Whether you’re typing all day or have to do physical labor, it’s likely you’ll experience hand and wrist pain.
The repetitive nature of our everyday lives creates a weakness in our hands and wrists, resulting in an uncomfortable and sometimes painful feeling. If you’re experiencing some discomfort, there are stretches and exercises that can provide some relief.
According to Good RX, a few common causes of hand and wrist pain are carpal tunnel syndrome, stenotic flexor tenosynovitis, arthritis, de quervain’s tenosynovitis and ganglion cysts. Here are four stretches to help ease pain from these conditions.
Tennis ball squeeze
The tennis ball squeeze is perfect for hands and fingers — it’s also a great tool to use if you’re experiencing a stressful situation at work or while driving.
Here’s how to do the tennis ball squeeze:
- Squeeze a tennis ball or stress ball firmly for 5-10 seconds.
- If you don’t have a ball, you can make a fist, squeeze and repeat.
Desk press
The desk press might seem intimidating at first, and it can be uncomfortable. However, it can help relieve pain in the wrist and fingers. The trick to successfully doing this exercise is not to place your palm fully on the surface; instead leave a little room for resistance.
Here’s how to do a desk press:
- Place your hand on top of a desk or table with your fingers facing you.
- Press gently into the desk
- Hold for 5-10 seconds.
Praying hands
While doing the praying hands pose, it’s hard to not let your shoulders raise. To ensure you’re truly working on your pain points, do this exercise slowly.
Here’s how to do praying hands:
- While standing, place your palms together in a praying position. Have your elbows touch each other. Your hands should be in front of your face. Your arms should be touching each other from the tips of your fingers to your elbows.
- With your palms pressed together, slowly spread your elbows apart. Do this while lowering your hands to waist height. Stop when your hands are in front of your belly button or you feel the stretch.
- Hold the stretch for 10-30 seconds, then repeat.
Eagle arms
Much like an eagle pose in yoga, the eagle arm post is good for the upper body. Not only does this help alleviate wrist and hand pain, but it also helps stretch the shoulders, arms and upper back.
Here’s how to do the stretch:
- Extend your arms forward, parallel to the floor.
- Cross your right arm over your left.
- Bend your elbows.
- Move your right arm right and your left arm left. The thumb of your right hand should pass by the little finger of your left. Your palms should be facing each other.
- Resist the urge to lift your shoulders as you lift your arms.
- Repeat on the other side.
These wrist and hand stretches can help with flexibility and pain relief. However, they shouldn’t be used by those who have a previous injury or “ by people with inflammation or serious joint damage unless recommended by a healthcare professional,” said Healthline.
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