From holding a pen to having a steering car, our hands are one of the most important companions in this life journey. They write, type and cook. There are hundreds of tasks our hands perform.
Let us strengthen our hands with some therapy exercises. This guide will cover some exercises that can strengthen your hands and improve your movements so that you can perform daily activities effectively. Understand the importance of strengthening exercises for hands first.
Why Strengthening Exercises Are Important For Hands?
Hands do so much for us so we must maintain and improve their strength. Here are the reasons why strengthening exercises are important for hands:
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Strengthening hands provide protection and prevent injuries. Strong hands are less prone to injuries like strains and sprains.
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Exercise helps to perform daily activities more effectively. They help in providing flexibility to hands for writing, drawing and typing.
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Enhance the overall functions of hands with stronger muscles. You will be able to perform various tasks effortlessly and effectively.
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Regular hand-strengthening exercises maintain hand health, flexibility and strength. It supports the prevention of age-related hand function problems.
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If you are a person facing issues like arthritis, hand exercises can help improve pain, stiffness and hand functioning.
Your fine motor skills will be improved and you can also feel better if you are suffering from pain and stiffness in your hands. It is like a remedy for your hands and a perfect balance of strong and improved functionality of hands. Now if you are excited to know what exercises you can perform to get these benefits then here are some of the effective hand therapy exercises for strength improvement.
Hand Therapy Exercises: Improve The Strength of Your Hands
These hand therapy exercises are commonly used in hand therapy to improve flexibility, strength and coordination of the wrists, hands and fingers. Hand therapy mainly focuses on restoring or improving hand function. Take a look at these top 5 exercises that you can perform:
Wrist rotations are a good choice for giving your hand more flexibility, reducing stiffness and strengthening the muscles surrounding the wrist. This exercise is good for those who perform repetitive tasks like typing and lifting. If your busy schedule involves using a mouse more often you must perform this exercise. Get prevented from strain and reduce the risk of injuries.
The Procedure To Perform
Begin by stretching your arm forward, keeping your palm facing downward. Slowly rotate your wrist in small circles. Slowly increase the size of rotations. Do this in a clockwise direction for 10–15 seconds. Reverse and rotate counterclockwise for the same duration.
Thumb stretch exercises are beneficial for increasing flexibility and range of motion in the thumb. A person who performs tasks like texting or writing should perform a thumb stretch. It is helpful in reducing tension, pain and stiffness, especially for individuals with conditions like arthritis.
How To Perform
Extend your one hand with fingers straight. With your other hand, gently pull your thumb back to stretch it away from your palm. Hold for 10-15 seconds and release slowly. Practice this exercise 2–3 times for better results.
Full grip exercise helps strengthen muscles in your fingers, palms and wrists. This exercise allows you to perform daily tasks like carrying objects and holding tools effectively. It is also good for reducing hand stress and prevents muscle weakness in the hands. Improve overall hand functionality with full grip exercise.
How You Can Perform
To perform this exercise you need a small ball, stress ball or any soft object in your palm. Apply firm pressure on the object with your fingers and thumb. Hold onto it for 5-10 seconds. Relax your hand after holding. Repeat this exercise for 10-15 times.
Improve grip with finger curls. This exercise is particularly beneficial for improving hand coordination, making tasks like typing, playing instruments and gripping objects easier. If you perform regular finger curls then it can prevent finger stiffness and promote better hand function.
The Procedure
Open your hand with your finger straight. Slowly curl your fingers inward, one at a time, toward your palm until your hand forms a fist. Hold the position for a few seconds then slowly extend your finger back to the starting position. Repeat for 10-15 repetitions.
Thumb Roll
The thumb roll exercise improves thumb flexibility, coordination and strength. This exercise is ideal for improving the thumb’s range of motion, making it easier to perform daily tasks involving writing, texting or gripping. Regular thumb rolls can help you get relief from tension, prevent thumb injuries and improve overall hand and thumb function.
The Procedure
Start by extending your arm in front of you and touch the tip of your thumb to each of your fingers in a circular rolling motion. Perform this for clockwise and counterclockwise direction. Repeat for 10-15 seconds.
Hand therapy exercise is easy and beneficial to perform so start today and get noticeable improvements.
