If you’re anything like me, your hands spend a good portion of the day gripping on to something. Day in and day out, our poor fingers don’t do much more than tap away at keyboards or hang off a steering wheel. Repetitive motion at any joint is not beneficial for the health of the entire system, including all the joints up stream and down stream of the area. If you are suffering from hand, wrist, elbow, or shoulder pain, tension from the hands could be the culprit.
I have previously written about the importance of grip strength on the blog, but if there is a ton of tension in the hands, your strength work will not be as effective and there should always be a routine to keep the hygiene of the inner soft tissues of your hands are forearms up to par. So how do you deal with this tech induced tension? Easy.
Grab your Yoga Tune Up® therapy balls (any size will do, but I find the PLUS or Classics work best) and attempt to smush one with the palm of your hand. Use as much pressure as you can tolerate, focusing the ball into the meaty muscles of your thumb (they take a beating from your smartphone). One of my favorite moves here is to rotate your palm around the ball, as if you were juicing a yummy orange. This helps to grab onto the multiple layers of soft tissues, wringing them out to encourage fresh hydration and nutrition to the cells. Allow the ball to navigate around the entire surface of your palm, switching sides after you stop feeling change (or if you’re out of time). I recommend a minimum of 2 minutes per side.
Before you switch sides, take a moment to notice the difference between the hands: does one feel warmer? Fluffier? Easier to move?
Best part of the hand sequence? It’s tame enough to do at your desk in the middle of a workday. Give your hands a break; they need it after winning all of those games of Candy Crush Saga ;)
I have previously written about the importance of grip strength on the blog, but if there is a ton of tension in the hands, your strength work will not be as effective and there should always be a routine to keep the hygiene of the inner soft tissues of your hands are forearms up to par. So how do you deal with this tech induced tension? Easy.
Grab your Yoga Tune Up® therapy balls (any size will do, but I find the PLUS or Classics work best) and attempt to smush one with the palm of your hand. Use as much pressure as you can tolerate, focusing the ball into the meaty muscles of your thumb (they take a beating from your smartphone). One of my favorite moves here is to rotate your palm around the ball, as if you were juicing a yummy orange. This helps to grab onto the multiple layers of soft tissues, wringing them out to encourage fresh hydration and nutrition to the cells. Allow the ball to navigate around the entire surface of your palm, switching sides after you stop feeling change (or if you’re out of time). I recommend a minimum of 2 minutes per side.
Before you switch sides, take a moment to notice the difference between the hands: does one feel warmer? Fluffier? Easier to move?
Best part of the hand sequence? It’s tame enough to do at your desk in the middle of a workday. Give your hands a break; they need it after winning all of those games of Candy Crush Saga ;)
Rolling your palm over a YTU ball is an excellent way to undo texting tension!
