Hand arthritis develops due to injury and fracture. Hand arthritis is also known as post-traumatic arthritis. An injured joint is weak and vulnerable to pain and damage. Other different factors also promote hand arthritis, such as:
Overuse of joins or Joint injury:
Overuse or repetitive use of a joint promotes the risk of Osteoarthritis. In this way, joints start to become weaker, and bone easily breaks. Dislocated or broken bones increase the chance of hand osteoarthritis.
Gender:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), women are more prone to develop Osteoarthritis than men, especially after 50 years of age. Also, a medical study of bones and joints in 2017 revealed that the permanent chance of symptomatic Osteoarthritis is more significant among females.
Age:
As joints and bones degenerate over time, senior adults are more prone to hand arthritis.
Cause and Symptoms of hand arthritis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that Osteoarthritis is the widespread form of Osteoarthritis; it affects 32.5 million people worldwide. It develops while the cartilage between joints starts to degenerate with age.
It causes excruciating pain and swelling in the affected hands.
Other symptoms of hand arthritis are:
- Stiffness
- Aching
- Decreased flexibility
- Poor range of motion
- Inflammation & swelling
There are different kinds of arthritis such as psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. All of them are auto-immune disorders where the immune system attacks the cartilage between joints.
Top Seven Hand Exercises to Ease Arthritis Pain
Hand Clench
- Start by stretching all fingers out
- Gradually bend the hand into a fist
- Hold your thumb on the outside of your hand
- Hold this position for 5 seconds, then repeat
- Perform ten reps per day. You have to do it regularly to get relief from hand pain.
Thumb and finger-lift
- Place both hands on a table, body-width apart, and palm down
- Start by lifting your thumb from the table as much as you can and holding it for 5 seconds, then rest
- Repeat it with your index finger, then turn your finger
- When one finger is at an elevated position, please ensure that other fingers remain flat
- Do two times ten reps per day
Thumb stretch
- Keep your palm at a horizontal position, relax all fingers at a neutral position.
- Bend your thumb across the palm. It will touch the bottom of the index finger; if it is hard, then stretch your thumb as much as you can
- Repeat ten times with each hand
Finger & thumb touch
- Make the exact position of your hand as you made previously, bring the tip of the thumb together with all tips should be touched with each other.
- Complete ten sets two times per day on both hands.
Side-to-side wrist bend
- Place forearm flat on the table, with palms of the hands facing down
- Bend wrist as much as possible to left, pause for two seconds, then bend the wrist back to the center
- Practice this movement to the right, pause for two seconds, then move back to the center. It is a complete set
- Complete ten sets twice a day for both hands
Ball Exercises
Many exercises can be performed with a squeeze ball or softball or stress ball or tennis ball. They increase flexibility and boost hand strength.
Here we mention some hand exercises with the ball which will help you build hand strength.
Full Grip:
Do this exercise a couple of times per day, then practice with a one-day interval
- Squeeze a stress ball in your hand as hard as you can
- Release the ball after 5 seconds
- Repeat 10-15 times for each hand
Palm Press:
place a squeeze ball between the palm with the forearm in a vertical position
- Press & hold for a minimum of 3 seconds, then release it
- Repeat ten times
Finger grip:
- Place a stress ball between the tip of a finger and thumb
- Press and hold for 3-5 seconds, then release
- Do this step 10 times with each finger of both hands, take rest for 1 minute in between both hands
Roll to and fro:
- Roll the stress ball from the palm up to each thumb and finger separately, gently stretch each finger
- Roll the ball back down to palm
- Repeat this step 10 times
We have discussed seven effective exercises suggested by certified hand therapy experts to improve hand and finger mobility while you are suffering from hand arthritis. In this condition, only medicine won’t work; you need to dedicate some time to hand therapy exercises to speed up the healing process. It works as a supportive treatment for hand arthritis, wrist pain, and finger osteoarthritis.