Hand Exercises for Rheumatoid Arthritis | Arthritis Information

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You need your hands to cook, clean, type, and do just about everything else. But you probably don’t think much about how important manual dexterity is unless you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or another type of arthritis that attacks your hand and finger joints.

RA is a disease in which the body's immune system engages in friendly fire against the joints. It often starts in your hands before spreading to the other joints.

“The hands and the feet are usually hit first, and these are the joints that are predominantly involved in everyone with RA,” says Eric Matteson, MD, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Hand exercises can help maintain range of motion, flexibility, and strength in your hands.

There is not a one-size-fits-all hand exercise prescription for people with RA, but a rheumatologist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist can help design a program especially for your hands. Here are seven hand exercises your program may include.

http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/guide/hand-exercises-rheumatoid-arthritis Awesome article, thank you!!

Another good resource is Yoga for Arthritis: The Complete Guide by Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall.   I need to get that book dusted off and start practicing what I preach again.
Green~Tara2010-04-11 07:56:56Are there any exercises for the feet.  Mine are killing me. [QUOTE=Green~Tara] Awesome article, thank you!!

Another good resource is Yoga for Arthritis: The Complete Guide by Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall.   I need to get that book dusted off and start practicing what I preach again.
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that book has fantabulous reviews!!  I think I'll order it..   Thanks Tara!!
thanks... I'll try to add those into my supposed-to-be doing other exercises!I thought the exercises were unclear, in that I couldn't tell if you were supposed to do all this bending with the finger alone, or use your other hand to bend the joints.  Frankly, most of that I can't do without using the other hand to help.  What impression did you get?These are great.  I wish the hand therapist I went to had done these instead of the crap she had me do!  I would be much better off!  Thanks!
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