back on the floor, 8 times.

5. Raise the toes off the floor, hold this position for 3-5 seconds and place back on the floor. Legs are bent at the knees at an angle of 90° and must remain straight (i.e., they cannot be turned in or out), 8 times.

6. Standing, feet wide apart, heels inward. Stand on your toes for 5 seconds, then lower yourself, 8 times.

7. Standing, toes “look” inwards. Stand on your toes for 5 seconds, then lower yourself, 8 times. When performing, you can hold on to the railing. Do not hold on to cabinets, chairs, or other unstable objects that could cause you to fall.

Exercises for feet with shells (ball, rubber egg, rubber band)

1. Place a ball or rubber egg under the foot. Place the heel on the floor. Without lifting the heel from the floor, press the projectile with the foot and move the foot relative to the projectile back and forth with different strengths (especially the inside of the foot). When the foot moves forward, the projectile moves towards the heel, which should not be torn off the floor. Do the exercise for 2 minutes.

2. Starting position: sitting on a chair. Place the projectile under the foot at the base of the fingers. Press on the projectile with half strength, 2 minutes.

3. Various band exercises can be used to develop strength, 2-4 minutes.

Literature

1. Nasonova V.A., Pavlov V.P., Pavlenko T.M. Peculiarities of restorative treatment of patients with rheumatological profile. Issues of balneology, physiotherapy and therapeutic physical culture. 2003;3:32–35.

2. Hyva K, Laur P, Metsna V, et al. Rheumatoid arthritis: instructions for patients. Compiled by P. Tuvik. Tallinn, 2008. 95 p.

3. Pavlenko T.M., Takhtay V.V. A set of exercises for the hand and foot for patients with rheumatic joint lesions, rheumatoid arthritis. Moscow, 2009. 15 p.

Ph.D. E.V. Orlova
Federal State Budgetary Institution “NIIR im. V.A. Nasonova

What exercises will help to cope with rheumatoid arthritis?

Exercise can help people with rheumatoid arthritis feel better. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you will lose flexibility, and joint mobility will decrease. Instead, move more to develop joints, build muscle, and improve your fitness.

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis should opt for physical activities such as stair climbing, walking, dancing, and low-impact cardio (elliptical trainer). Such types of physical activity are more preferable for rheumatoid arthritis than high-impact exercises on the joints, such as running or playing basketball.

Exercise should begin with a few minutes a day, gradually increasing the load. It is better to do it at a moderate pace, gradually increasing the duration of the workout to 30-60 minutes 3-4 days a week.

To strengthen the muscles, it is advisable to perform weight-bearing exercises 2-3 times a week. Strong muscles will give your joints extra support.

Swimming is also helpful. Water helps to unload and not unnecessarily strain the joints. Start with a few minutes of swimming in the heated pool at a slow pace. Gradually increase your exercise time to 30 minutes.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the risk factors for developing heart disease. This is another reason for cardio training. This will make the heart stronger, help lower blood pressure and normalize blood cholesterol levels.

In addition, patients with rheumatoid arthritis are susceptible to bone loss, and activities such as walking, dancing, and climbing stairs help prevent osteoporosis.

Try isometric exercises, in which the contraction of the muscle causes only its tension. You simply tense your muscles and relax them. If someone is watching you, they won’t notice any movement at all.