Rheumatoid Arthritis: 5 Hand Exercises To Reduce Stiffness & Pain

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints and muscles in your body. Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation, pain, and discomfort in the joints. This discomfort is often prolonged which can cause various other issues in the body and may even affect your mood.

One of the most common body parts that are affected is the hands. Rheumatoid arthritis in the hands is often ignored while treating arthritis. Various medications, foods, and exercises have been posed helpfully in reducing the severity of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. In this article, we discuss some easy-to-follow hand exercises to reduce and relieve pain from your hands' joints.

5 hand exercises to relieve arthritis pain in your hands:

1. Finger bends

Under this technique, you are required to exercise one finger at a time. Open your palms and slowly bend one of your fingers inwards. As if you are folding your finger. Hold this position for 10 seconds and release. Repeat this with all your fingers and your thumbs. This exercise helps reduce stiffness and pain in your finger joints. Repeat at least 5-10 times on each finger and thumb. This exercise is great for people that have to write or type often.

2. Fists

As the name suggests, you are required to make fists of your hands. Try to squeeze your fist in as much as you can. This exercise can help reduce stiffness from various joints in your hands. Make sure to repeat this exercise 4-6 times and hold each fist for at least 10-20 seconds.

3. Wrist rolls

This exercise is a great way to start your workout routine. Lack of flexibility in your wrists can affect the movement and exercises in other parts of your body. For example, you require strength, flexibility, and grip in your wrist and hands while weight training or performing pushups, and so on. Lack of movement in the wrist can cause pain post-workout. To perform this exercise, form your hands into a wrist and hold it straight in front of you. Rotate your fists anti-clockwise (from your wrists) in a circular motion into 20 circles. Repeat clockwise and another 20 rounds. Try this exercise in sets of 2-4.

4. Finger lifts

This exercise focuses on strengthening and bettering your knuckles. To perform this exercise, place your palms flat on a table. Slowly lift one finger at a time, off the table. Hold this stretch for about 10 seconds and perform with each finger and thumb. Perform on both hands into at least 2-3 sets.

5. Gripping stretches

As the name suggests, you are required to practice grip under this exercise. To perform this exercise, you might require a squeezable ball. This ball should be about 4-6 cm big and should fit in your fist comfortably. Now, squeeze this ball for about 10 seconds and release. Alter the intensity of squeezing according to your convenience. Perform into 5 sets on both hands.

In conclusion, proper stretching can help reduce the stiffness and pain in your joints. As we use our hands and fingers actively every day, it is important to exercise them as well along with full-body exercises. Your diet can also help reduce pain and stiffness. A proper diet can boost the efficiency of rheumatoid arthritis medication as well.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.