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This helps improve hand and wrist mobility. Then use your non-affected hand to flip your hand palm-down. Try her expert hand therapy exercises in the video below, or by following the written instruction after: Physical Therapy Hand ExercisesĪnd now it’s time to meet Barbara, our favorite occupational therapy assistant. When you resume an activity you have done prior to your stroke, the brain remembers the movement pattern and naturally activates the normal muscle motion.
Examples of activities requiring manual dexterity download#
To work download a virtual piano- or guitar-playing app and practice on your phone. An alternative if you don’t have an instrument.
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Getting back to playing instruments is a great occupational therapy hand exercise because it is afunctional activity. Puzzles double as a fun activity since it also helps improve hand and finger coordination. If you want to make things more fun and interesting, play board games like checkers or chess which require you to practice your fine motor skills as you move your pieces and activates your brain for scanning, decision making and sequencing tasks. Using your thumb, index finger and middle finger is a functional ‘tripod grip’. Start with your thumb and index finger, then move onto your thumb and middle finger, ring finger, then pinky. To gently improve finger strength, take a clothespin and practice pinching it with different fingers. This will help improve coordination and fine motor skills.
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Grab a handful of loose change and practice stacking coins on top of each other. Those looking for additional challenges can continue to the next hand therapy exercises. Repetition and movement are important because that’s how you rewire the brain (via neuroplasticity) and improve hand function. You can stop here and repeat these 4 exercises with high repetition. Individuals recovering from a stroke or brain injury may find these four exercises challenging enough. Hold this stretch for 20 seconds and release. With your fingers still interlaced, gently bend your affected wrist backward and get a nice stretch there.
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You should feel this stretch all the way up your inner arm. Then stretch your affected arm palm-side up. Place your hands in your lap and interlace your fingers. Continue to move your thumb back and forth between these 2 positions. Then, practice moving your thumb over to your little finger, signaling the number 4. Wrist Extension and Flexionįor another gentle exercise, start with your palm open, as if you were signaling the number 5. Not only will this will help prevent muscle stiffness after stroke ( spasticity), but it can also help introduce movement into your affected hand.įor those who do have some hand mobility, you can practice these hand therapy exercises actively (meaning no assistance from your unaffected hand) as a good warm-up activity. This means using your unaffected hand to help your affected hand complete the exercises. Stretching Exercises for Extremely Stiff or Paralyzed Handsįor those with paralyzed hands from neurological injury like stroke, you should start with passive exercise.