Your hand is one of the most used parts of your body. It is necessary for most movements that require fine motor coordination, like painting, drawing, typing, and threading a needle. While the hands can handle carrying heavy weights and regular daily use, they can become inflamed or fatigued if used excessively. In our modern world, we do a lot of repetitive work with our hands which can lead to repetitive strain issues like osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or tendonitis.
That is why you need to prioritize the health of your hands. One way to do this is by regularly exercising the muscles on your hands to relieve tension and prevent strain.
In this article, you will learn about hand exercises and how to correctly use them to improve your hands’ strength.
What is a Hand Exercise?
Hand exercises are simple yet effective movements that you do to ease tension in the muscles on the hands and wrist. It is a great way to make your hands stronger and keep them from getting hurt. Even if you don’t spend most of your day typing, handling money, or using tools, it's still important to have hands that work well. When your muscles are weak from overuse, or you don't use them enough, it increases your risk of injury. Hence it would help if you did hand exercises for better hand strength and to improve the muscles that support them.
What is the best practice for a healthier hand?
Anything you do to improve your health will help keep your hand healthy too. Sleeping well, eating nutritious foods, and engaging in physical activities are good ways to ensure your entire body is healthy. However, there are certain exercises that you can do to target and improve the strength of your hand muscles, which will make them healthier. Some of these exercises include:
Wrist bend
To start, you should stretch your arm out in front of you so that your fingers point down. Pull the fingers toward the body gently from the back of the hand. Hold here, then switch sides and do it again.
Prayer stance
This stretch will help both your fingers and your wrists get more flexible. To do it, you need to bring your hands to the middle of your chest in a prayer pose. Put pressure on each one by gently pushing them against each other. In this position, it's important to make sure that your shoulders are relaxed and that your forearms are straight.
Palm release
This exercise helps to improve flexibility in the palms. To start, you should put your hand down on a level surface and elevate one of your fingers (starting with the little finger). Wait for three seconds, then turn it down. Repeat this process with each finger. You should perform the exercise between eight and twelve times with each hand.
Thumb flex
This exercise helps you avoid developing pain in the thumb area, which is prone to discomfort nowadays due to the prevalence of smartphone use. To begin, you should move as though you are trying to flatten your hand, then move your thumb to the base of your other finger. You should hold your thumb still for about 30 to 60 seconds. The exercise should be performed five times on each hand.
Downward prayer stance
In this fourth exercise, you'll do a position similar to the prayer stance, but the other way around. This time, you should touch the backs of your hands so that your fingers are down and hold that position without using force. Also, make sure your forearms are straight to stretch your wrists.
Wrist release
To start, you need to put your hand in a tight fist and move your hands in clockwise and counterclockwise motions. You should try doing this exercise for one to two minutes at least once daily. Also, make sure you squeeze tightly to increase the intensity of your workout.
Ball massage
A massage is a great way to relieve tension on your hands. One easy way to achieve this is to massage with ball. You can choose to use a stress ball or massage balls; either is fine. Also, you can use a massage ball spiky instead of a smooth massage ball to increase the intensity of your exercise. To begin, you should place the ball in the palm of your hand and squeeze it hard for five seconds. Let go, wait five more seconds, and do the move again for about fifteen sets.
Note about hand exercise
Experts say that you can do these hand exercises at home, work, or anywhere you feel comfortable. The exercises can also be done while standing or sitting. Most importantly, you should make sure that your shoulders are relaxed while doing these exercises. This ensures that there isn't any movement compensation that might strain your shoulder muscles.
Why is it important to stretch your hands?
Stretching is an important aspect of all exercise routines, including hand exercises. Doing a stretch before and after a workout helps prevent muscle injury. This makes stretching an important aspect of keeping your hand healthy. Also, experts say that wrist stretching helps to lower the risk of inflammation of the tendons and muscles in the surrounding area.
You can start stretching by putting your hand up in front of you with the palm facing forward. Pull the fingers, including the thumb, toward the body with your second hand. Hold this pose for 20 or 30 seconds and take a deep breath. Now change sides and do it again. Make sure you do not exclude the thumb while doing this workout and avoid applying excessive force. You should perform the movement four times with each hand for optimal benefit. In addition, you can try a massage with ball to improve the effectiveness of your hand stretch routine.
Can hand exercises help hand pain?
Pain in the hands is common and often occurs due to stress caused by excessive repetitive movement of the hands. Such pain can range from mild discomfort to severe pain.
For mild cases, experts say that doing hand exercises can ease pain by relieving muscle tension. Exercise can also help you get a better grip, reducing your risk of hand problems like carpal tunnel syndrome. You can also take over-the-counter painkillers or use other pain relievers to further ease your hand pain.
However, if the pain in your hands persists, you should see a doctor for a proper diagnosis.
Conclusion
Hand exercises are not as common as other types of physical movements. But there are vital for helping to improve the health of your hands. Doing hand exercises can help you prevent strain, ease pain, strengthen your hands, and improve flexibility. These exercises are easy to do and take less than a minute to complete. So, you should make it a priority to incorporate hand exercises into your daily routine. Doing this will improve your hand health and help you prevent serious hand-related injuries.
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