Today has been a rainy day...Such a cold day had caused my fingers to stiffened..quite hard to properly hold a pen..Any tips to loosened this stiffness??
Well I have been tempted to chop mine off when they are really inflamed stiff and sore, but I realise that isn’t a realistic option
Have you ever been to an Occupational Therapist? I was referred to one at my local hospital, she specialised in hands and gave me exercises to help when my hands were really bad last year…there was no immediate improvement but I gradually regained a lot of the mobility and strength I’d lost in my hands, as my flare began to subside.
I can’t praise the whole department high enough…they have been a God send to me and taught me Shibashi Tai Chi for my overall mobility and to keep my core muscles as strong as possible.
Louise's suggestion of an occupational therapist is a good one.
For the immediate issue, I find that keeping my hands warm can make a world of difference. Whether it is the "therapeutic" gloves, or just warm handwarmers, keeping the area warm makes a big difference. Somebody had mentioned wristies, at http://www.wristies.com/ although I've made my own too. I have some really cute ones that I made out of knee socks.
Occupational therapist are the best bet. They will give you exercises to not only strengthen your grip but also help with ways to use as little energy as possible.
One suggestion I received is to use a sponge roller on a pen or pencil. This will help with the grip. For the steering wheel buy a padded cushion that goes over the steering wheel. This will also help with the grip.
Eventhough it does hurt, do not stop using them or they will get stiffer.
Paraffin baths are awesome. I'm going to use mine today as both my hands feel stiff and painful. If I'm in A LOT of pain in any finger joints / tendons, the heat from the paraffin bath overloads the pain senses and I get pain relief for several hours.
I have the $40 Revlon paraffin bath I bought off amazon. It has adjustable heat levels, which is important because some people need less heat, I keep mine on the lowest temperature setting and it's still very hot. I dip about 10 times, then wrap in a piece of plastic wrap, then tuck my hand in a quilted mitt. I leave it in there about 1/2 hour while I read a book or watch tv. Then I do the other hand.
I find keeping my hands warm with 3/4 finger gloves (I like the IMAK arthritis gloves), or just fingerless gloves, really help keep the stiffness down.
I went to the therapy years ago when I had a badly swollen ankle..but never had any therapy for the fingers and wrist pain..
Louise Hoy said:
Have you ever been to an Occupational Therapist? I was referred to one at my local hospital, she specialised in hands and gave me exercises to help when my hands were really bad last year......there was no immediate improvement but I gradually regained a lot of the mobility and strength I'd lost in my hands, as my flare began to subside.
I can't praise the whole department high enough.......they have been a God send to me and taught me Shibashi Tai Chi for my overall mobility and to keep my core muscles as strong as possible.
thank you all for the advice. I'm gonna try the gloves and also try to heat my stiff wrist and fingers with a hot pack..;)