If you have questions about a medical condition or this instruction, always ask your healthcare professional. With your other hand, hold your thumb steady just below the joint nearest your thumbnail. Gently bend the tip of your thumb down toward the base of your index finger. Keep your elbows bent. Let's Move. Gentle thumb exercises and stretching may alleviate arthritis symptoms, which include stiffness, limited mobility and pain. Your doctor can recommend more specific exercises for you, or other treatments to help your pain. When arthritis affects the joints of the hands, it can cause pain and stiffness. Other times, it’s just your body doing what it does best: change! Tips for exercising with arthritis from how much to do, to the relationship between arthritis and exercise. Next, bend your thumb across your palm, touching the tip of your thumb to the bottom of your small finger. Hold this position for a few seconds. Place your forearm and hand on a table with your affected thumb pointing up. If you are currently having thumb pain, we do not recommend completing exercises. 1. Bend your thumb down toward your palm. Palm down, keep your hand flat on a table. Bend the tip of your thumb downward, then straighten it. A new FDA program is making it easier to make prescription drugs such as Voltaren available as over-the-counter medications. Medical Review:Adam Husney MD - Family Medicine & E. Gregory Thompson MD - Internal Medicine & Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine. This feeling is all too common for those with one of the most common types of hand osteoarthritis. When To Complete Thumb Exercises. Repeat 10 times. How to test for thumb arthritis. The following exercises are designed to encourage normal movement of the fingers and thumb: 1. Do the exercise 10 times with the left hand. Thumb Arthritis: Exercises. You can do this easy exercise anywhere and anytime your hand feels stiff. Enter S402 in the search box to learn more about "Thumb Arthritis: Exercises". Learn what causes stress and anxiety and how to…. Ice the joint for 5 to 15 minutes several times a day. Repeat 10 times. • Bring thumb across palm, bending both thumb joints. These exercises are helpful for treating arthritis and should be tried. Finally, exercise can increase the production of synovial fluid, which can also improve joint function. Some types of arthritis become increasingly common with age. You may also lose strength in your hands. You want to rest your thumb. Last medically reviewed on August 3, 2018. arthritis in thumb exerciseshow to arthritis in thumb exercises for Meanwhile, rheumatoid arthritis typically affects the hands and feet for 1 last update 2020/12/01 more than anything else. Several of these joints can be simultaneously painful for someone suffering from polyarticular arthritis. Next, move your thumb away from your palm until you feel a stretch or pull. But there are a few ways you can “give” yourself an STI…, Sometimes, loss of sensation is a sign of an underlying condition. Hold each finger for a second or two, and then lower it. Start with your hand in a neutral, relaxed position with your fingers and thumb straightened. Thumb arthritis can cause pain in the thumb joint and is the most common form of osteoarthritis that affects the hands. We usually prescribe these exercises once the swelling has gone down and the thumb is less painful. Coercion, for example, occurs if someone pressures you into having sexual contact that you don't…. Here are the 10…, With a new baby, getting your finances organized might be the last thing on your mind. Hold for up to five Arthritis of the basal joint of the thumb is common in women and rather less common in men. It promotes range of motion for the thumb, lessens stiffness and keeps your thumb flexible. Using the thumb and index finger from your opposite hand, apply firm pressure for 30-seconds to the webbing between your thumb and pointer finger. Curve all of your fingers inward until they touch. Do not pull from thumb tip. © 2005-2020 Healthline Media a Red Ventures Company. Bend& straighten thumb tip only. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Begin by lifting the thumbs off the table as far as is comfortable and holding for 5 seconds, then rest. Stretch for the bottom of your pinky finger with your thumb. Switch hands and repeat steps 1 through 3, even if only one thumb is sore. There are some medicinal options for treating hand arthritis. You will be told when to start these exercises and which ones will work best for you. Although each exercise program must be individualized, stretching the adductor pollicis muscle, isolating and strengthening the first dorsal interosseous muscle, and isometrically strengthening muscles that stabilize the CMC joint are core components. Start with your left hand out and fingers straight. Low-impact exercise is recommended for people with all types of arthritis. Exercise, as part of a comprehensive arthritis treatment plan, can improve joint mobility, muscle strength, and overall physical conditioning, and help you maintain a healthy weight. The exercises may be suggested for a condition or for rehabilitation. Thumb AROM Home Exercise Program Hold each stretch for _____ seconds Repeat _____ times Do ____ times per day • • Use opposite hand to stabilize thumb. You can take oral pain relieving medications. Then straighten your fingers again. Here’s our process. Starting with your thumb, lift each finger slowly off the table one at a time. Open your hand back up until your fingers are straight once again. This type of arthritis affects almost 27 million Americans over the age of 25 and occurs more frequently in women. Hold each exercise for 10 seconds. Bend your thumb downward where it meets your palm, then straighten it. Repeat this exercise a few times a day on each hand. Gently bend the thumb towards the little finger and slowly lift back up to straight. Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. This is any exercise which puts less stress on your joints, and includes activities like swimming or cycling. To exercise your wrist, hold your right arm out with the palm facing down. With your other hand, hold your thumb steady just below the joint nearest your thumbnail. Holding your thumb in the same position, bend the other four fingers inward until your hand makes an “L” shape. Try some of these basic thumb exercises and stretches to reduce arthritis pain. Bend the tip of your thumb downward, then straighten it. Sexually transmitted infections aren‘t like Mary Poppins — they can‘t appear out of thin air. 1 – 6 EXERCISE SUMMARY: Exercise 1: Thumb Circumduction Sets: 1 / Repetition: 15 / Frequency: 3x/day Exercise 2: Thumb abduction Sets: 1 / Repetition: 15 / Frequency: 3x/day Exercise 3: Thumb opposition E. Gregory Thompson MD - Internal Medicine. First, hold your left hand out with all of your fingers straight. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. 2. If you have arthritis it’s very important to remain active as this will improve your health and make your pain better. Trying to get pregnant? Then repeat the entire sequence on the right hand. (You can advance this exercises with rubber band resistance) Thumb Away Exercises. After you’re done with the left hand, repeat the entire sequence with the right hand. 1. Slide show: Hand exercises for people with arthritis PreviousNext1 of 6Thumb stretch Start with your hand in a neutral, relaxed position with your fingers and thumb straightened. The symptoms steadily get worse as the condition progresses. First, hold your left hand up straight. Then, bend your thumb inward toward your palm. Then straighten it. Hold it for a couple of seconds, and then straighten your fingers to move them back into the starting position. This can cause inflammation and irritation of the synovial lining, which produces the synovial fluid that helps protect and lubricate the joint. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. This will look like an "okay" sign, but try to keep your other fingers straight and pointing upward as much as you can. Switch hands and repeat steps 1 through 4, even if only one thumb is sore. If these options don’t work, you may need to have surgery to fix the damaged joint. Exercise #5: Table bend Place the pinky-side edge of your left hand on a table, with your thumb pointed up. Place your forearm and hand on a table with your affected thumb pointing up.