Hands are the essential body parts that perform countless jobs for us, but what happens if our hands and fingers get injured? Most of us come across hand injury at least once in our lifetime, and we all know how frustrating it is! Even it is potentially debilitating. It is because both of our hands get engaged in our day-to-day activities. Thus, losing hand strength because of hand injury or arthritis is painful. Without healthy hands and fingers, we can’t even do simple regular tasks such as cooking, washing clothes, opening the door or lid of the container. Hand pain throws you towards a series of challenges. That’s why we put together some effective rehabilitation exercises to overcome the injury pain quickly. These rehabilitation exercises are simple yet effective; you don’t need to buy expensive equipment.
Hand therapists recommend these exercises and ask their patients to do them regularly at home for fast recovery. It not only helps you recover from hand injury but also improves hand and finger strength, dexterity, and range of motion of the wrist. Suppose you regularly perform the below-mentioned hand strengthening exercise. In that case, it will prevent and reduce the severity of the conditions, including Carpal tunnel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis in the hand and wrist.
Simple and Effective Hand, Finger Rehabilitation Exercise After Injury
Here we will discuss simple at-home exercise that promotes healing from pain and boosts the range of motions of your forearm muscle, wrist, and finger joints.
So, let’s jump into the topic. Start with Simple stretching for warm-up.
Make a Fist
- Make a gentle fist by wrapping your thumb through your fingers
- Then hold this hand posture for a minimum of 30 seconds, maximum of 1 minute
- Then gradually release and stretch your fingers as much as you can
- Do it with both hands for a minimum of four times
Grip strengthening exercise
We often lose our grip strength after a hand injury. This exercise is specifically designed for regaining your holding capacity.
- Take a softball, hold it into your palm and squeeze it with your full potential
- Hold it for a few seconds and then release
- Repeat this squeezing step 10-15 times with both hands.
4.You need to perform this exercise two to three times a week, but don’t forget to rest your hands for a minimum of 48 hours in between two sets of exercise. If you experience pain, then stop it.
Pinch Strengthener
This exercise is specially designed for strengthening finger muscle and thumb after injury. Here is how you’ll start
- Take a small putty or foam ball, and pinch them in between the tips of your thumb and fingers.
- Hold it for a minimum of 30 seconds, maximum of 1 minute.
- Repeat this pinching 10-15 times for each hand. For rehabilitation, you need to do these two to three times a week rest your hands a minimum of 48 hours in between two sessions. If you want to increase pinching ability, do this regularly.
- We do not recommend this exercise if your thumb joint gets injured.
Finger Lift
This exercise is particularly developed to enhance the range of motion and flexibility of your fingers
- Place your hand flat on a table or smooth surface at palm down posture
- Then gradually lift one finger at a time from the table, then lower it gently
- If you have less time, then lift all your fingers at an instance and then thumb at another instance
- Repeat this hand exercise eight to twelve times on each hand
Rehabilitation exercise dedicated to your injured wrist
Wrist Extension and Flexion
Wrist exercise is not only for rehabilitation but also promotes dexterity.
- Start with your forearm on a table
- Let your hand hang off from the table, the palm will be at the down position
- Then move your hand up and down
- Next, gradually bend your wrist
- Do this same exercise while palm facing up.
Wrist Stretch
- Make your fingers interlaced.
- Then gradually bend your injured wrist backward and make a smooth stretch there. Hold this posture for 20-30 seconds, then release
- Repeat this with the wrist at forwarding direction
At rehabilitation, movement and repetition are essential because it will help you regain the range of motion and rewire the brain via neuroplasticity, which eventually enhances hand functionality.
How does Squegg help their patients in their hand strengthening journey?
Squegg helps their patients during their rehabilitation period. They help them to regain their gripping strength with an ergonomic hand grip trainer. This ultra-modern equipment helps them to assess the improvement of hand condition. Patients can track grip strength by integrating the Squegg application with their smartphones.
Here they just have to connect the squegg to the application via bluetooth, and be ready for measuring the grasping ability , grip count, and also the progress.