Exercises to Make Hands Healthy & Strong

Building strength in your hands is important--particularly if you have experienced a hand injury and are attempting to rebuild the strength in your hand. Extreme stretches or exercises do not need to be done to make hands healthy and strong, but consistent work should be done to promote hand health.

Strength-Building Exercises

• The exercises associated with making hands strong are not intense. One of the best exercises simply includes you opening and closing your hand. Although there is no resistance offered with this exercise, it makes the hand muscles go through the movements needed for healthy use.

  In order to make this exercise more difficult and more efficient at building strength, hold a tennis ball and open and close your hand around it. A tennis ball is the best kind of ball to use because it easily fits into a hand and because its elasticity allows you to squeeze and feel resistance.

  A slightly more intense kind of this exercise can be done by purchasing and using a hand grip. Hand grips can be found in many sporting goods stores. These grips are built to fit your hands and are hard to squeeze; therefore, they are efficient at providing resistance and building strength.

Healthy Stretches

• There are a number of stretches that can be done to keep fingers and hands flexible and healthy. One of the exercises that are done to promote healthy hands includes you simply putting your hand up in front of you with the palm facing away from you. Use your other hand to gently but firmly pull back and hold your index finger. Do this stretch on both hands. After stretching the index fingers is completed, pull back on all four fingers. Do this stretch on one hand, and then repeat on the next. Pulling back all of the fingers at the same time stretches the palm and decreases the risk of cramping in this area of the hand.

  You can also do some repetitions of opening and closing your hands to make a fist. When you close your hand, place your fingers on top of the thumb. When you open the fist, stretch your fingers out wide so that they are all stretching in five different directions.

  You also can place your hands together as if you were praying. Extend your elbows and push on your right hand with your left hand, and vice versa. Keep your hands together and gradually move your arms downward. This stretch will be felt on the wrists and on the sides of your fingers.