Getting a grip on arthritic hand pain

Pain free hands are taken for granted as you perform dozens and dozens of tasks throughout your day.  But beware – with age comes a decline not only hand strength but also a possible increase in experiencing hand pain.  This is especially true if you have osteoarthritis.  A study published in 2017 in Arthritis and Rheumatology estimated that the overall lifetime risk of hand osteoarthritis is close to 40 percent, with twice as many women as men developing it.  Obesity also increases this same risk believed to be due to the fact carrying excess weight increases chronic low-level inflammation, a contributor to joint damage.

Hand exercises can be of benefit

You may already exercise your body by walking, swimming, or riding a bicycle. You do that to keep in shape, burn calories and to improve overall health.  But are you also exercising your hands?  Likely not but if you want to improve your chances of living with pain-free hands in the future, learning a few moves to stretch out and improve grip and overall hand strength, you’d be wise to do so. 

If your grip strength has suffered due to painful, arthritic joints, there is good evidence hand exercises can be of significant help.  A 2013 study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, women with hand osteoarthritis who did hand exercises three times a week for three months had reductions in pain, along with improvements in grip strength and hand function.  Another study conducted in a 2017 review by the Cochrane Collaboration of seven studies showed that of the 534 participants in the study who had hand osteoarthritis, found that hand exercises improved joint stiffness, hand pain, hand function, and quality of life.

The exercises specifically performed to enhance hand strength and to reduce pain included rolling fingers into a fist, squeezing a rubber ball, and spreading fingers as wide as possible.

Why does doing exercises for hand be of benefit for these improvements?  Here are the following reasons:

·      Strengthens the muscles around joints to better support them

·      Increases circulation of synovial fluid which helps cushion joints

·      Increases oxygen and nutrients circulating through the joint’s membranes

·      Triggers a process by which cell debris is removed from joints

Give your hands a workout

It may sound silly to exercise your hands but you won’t regret it in the long run. Anyone with arthritis in their hands can use these exercises to find relief and to help with day-to-day activities. 

The best thing about hand exercises is there are several to choose from. Many can be incorporated into your everyday schedule.  Some basic hand exercise “tools” to have on hand include small soft balls, resistance bands, and putty. Hand exercises should be done several times a week and include both high-resistance exercises to improve muscle strength and low-resistance exercises done repeatedly to build endurance as well as flexibility These movements involve moving your hands and fingers through a full range of motion. 

Before starting these exercises it is recommended to ask your physician or a physical therapist to evaluate your specific situation helping to determine the best program for you. 

Here are exercises specifically for developing hand strength and grip strength, and hand flexibility to keep your hands working for years to come:

·      Squeeze putty in the palm of your hand, bending your fingers to press the putty as you create a fist

·      Place a ball of putty between the side of your index finger and thumb and press until the two fingers touch

·      Do a newspaper roll – Place your hand on top of a sheet of newspaper, pulling the paper in with your fingertips until you roll the paper into a ball.

·      Grab a pair of dumbbells, the heavier the better.  Place one in each hand and hold tight as you walk around a room for as long as you can.

·      Do something as simple as lifting a milk carton for several reps every time you take it out or put in back in the fridge

·      Get something squishy or pliable such as a “stress ball,” keeping it handy using it to “grip” throughout the day.  Search for “grip strength tools “ and there is a wide world of options to strengthen your grip