Guest post by Praveen Singh
If you want to live a healthy and active lifestyle, then you have to take care of your hands because the hand, wrist, and fingers are the key components that give you an excellent gripping ability, Grip strength allows you to do almost everything and lead an independent life. Without a strong grip, it is difficult to perform simple tasks such as turning the door or dressing or opening a bottle lid. Therefore, grip strength is essential for athletes and everyday citizens.
Following certain illnesses and conditions such as hand injuries, arthritis or stroke, sufferers begin losing their ability to hold. In these situations, hand therapy can help those suffering from these conditions.
1. Power Grip
This exercise for hands can help you build your grip. It is a method of being able to hold objects more easily to pick them up, and then let them go. By holding a ball in a tight position, you focus on the flexor muscle and increase the capacity to grab any object. It is also important for you to learn how to release the ball which is a target for the extensor muscles. This grip strength exercise alleviates tension, joint pain and anxiety.
2. Table rolling
The ball is rolled from your fingertip towards the palm. Table roll hand therapy is primarily focused on hand-hand coordination. It doesn’t focus much on boosting grip strength. Use a hand therapy ball, set it in the center of your table and then place your hand on the top. Next, come back to a natural position with a relaxed posture. Move the ball from the bottom of your palm until the fingers end.
Inadequate or excessive pressure makes the ball more difficult to move. Therefore, it is important to use moderate pressure to allow the table roll to be productive on your hand.
3. Wrist Stretch (Set Three)
The wrist is an important part of your forearm. Thus, you need to make them stronger.
Start with something simple. Sit on your knees, then place both of your hands on the floor in front of your body.
Hold your knee using your fingertips. Take a deep breath, and hold your breath for 30 seconds. Then turn your hand around so that the upper part of your hand remains on the ground, with your fingers facing forward. Inhale again, and continue to hold your breath for 30 minutes. This is the complete wrist stretch.
Basic wrist stretching:
- Take an armchair on the table
- Place your arm and elbow on the table and hang your hand from the table’s edge and the palm of your hand must be facing up.
- Start by placing your hands in a straight and neutral posture.
- Bend hands in such a way, fingers must be pointed upward direction.
- Keep this posture for 5 seconds
- Return to straight, the neutral position
- Repeat the 10 times
- Perform these three times in a day.
Wrist Flex and Extend
- Hold both arms straight towards you Keep your wrist and hands straight. Your palm should face downwards.
- Bend your wrist downwards until all your fingers are directed towards the floor
- Use a different hand to help increase the stretch, pulling slowly all your fingers towards your body.
- Keep this hand posture for 15-30 seconds
- Return to a neutral posture in which your wrist is straight and your palm down
- Bend your wrist upwards to make sure that all your fingers are pointed towards the ceiling. Then, use your other hands to slowly pull your fingers back to the side.
- Repeat the procedure 10 times a day.
Wrist Curl
- Sit or stand in an exact place
- Next, hold 1 pound of weight
With your elbows in front of you, lift your lower arm, so that your arm forms an L-shape. The lower part of your arm must correspond with the ground.
Start with the wrist straight, uninvolved and your palm in the downward direction.
- Next bend your wrist up
- The comet occurs at the neutral straight position.
Repeat these 10 times
- Repeat these three times in a day.
5. Thumb-Tap
You can practice this exercise regularly to improve the flexibility and strength of your fingers and thumbs and increase their flexibility. Your hands should be straight towards you. Simply rub the thumb’s point to the point of your index finger to form an oval-shaped shape. Continue to hold the position until you’ve got 30 seconds. You need to do this 4 times a day for a better result.
6. Squeezing can help build your Finger Strength
The Soft Foam Ball is a great way to build up the connective tissues and muscles inside your hands and fingers. You can choose the more robust and durable ball in case you’re concerned that you squeeze the ball too fast.
If you press the harder ball, you’ll improve the strength of your grip. You can make it more durable by switching between foam softballs and tennis balls that have been inflated, or rubber balls. One can use a grip strengthener, instead of a squeeze ball for quick output.