The hand is one of the most complex parts of the human body due to its dexterity. The small muscles of the hand are modified to do so many activities.
When these muscles and joints of the hand are left in a state of inactivity for more than two weeks, stiffness begins to set in.
It’s important to start physiotherapy of the hand muscles as soon as is practically possible to prevent the above sequelae and also to help you easily transition back into a pre-injury state.
In this article, I will briefly mention a few simple exercises you can do after hand surgery to allow range of motion into your fingers and encourage recovery.
Exercises for your fingers after surgery.
Before we jump into it, it’s important to note that while doing these exercises, you should not be feeling pain therefore you should stop when you start to feel pain.
1. Stretch your fingers.
With your palm lying on a flat surface, Extend out your fingers. Hold for 5 seconds and relax. Repeat this 10 times.
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2. Make a fist.
This will involve you bending your fingers around your thumb. Making a fist helps strengthen your hand muscles and also improves the blood flow to your hands.
Hold for 5 seconds and relax. Repeat this 10 times.
3. Claw hand.
This is different from making the fist. You just bend your fingers so that they touch the joints at your palm.
It helps increase the range of movement in your fingers. Hold for 5 seconds and relax. Repeat this 10 times.
4. Finger lifting
Do this by placing the palm of your hand on a flat surface and then lifting the fingers off the surface one at a time.
It increases the strength of the fingers and also improves the range of movement in the fingers. Do three repetitions.
5. Thumb touch.
This movement is important in picking up small objects, for example, a pen, toothbrush, needles, etc.
It involves touching the pads of different fingers to that of the thumb one at a time. Hold for about a minute on each finger.
As the days go by, your hands will become stronger and you can do more repetitions.
In conclusion, hand physiotherapy is important to prevent joint stiffness and strengthen the muscles of the hands.
