Help with arthrosis: 8 simple exercises for fingers and palms

A set of exercises for fingers

The main causes of pain in the joints of the fingers include overwork, illness or injury. If pain is felt in the joints of the fingers, appropriate measures must be taken immediately. First, it is better to consult a specialized doctor: a traumatologist, a neurologist or a surgeon. Regular finger training and palm exercises develop strength, improve joint mobility, and relieve pain.

• Exercise Fist

Straighten and stretch your fingers, feel the tension in your muscles and joints. There should be no pain. Start with a simple stretch: make a fist with your fingers and place your thumb on top of your other fingers. Hold for 30-60 seconds. Then unclench your fist and straighten your fingers, spreading them wide. Repeat at least 4 times for each hand.

• Exercise Finger stretching. Use this exercise to relieve pain and improve joint mobility

Place your hand, palm down, on a flat surface. Gently straighten your fingers, placing them on the surface, without forcing or straining the joints. Hold for 30-60 seconds, then relax, returning to the starting position. Repeat at least 4 times for each hand.

• Exercise Claws. This exercise develops finger mobility:

Place your hand in front of you with your palm facing you. Bend your fingers so that your fingertips rest on the base of your knuckles. The hand should look like a clawed paw. Hold for 30-60 seconds. Repeat at least 4 times for each hand.

• Exercise Grip. An exercise to develop your grip, helps you handle door handles and hold objects.

Take a soft ball and squeeze it as hard as you can. Hold for a few seconds, then release. Repeat 10-15 times for each hand. Perform this exercise 2-3 times a week, with an interval between them (at least 48 hours). Do not perform this exercise if your thumb joints are injured.

• Exercise Pinch

The exercise develops the muscles of the fingers. This helps with handling keys, opening packages, and gassing up the car. Pinch the soft ball between your thumb and one of your other fingers. Hold for 30-60 seconds. Repeat 10-15 times for each hand. Perform this exercise 2-3 times a week, with an interval between them (at least 48 hours). Do not perform this exercise if your thumb joints are injured.

• Exercise Finger Raising. The exercise develops joint mobility and finger flexibility.

Place your hand, palm down, on a flat surface. Take turns lifting your fingers and placing them back on the surface. You can lift all your fingers at once. Repeat 10-12 times for each hand.

• Exercise Thumb abduction. The exercise develops the muscles of the thumbs, helping to better cope with gripping and lifting things, such as cans and bottles.

Place your hand, palm down, on a flat surface. Use a rubber band to secure your palm and thumb together. Move your thumb to the side, overcoming the resistance of the elastic band. Hold for 30-60 seconds, relax. Repeat 10-15 times for each hand. Perform this exercise 2-3 times a week, with an interval between them (at least 48 hours).

• Exercise Thumb Flexion. The exercise develops the mobility of the thumbs.

Place your hand in front of you, palm up. Move your thumb to the side. Then bend your thumb toward your palm so that it touches the base of your little finger. Hold for 30-60 seconds, relax. Repeat at least 4 times for each hand.

• Exercise Thumb Touch. The exercise develops the mobility of the thumbs, helps you better cope with brushing your teeth with your cheek, eating with a fork and spoon, and writing with a pencil and pen.

Place your hand in front of you, wrist straight. Touch each finger with your thumb in turn, forming an "O" shape. Hold for 30-60 seconds, relax. Repeat at least 4 times for each hand.

• Exercise Thumb Stretching. Two stretching exercises for the thumbs.

Place your hand in front of you with your palm facing you. Bend your thumb towards your index finger. Hold for 30-60 seconds, relax. Repeat at least 4 times for each hand. Place your hand in front of you with your palm facing you. Pull your thumb over your palm, using the lowest knuckle. Hold for 30-60 seconds, relax. Repeat at least 4 times for each hand.

Methods and periods of exercise therapy

Complexes of physical therapy depend on the stage of development of the disease and the physical characteristics of the patient.

The group method of preventive physical education takes place under the supervision of a therapist in specialized rooms. There are up to 10 people in a group.

The advisory method is used during the period of stable remission after a course of treatment. In this case, a patient with arthritis of the fingers and hands can do physical exercises at home. This approach requires periodic visits and examination by a rheumatologist.

The third method is individual training. This type of gymnastics is suitable for patients with complications in the last stages of the disease.

Gymnastics are prescribed by a rheumatologist, with the selection of an individual system for each patient.

All methods of exercise therapy are divided into 3 periods:

1. The first stage is to prepare the joints for stress. Exercises are performed for 10 minutes for 2-3 days.
2. At the main stage, the arm muscles and joint tissues are strengthened. Gymnastics are performed for 15–20 minutes for two weeks.
3. The final period lasts up to 5 days before discharge; at this stage, the set of exercises that the patient will perform at home is finally determined.

Water gymnastics

Hydrokinesitherapy - therapeutic exercises in a pool with thermal water very effectively relax the joints of the whole body, including the upper limbs.

Water gymnastics for hand joints with arthritis effectively helps in the fight against rheumatic arthritis. Warm water relieves pain and muscles relax because in water the body does not feel its weight. This type of gymnastics is suitable even for patients with severe disabilities.

For arthritis of the joints of the hands and fingers, hand movements performed while swimming have a beneficial effect.

It is also effective to perform exercises by immersing yourself in water in a standing position. You can make circular movements with your shoulder and wrist joints, move your fingers up and down and rotate them.

It is not recommended to resort to water diseases for patients with allergies to chlorine, open wounds and ulcers, sexually transmitted diseases, inflammation of the throat, eyes and ears.

Recommendations for gymnastics

The effectiveness of hand and finger exercises for rheumatoid arthritis can be determined by the reduction in stiffness of movement.

To achieve maximum effect, you should perform the exercises systematically, adhering to the advice and recommendations of rheumatologists and methodologists.

General recommendations for exercise therapy:

1. You need to start gymnastics with a warm-up. Before starting exercise, it is better to drink an analgesic, this will relax your joints and make training easier.
2. If you feel stiffness in your movements, pre-warm your joints with a heating pad or hand bath.
3. Movements should be performed smoothly, without sudden movements or effort. Do each 5-7 times.
4. The number of exercises performed depends on your capabilities. The duration of classes is about 20 minutes per day.
5. The optimal time for gymnastics is the middle of the day; training at night is not recommended.
6. It is recommended to repeat physical exercises up to 8 times a day - you do not need to create specific conditions to do exercises.
7. You can train your joints anywhere and anytime. It is important to regularly perform therapeutic exercises for your fingers.
8. Physical therapy should not cause discomfort. If painful sensations appear, you should not continue to perform these movements until consulting a doctor.
9. It is advisable to do a short warm-up in the morning, but the rest of the time the patient decides when to exercise.

Types of disease:

Arthrosis of the hands, depending on the localization of the process, can be divided into two forms:

• Nodular. This pathology is characterized by the formation of nodular thickenings with bone density on the interphalangeal joints of the fingers (distal and proximal). Damage to the distal joints is called Heberden's nodes, and the proximal joints are called Bouchard's nodes.
• Rhizarthrosis, which affects the base of the thumb. The cause of this form of the disease is damage to the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb, as well as the metacarpophalangeal joint.

Arthrosis of the wrist joint may also occur, but this phenomenon is quite rare in clinical practice. In most cases, it is caused by injury (dislocation or fracture).