Taking Care of Your Hands

By Bruce Baltz

As a massage therapist, you need to take responsibility for your own well-being, and taking care of your hands should be at the top of the list. Increasing flexibility, dexterity and strength of the hands and fingers should be an ongoing commitment.

First, let's talk about endurance, which involves strengthening your fingers, focusing on extension, abduction and adduction. Everyday activities stress our flexors constantly, and they overpower the weaker muscles. Therefore, we should focus on stretching them. I recommend using the following technique for stretching your flexors. The principles are simple:

When starting the stretching movement, it is essential that you move each finger by contracting the opposing muscle. This way, your body will be communicating with itself on what you want to accomplish.
Assist yourself with light pressure to increase your range of motion, holding for only two seconds.
Let each finger come back into a resting position. This is when new oxygen and blood will enter the tissue.
Repeat this process 10 times for each joint.

Isolating ﬁnger extension. Isolating ﬁnger extension. A simple hand exerciser also can assist in strengthening the muscles we take for granted and most often neglect. This type of device allows you to strengthen all those neglected hand muscles, and you can incorporate the healing power of warm and cool temperatures to help bring more blood and oxygen into our hands and, at the same time, help release trapped toxins.

After a long shift, your hands will feel tired, if not sore, so a cool application will be a welcome antidote. a hand exerciser that has been cooled in the refrigerator does wonders to sooth your overworked hands. When working with hydrotherapy principles, I have found that combining them with muscle contraction or manipulation enhances the soft-tissue results. Most of us will find that increasing circulation in our hands presents significant challenges, but by using both warm and cool temperatures, you will assist your body in flushing the tissue through vasoconstriction and vasodilation.

Finger abduction. Finger abduction. To assist in vasodilation, use heat to benefit from the temperature exchange. When working with warmer temperatures, safety guidelines must be followed to prevent injury. Therefore, if you are utilizing any type of hand exerciser, I recommend heating it in the microwave for no longer than 10 seconds. For cool application, place the hand exerciser in the refrigerator for an hour and a half to two hours. Always end with cold; your body will naturally warm itself back up. (Editor's note: Make sure any hand exerciser you are using can be warmed or cooled without causing damage to the device or the user.)

In order for our bodies to function at an optimal level, we must find a balance between strength and flexibility. As massage therapists, this is particularly true for our hands, which are used constantly in our work. If this is achieved, we can work more efficiently, longer and with fewer injuries.

The Self-Care Wellness Team

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