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Seniors and Hand Arthritis Exercises

Arthritis can have a devastating effect on hand joints, crippling and disfiguring your fingers and their ability to function. Pain is also a common symptom of arthritis and may be debilitating and cause further loss of function. Exercises for seniors with arthritis may help alleviate pain and allow the fingers to regain a certain level of function, reports the Mayo Clinic.

  1. Finger Bends

    • Start by completely relaxing your hands. Straighten out your fingers so that your hand is straight as in a karate chop, fingers together, pointing upwards. Slowly bend your fingers inwards towards your palms, bending your fingers at their middle joint. Your fingertips should just be touching the upper part of your palm. Keep your palm straight during this exercise--you should only be bending your fingers. Do this exercise with both hands and try to do several repetitions with each hand; do as many as are comfortable.

    Make a Fist

    • Start off by opening your hand as if you are going to give someone a "high-five," palms facing forward, hand held up. Next, bring your fingers inward to make a tight fist with your thumb on the outside. Open up the hand again and repeat this motion several times with both hands.

    Spreading and Closing the Fingers

    • Start by putting your hand into a high-five position, with the fingers separated. Next, close your fingers together into a karate chop position, fingers closed. Repeat this exercise for several repetitions if possible.

    Touch your Fingertips

    • Start off with your hand open in the high-five position and bring your thumb forward in front of your palm. Next, lower your index finger and bring up your thumb slightly to touch them together. Do this one finger at a time. Touch your thumb to your index finger, middle finger, ring finger and then little finger. Do this either with one hand at a time or both together. You can also change the order of which fingers you touch together to create some diversity in the exercise. This exercise will help strengthen the individual fingers.

    Warning

    • Stop these exercises if you experience excessive pain, and seek advice from your physician.

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