5 Exercises for hand Pain & Numbness

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December 22, 2021

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Are you suffering from pain, stiffness, or swelling in your hands and find it difficult to perform even the basic daily tasks? It can be because it is overworked or suffering from an underlying ailment. Easy hand exercises that can be done at home have the potential to overcome these woes. Read below to learn more about hand exercise benefits and the hand workouts that you can try to reduce the symptoms.

Hand exercise benefits

Your hands are an important part of the body as they are the most used yet are the most neglected. Like the other parts of the body, it is prone to injuries if not cared for properly. So like you stretch your arms and legs, hands too have to be stretched and strengthened. Hand exercise has a positive effect when you have pain and numbness or a preventive measure to keep them healthy. Some other hand workouts benefits are:

Reduces damage to the joints
Stretches the muscles and reduces injury risk to hand
Brings pain relief
Boosts the circulation of nutrients and oxygen to membranes in the joints and aids in removing cell debris.
Increases blood flow to the muscles and ligaments.
Improves the support to the hand by strengthening the muscles.
Increases flexibility and range of motion.

5 Best Hand Exercise for Relief from Pain And Numbness

An exercise for hand pain provides relief that is chronic or temporary. Here are such workouts that help:

Hand squeeze

This exercise helps in working up the forearm muscles. It is also useful in reducing pain that is caused due to arthritis. If you have arthritis or any other ailment, check with your physician, especially if you are using a handgrip strengthener or a squeeze ball. The benefit of doing this hand exercise is that it gives you the ability to grip and hold things easily. It is also a good exercise for hand numbness.

Take a squeeze ball which is a softball or a ball made of socks.
Place this in one of your palms and squeeze it as much as you can without feeling pain.
Loosen the grip if you are feeling pain.
Hold in the position where you squeeze without pain for 3 to 5 counts and then release.
Do the same using the other palm.
Repeat 10 to 12 times on each palm.
It is essential to take a break of at least two days before you repeat this hand workout.

2. Wrist extension and flexion

Many people, especially women, feel wrist pain while lifting heavy objects or while doing exercise. This can be felt even while doing household chores. A stretching exercise like the wrist extension and flexion done one after the other can decrease this discomfort and also improve flexibility.

Wrist Extension to work on the inner forearm muscles

Hold your arms straight at shoulder height so that it is in front of your body.
While stretching the arm, take care not to lock the elbow.
Using one of your wrists, make a stop sign.
Try to gently bend that wrist backward using the other palm until you feel the inner forearm stretch.
Hold in this position for 15 seconds.
Repeat this on the other wrist.
Start with five reps on each wrist before you increase it.
Do this exercise regularly every day of the week for as many as four times a day.

Wrist flexion

This is an exercise that works on the outer forearm muscles.

Start with your arms at shoulder height and in front of the body.
Ensure that the elbow is not locked.
Bend one of the wrists downwards with the fingers towards the floor.
Use the other hand to pull down the wrist until there is an outer forearm switch.
Repeat, on the other hand.

Perform both of these free hand exercises as a warmup before doing any lifting or gripping activity. These are ideal exercises for hand fat reduction too.

Finger stretch and lift exercise

Now that the wrists have got a nice stretch, it is time to concentrate on the fingers. By doing the finger stretch regularly, you can see an increase in the flexibility of the fingers and an improvement in your hands’ range of motion. In addition, this is a great exercise for hand numbness that can be done anywhere you feel the need and even while cooking dinner.

Place your hand on a flat surface like a table with the palm facing down.
Spread the fingers so that the palm is in full contact with the flat surface.
Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute to get a full stretch.
Now gently lift and hold every finger, including the thumb, for 2 to 3 seconds.
Repeat the same on the other hand for ten reps on each hand.

2. Median Nerve Glide

A median nerve is a major nerve of the hand and forearm called the ‘eye of the hand’. It provides motor innervation to the forearm and hand flexor muscles. This hand exercise is done to stretch and remove any compression of the median nerve.

Wrap all your fingers on your hand to form a fist but keep the thumb outside.
Unwarp the fingers and stretch it straight out with the thumb on the side.
Now bend the hand backward gently with the thumb stretched to the side.
Using the other hand apply slight pressure to stretch the thumb.
In each position, hold for about 3 to 5 seconds.
Repeat the hand exercise on the other side.

This exercise for hand pain can be done 10 to 15 times a day and all days of the week.

Tight fist

This home workout helps in bringing stress relief to the wrist and also strengthens the fingers. It can also be done before and after an upper body workout which involves a lot of arm, shoulders, and chest exercises.

Bend your forearm so that it forms a 90-degree angle.
Hold your arms so that the palms face the ceiling.
Bend the fingers, make a fist and clench it. Hold it for 5 seconds.
Unclinch and extend your fingers to have a full stretch of the fingers.
Repeat this for ten reps of 3 sets each.

Hand exercise helps prevent pain that happens due to everyday repetitive movements and strengthens them. However, if there is persistent pain, it needs to be looked at by a doctor who may advise treatment and hand exercise at home.

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