A fracture in your wrist or arm can be the result of an accidental fall or injury. It can hugely impact your lifestyle. Your daily schedule may be upset due to the impact. But it is a temporary issue that gets resolved with proper medication and treatment. Wearing a cast for a few weeks is one of the most common treatment procedures. It may also result in stiffness of the wrist or arm thereafter. Exercises are prescribed by the therapist to improve mobility of the hands after the fracture.
Sometimes, the fracture takes a serious turn when surgery is required for amendment and treatment. A cast is followed thereafter. So, the normal course of treatment gets longer. After cast removal, the exercises of the hands and wrist can facilitate movement and help in quick recovery. But ensure that the exercises are primarily performed under expert supervision for safe delivery of the same.
Here is a list of hand therapy exercises that can strengthen your hands after a fracture:
- Finger exercises:
Your fingers may feel weak even after the removal of the cast because they have been in a certain position for a long duration thus causing stiffness. So, it is better to exercise the fingers slowly and bring them to normalcy. Finger exercises are also called tendon-gliding exercises.
- Keep your fingers straight.
- Bend your small knuckles in to make a fist while keeping the large knuckles straight.
- Bring back the fingers in a straight position.
- Now make a table fist. For this exercise, you have to bend your large knuckles to touch the base of your fingers and keep your small knuckles straight.
- Again get back to the original position.
- Now, make a full fist that will engage all the knuckles and form a palm fist.
- Get back to the original position.
Repeat this exercise 10 times or till you feel comfortable.
- Wrist exercises
This exercise will help your front and back wrist muscles to stretch and remove stiffness.
- You have to bend your wrist backwards and forward.
- Now, tip your wrist sideways.
- Rotate your forearm into palm down and palm up position while your elbow is by your side.
- Finger stretching
- Ball squeezing is one of the easiest and the best ways to restore grip strength and finger strength. Grip strength is directly related to the strength in your fingers. Get hold of squeeze ball for the performance of this super simple exercise. You need to squeeze the ball as many times during the day as you feel comfortable. Do not overexert. You may feel a little pain while squeezing the ball but it is the pressure that causes the pain. Do it if you can bear the pain, otherwise, stop it.
- Finger extension exercises can be performed with the help of a rubber band. It helps in stretching the fingers. Pull the fingers apart with the band stretch and bring it back. Repeat it several times. It can help to get the strength in your fingers.
- Thumb exercises
- Engage your thumb the way you do it while hitchhiking. Lift it in the same way.
- Bend your thumb the way you bend it while holding a cup.
- Touch the tip of your thumb with the tip of each finger.
- Touch the tip of your little finger with your thumb.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the simple exercises to perform at home under expert supervision. Since you have just removed your cast and are experiencing stiffness in your fingers, thumb, hand, or wrist; these exercises can help in restoring the strenght and fast-pace the recovery.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on exercising benefits only. We do not claim that the said exercises will give results as you expect. The exercises are meant to ease your discomfort only. But we recommend that you consult your medical expert for the same.