Exercises to use for finger arthritis in Creve Coeur, MO

what is good for arthritis pain

Do you wake up with stiff, aching hands? Are your hands achy after you use them a lot? These symptoms could be early signs that you’re developing finger arthritis. Some other signs you might notice are swelling and stiffness. If you’re in the Creve Coeur, Missouri, area, there are physical therapists who can help you treat all these symptoms. Some physical therapy techniques that can be very helpful are therapeutic exercises. Here are two exercises that can be useful for treating early signs of finger arthritis: 

1.   Four-way wrist stretch

It’s important to stretch the wrists when you have early signs of finger arthritis since the same structures that run through your wrist continue into your hands and fingers. An easy exercise that can give your wrist a good stretch is the four-way wrist stretch. 

Steps for the four-way wrist stretch

  • Support your forearm — Before starting this stretch, you’ll want to support your forearm so that you can concentrate on stretching the wrist. You can use almost any flat surface, such as a tabletop, as a support, but your wrist and hand should be over the edge of the surface. This will give you move your wrist through its entire range of motion. 
  • Stretch it up and down — Once your arm is comfortably positioned, slowly move your wrist down toward the ground as far as you can. Then, hold this position for one to two seconds before curling the wrist upward as far as you can. Continue to move between these positions until you’ve stretched the wrist up and down 10 to 15 times. 
  • Stretch it side to side — Bring your wrist back to a neutral position and then move it to the right to stretch the left side of your wrist. After holding the stretch for a second or two, slowly move your wrist to the left to stretch the other side of your wrist. Repeat these movements until both sides of your wrist have been stretched 10 to 15 times. 

2.   Ball squeeze

After your wrist is warmed up, you can move on to strengthening exercises. These are intended to strengthen the muscles, ligaments and tendons in the hands and fingers, which can provide greater support to arthritic finger joints. One strengthening exercise your physical therapist might recommend is the ball squeeze. 

How to do the ball squeeze exercise

  • Find an appropriate ball — As the name of the exercise suggests, you’ll need some type of ball to do this hand exercise. It’s important to choose a ball that’s hard enough to challenge you but not so hard that you increase your arthritis pain. Most therapists recommend using a stress ball or tennis ball for this exercise. 
  • Squeeze the ball — Grab the ball you’ve chosen in your right hand and then squeeze it as hard as you can without causing pain in your fingers. Try to hold the squeeze for three to five seconds before resting for a few seconds. Continue to repeat these steps until you’ve done about 30 seconds of squeezing total with your right hand. Then, switch to your left and do likewise. 

 Find out how Excel Sports & Physical Therapy in Creve Coeur can help with finger arthritis

Physical therapy can help treat the symptoms of finger arthritis and slow the progression of the disease. Our team at Excel Sports & Physical Therapy in Creve Coeur can help you work toward these goals. We perform free screenings that can help people learn how far their arthritis has progressed. Our team also has experience creating personalized arthritis treatment plans, which might include therapy methods such as: 

Are you ready to start getting our help with your arthritis symptoms? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.