The muscles in your hands, like those in the rest of your body, are vulnerable to injury if not properly cared for. So why don’t more people practice daily hand stretching?
Our hands are always moving, whether we’re at work or play. Pain and stiffness can arise from overuse, especially as we become older. If you’re going to be doing a lot of repetitive actions, like typing, you’ll want to warm up your muscles first by stretching them out. Look after your hands by performing the following stretches each day.
1—Wrist Rotations
Flexing and rotating your wrists not only stretches the tendons but also restores the range of motion in the joints. Put your palm down over the side of a chair with arms, resting your forearms and wrists on the chair’s arms. Gently bend your wrists back towards you before lowering your wrists forward again. Repeat 10 times.
To work another set of muscles in your wrists, turn your wrists so that your palms are facing upward. Hold for a second, and then rotate your hands so that the palms are facing down. Perform this exercise 10 times each day to improve the range of motion in your wrists.
2—Pinching
Pinching exercises help increase strength in your hand muscles and tendons. This workout requires a stress ball or putty. Hold it between the tips of your fingers and your thumb and gently pinch. Maintain for up to a minute. Repeat about 10 times each day to improve the strength of your hand muscles.
3—Fingertip Touches
This straightforward workout stretches the fingers’ tendons, keeping them flexible. Touch your thumbs to each of your fingertips in turn, applying a little pressure. Repeat three to four times. It’s super simple to do, and feels good, too!
4—Thumb Circles
Thumb circle exercises maintain the flexibility of your thumb tendons by keeping them loose. Put your thumbs in the “thumbs up” position and slowly spin them in a circle for a few seconds to complete the workout. Swap the direction of the circles (easier said than done!), and repeat for a few seconds. Perform the exercise three to four times, then relax.
5—Hand Flexes
The hand flex exercise elongates and stretches your finger ligaments. To perform it, hold your hands in an upright position and spread your fingers apart. Then, make loose fists with your hands, placing your thumbs on the outside of your fingers. Don’t squeeze hard— your fist must be loose.
Hold this for several seconds, then separate your fingers again. Hold your hands open for several seconds, then do the loose fist again. Perform 5-10 opening and closing sets to warm up your finger ligaments before you begin typing.
Healthy Hands and Wrists
We often forget to give our hands, fingers, and wrists a little loving care, but the exercises to keep them healthy, supple, and mobile are simple to perform and can be done anywhere. Add these exercises into your daily routine, and you’ll find your hand muscles feel looser and less prone to injury.