Hand Exercises for Hypertension

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, has relatively few identifiable symptoms, and the condition is treated through changes in one's dietary habits as well as through the use of prescribed medications. Scientists are now revealing, however, that handgrip exercises can be used to help reduce hypertension. The handgrip exercises used are identified as isometric exercises.

Discovery of the Positive Benefits

• At the request of the United States Air Force, the cardiopulmonary physiologist Dr. Ronald Wiley studied how flight pilots could better tolerate G-forces during flight: this study led to the use of handgrips to deal with the forces of gravity during flight. Dr. Wiley also discovered that using handgrips offers a reduction in blood pressure. When isometric exercises are performed, the gripping action intensifies the flow of blood and supports blood flow to the brain so that a pilot does not pass out after being exposed to gravitational forces. Handgrip exercises have positive effects even after the exercises are performed, since the reduced blood pressure becomes an enduring effect.

  In a study of the blood pressure lowering effects of isometric exercise, Maureen J MacDonald PhD, Cheri L. McGowan, Andrew S. Levy, and Neil McCartney discovered that when hand exercises are performed three times a day for an eight-week period, a reduction in blood pressure occurs. The exercises need to be conducted for at least two minutes in four sets.

  Performing the isometric exercises with a hand gripper causes one's systolic pressure to decrease by as much as 15 millimeter of mercury (mmHG), and it can further cause the diastolic pressure to reduce as much as 3 mmHG while an individual is at rest. A hand gripper is a piece of exercise equipment that looks like a nut cracker: the two handles of the device are squeezed together against the resistance the device provides. Hand exercises help improve arm strength, intensify the carotid artery elasticity and improve vasodilatory functioning.

Hand Grip Exercises

• Performing four sets of handgrip exercises three times weekly can improve blood pressure within 56 days time. The exercises can be done at home, at the office, or while on the go. To assess the hand grip for the appropriate resistance, sample the handgrip device for a two minute period by squeezing it and holding it closed as tight as possible. If your hand and arm muscles fatigue, the device is supplying good resistance.

  Several exercises can be conducted to lower blood pressure. The exercises involve opening and closing the handgrip device for a two minute period. Holding the handgrip device closed for a two minute period, tenses the muscles and draws blood to them as they are being worked. Once you release the handgrip device, give yourself time to rest in between repetitions. Repeat the exercises with both hands.

Special Considerations

• People who have a condition related to the mitral valve or those individuals who have an existing aneurysm should not perform hand exercises until they have consulted their physician. It should also be noted that when the isometric exercises are ceased for an eight-week period, the hypertensive condition will return since blood pressure levels slowly return to their pre-exercise state.