Two Moves for Happier Hands

I recently went in for my yearly physical and talked with my doctor about arthritis prevention. As a massage therapist, I obviously use my hands a lot and in ways that the average Joe or Josephine may not.

For the most part, my hands don’t bother me because I also use my feet for massage. Over the past year, however, I have noticed some arthritis cropping up in one joint on one finger of my left hand. I plan to keep on massaging for many more years to come so I know I need to be proactive.

My doctor’s advice was this: Arthritis that results from repetitive movement is somewhat inevitable. (Kind of disappointing, huh?) She recommended that I continue trying to use my body in different ways, to warm up the joints in my hands before I work, and to continue developing my upper body strength so that the burden of work isn’t as concentrated in my hands.

So I’ve started doing these two moves before and after a I give a massage (and honestly, multiple other times per day) to keep my hands happy. The best part is, these moves also help out with the wrists as well. For more info on this, check out my Instagram post on the subject as well as this post and this post by other movement educators I follow.

Hand Massage

First test the range of motion of your wrists by glueing the forearms together and peeling hands apart. Then, find the valleys in between the long bones on the back of the hand. Place your finger tips in the groove with your thumb on your palm. Hold pressure with your finger tips and do your most flamboyant spirit fingers. Repeat in each groove on each hand. Finish up by retesting the range of motion of your wrists and observing any changes.

Joy Stick Thumb Stretch

First, test the range of motion of the thumb as it stretches away from the rest of the hand (ideally, trying to get a right angle between the thumb and middle finger). Then, hold your thumb and circle it like a joystick. After you’ve moved it around a bit, hold the thumb away at a gentle stretch and while actively reaching the rest of the fingers away. You can also do those spirit fingers. Finish up by retesting the range of motion of the thumb as it stretches away from the rest of the hand and observe any changes.

These are also excellent moves to try before doing weight bearing exercise on your hands (like in yoga with plank, quadruped, or downward facing dog). When the hands make full contact with the ground, the load is spread more evenly across the hands, wrists, and forearms. In addition, the way the hand contacts the ground translates to the way the muscles of the shoulder girdle fire. Don’t believe me? Get on all fours and put all your weight on the pinky finger side of the hand and feel what that does to your shoulders. Then try putting on the weight on the index finger side of the hand and see what that does to your shoulders. The hand bone’s connected to the shoulder bone! Or something like that…

Whether or not you’re trying to prevent arthritis, if you’re using your hands in the same ways repeatedly (like on a keyboard or gripping the handles of a bike), consider adding these movements throughout your day to keep your hands and wrists happy, healthy, and pain-free.

This blog post is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. As always, please consult your physician before embarking on a new exercise routine.