Finger strength and dexterity contributes strongly to quality of life, allowing people to turn pages, press buttons, get dressed, open jars and countless other daily tasks. Musicians and artists rely on their fingers to bring their creative gifts to life. Yet finger muscles and ligaments are tiny and easily prone to overuse and injury. Exercise equipment can help strengthen fingers, making tasks easier and helping protect against injury.
Putty
Therapeutic hand putty is a non-toxic silicone rubber compound sold by several different companies such as Therapy Putty and Power Putty. Hand putty is a versatile finger exercise device that can be squeezed, pinched, pulled apart and gripped to work the whole hand as well as individual fingers, according to the Gem City Bone and Joint orthopedic care center of Laramie, Wyo. The companies that manufacture therapeutic putty offer it in different levels of resistance, usually indicated by different color putty products. Therapeutic putty must be kept clean and should not be left on furniture and carpets where it might cause stains.
Webs and Rubber Bands
Plastic webs with holes for finger insertion, such as the Cando Web, can be used for a wide variety of rehabilitation and strengthening exercises. You insert fingers at different depths through different holds in the web and stretch, grip or twist them. Webs are flat and light, and thus easy to keep handy in a desk drawer or purse. Finger exercise equipment is also available using rubber bands of varying resistance strengths, such as the Cando Digi-Extend, a shaped plastic grip piece around which rubber bands are strung. In the simplest exercise on the Digi-Extend, the fingers are inserted between the grip and the rubber band, then extended outward against the rubber band's resistance. Single finger and full-hand gripping exercises can also be performed with this.
Spring Resistance Devices
Most spring-grip devices are available to strengthen hand gripping power; however, there are some spring-resistance exercise devices on the market, such as the Gripmaster brand Hand and Finger Exerciser, that are designed to build strength and dexterity in individual fingers. The Gripmaster—marketed primarily for musicians but useful for anyone looking to improve the action of individual fingers for gripping, tying, typing, painting and other detailed daily activities—allows the user to depress each of the four fingers individually against buttons mounted on a resistance spring. Different finger combinations and sequences can be used to create individualized exercise patterns.
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