![]() Holding or moving your hands in unnatural ways can cause pain. Limit therapy sessions to 20 minutes, to avoid hurting your skin. Try an ice pack, cold therapy gloves (with gel packs you keep in the freezer), or a hand soak in icy water. It helps after you’ve been using your hands for a long time," Kennedy-Spaien says. "It’s best for tendinitis or swollen, hot joints. Ice is an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller. You can get moist heat from warm hand soaks or using microwavable moist heat mittens." "Moist heat gets deeper into the tissues and joints. "It’s good for stiffness but not swelling," Kennedy-Spaien says. It’s helpful before typing or using your phone for an extended period. Heat and cold therapies have differing uses. "Make sure your fingers are aligned and moving together, and that no finger is going ahead of or lagging behind the others, which can happen when you have arthritis," Kennedy-Spaien advises. Next, gently open and close your fists, stretching your fingers if you can. Start at your wrists, keeping your forearms still and slowly moving your fists in circles. It’s important to keep your wrists and hands limber. Stand up, get a drink of water, or do anything that completely changes your position." Stretch your wrists and hands "Take a five-minute break after 45 minutes of activity. It takes longer to get the pain and stiffness under control, and you end up needing a longer break," Kennedy-Spaien says. "By the time your hands are complaining, you’ve already aggravated them. To combat it, take scheduled breaks before you feel the need to stop. It keeps you from being active and restricts blood flow to your hands, which makes them stiffer and harder to move. Using a computer or smartphone is a sedentary activity. Or switch the hand you use to hold a smartphone." Take breaks "If you only use a mouse with your right hand, try mousing left-handed. "Alternate which fingers are doing the work," Kennedy-Spaien says. ![]() Instead, distribute the work among your fingers and hands. ![]() Distribute the workĭo you have a "hunt and peck" typing style? Do you text only with your thumb? That can lead to overuse injuries. With a phone, it’s the repetitive movement with one hand and sustained grasping with the other hand," explains Eve Kennedy-Spaien, clinical supervisor of the Pain Management, Work Injury, and Integrative Medicine Programs at Harvard-affiliated Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital.Ĭonsider the following strategies when hand pain or stiffness makes computer or smartphone use difficult, and check with your doctor to make sure these tips are right for you. "The problem is the repetitive movement of your fingers on a keyboard or reaching and stretching your fingers on a mouse. That’s not so easy, however, when it irritates underlying conditions, such as tendinitis or arthritis. ![]() All it takes is tapping on a smartphone, typing on a keyboard, or clicking with a mouse. Thanks to technology, the world is at your fingertips. Do stiff hands make it hard to use your smartphone or computer? Try these tips so you can keep using your devices. ![]()
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