If you use your hands all day at work, take a few minutes several times a day to stretch your hands to get relief from tension and overuse. Reducing tension in your hands helps promote circulation, reduces cramping, and stretches the wrist tendons and ligaments, helping to relieve pain and aching joints. A few simple exercises done once an hour or so throughout your day will also help prevent some common wrist conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, according to Ergocise.com.
Double Wrist Rotations
Clasp your hands in front of you, holding them just below the middle of the chest. Rotate the hands in a clockwise motion 10 times, then reverse direction, rotating them in a counterclockwise direction. This exercise will help relieve tension and increase circulation.
Hand Pushes
Sit in a chair and place your hands together, palms touching, fingers straight at about chest level. Press the forearms in a downward motion, keeping the palms of the hands pressed together. At the bottom of the move, point the fingertips away from you, continuing the turn until your fingers are pointed downward as far as you can while keeping the palms pressed together. Hold that stretch for 15 seconds and then return to the starting position. Keeping the palms pressed together, press against the left palm with the right hand until the left hand bends slightly to the left. Hold for a count of 10. Repeat the move, this time pressing the left palm against the right until the right hand is slightly turned to the right side of the body. Hold for 10 seconds.
Make a Fist
Lift your arms so your elbows are at shoulder height, palms level with your ears. Make a fist, hold the contraction for several seconds, and then open the fingers, spreading them as wide as you can, suggests Stretch Now. Repeat this sequence between five and 10 times several times throughout the day to relieve stress and increase circulation to the fingers and wrist.
Wrist Stretch
Extend your left arm in front of you, the fingers pressed together and pointing toward the ceiling. Gently place the fingers of the right hand against the fingers of the left and press slightly inward, flexing the wrist joint toward your body. You should feel a slight pull along the underside of the wrist. Hold the stretch for several seconds and then relax. Repeat the stretch on the right hand.
