Gong for the hands?

[Yi Tao]

Use of technology is destroying my hands. Especially my left hand. Last week, after some extreme stress, my left pinky and ring finger started to complain: numb, fatigue, sore, and ache. They are still bothering me occationaly. Either they haven't returned to normal, or I'm just starting to pay attention.

 

Any ideas for hand rehabilitation?

[Trunk]

Any ideas for hand rehabilitation?

1. Wrist rotations. (Most fun, effective, when done synchronus with ankle rotations. Takes some practice.)

 

2. Massage between the metacarpals, searching for and massaging tender points. That is, start between the knuckles of the pinky & ring fingers, and follow the groove up the back of your hand. Similarly for each of the fingers, including thumb. Also massage between the radius and ulna, near the wrist.

 

3. Stretch your fingers & palm out like a rubber band, part way, then relax. Repeat. Activates the tendons.

[turbo]

This guy has products that can rehabilitate your manual dexterity.

 

These guys take a different approach, mainly strengthening, to the hands.

 

Either of these would probably be beneficial.

[Taomeow]

Use of technology is destroying my hands. Especially my left hand. Last week, after some extreme stress, my left pinky and ring finger started to complain: numb, fatigue, sore, and ache. They are still bothering me occationaly. Either they haven't returned to normal, or I'm just starting to pay attention.

 

Any ideas for hand rehabilitation?

 

Get a couple of those ubiquitous Chinese musical balls and make a habit of playing with them whenever you're doing nothing else with your hands. Become proficient. Get a set with instructions for various exercises you can do in addition to the simple rotations.

 

Flick your hand open-close open-close a hundred times as fast as you can. (You won't be able to do a hundred repetitions right away, it's the goal for later. Later, do a thousand!)

 

Learn and practice the mudras (yoga for the hands).

 

Make sure you are getting enough magnesium and B vitamins in your diet.

[lotusbud]

There's a cool Bikram's yoga posture where (lying on your front) you supponate your palms flat under your body and try to touch your elbows, effectively crushing your wrists, hands and arms under your body weight. Then with your mouth on the floor you do a backwards leg lift. When over you rest. It cuts off circulation and then "whoosh" flushes everything out.

It's extreme and not really anything I would do a lot outside of a full hot yoga session.

 

Repetitive stress injuries are often when the blood that usually cleans up the waste from the effort doesn't get there anymore. The crap builds up and then the body says "yikes what's all this crap doing here!' and it attacks.

 

Go climbing on the monkey bars more often.

[Trunk]

Get a couple of those ubiquitous Chinese musical balls and make a habit of playing with them whenever you're doing nothing else with your hands. Become proficient. Get a set with instructions for various exercises you can do in addition to the simple rotations.

Good idea!

They're called "bao ding balls" or simply "Chinese exercise balls".

 

[voice]

A problem in the hands is probably due to compression in the shoulders, which is due to an asymmetry of the spine, which is due to...a web of compensations spun through your body due to a life of western living.

 

If the above rings true, look up a Feldenkrais practicioner and prepare to have your world rocked.

[mYTHmAKER]

Try to see exactly what is causing your problem.

Check your posture while you are doing what ever you are doing as you haven't been specific.

Look for tensions and areas that are being pressed by leaning, holding, etc.

Also see if you are agrevating it when you sleep.

If it's carpel tunnel you might try using a brace of some sort while you sleep, if that is the case,

temporarily to allow it to rest and heal.

[Treena]

I agree with everyone, but with Voice most of all.

 

A quick way to relieve the numbness in the fingers is to do some trigger point release. The likely culprits are the scalenes, the rotators perhaps teres major, minor, or infraspinatus, the lats, the pecs, the forearm muscles, and finally the muscles in the palm of the hand between the bones. Could be one, all, a combination.

 

Trigger point release may not ultimately realign you like Feldenkrais will, but it will be a quick fix.

 

Cheap good book on topic, Clair Davies The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook.

[GrandTrinity]

You might want to get the video "pyramid mudra" from qigongmaster.com

 

I know it will fix you right up!...