Tips wanted for daily activities with weak or painful hands, wrists

I have truly found that the best therapy for my painful RA hands and fingers is exercising in the water. My Mayo doctor suggested it at my appointment last year, so I joined a gym with aqua fit classes as soon as we got back home to Texas. It’s been amazing!

There are peel-off Velcro pieces in various shapes and sizes that craft stores carry. The caveat is that the peel-off strip covering the adhesive is pretty strong though.

I too have RA, MCTD, and fibro and have lots of hand and wrist pain and weakness.

A few things I do…
- hang scissors from the fridge on a string
to make them more accessible

- make little “tear here” cuts larger on med packages or snack bags, etc.

- carry scissors and a rubber jar opener in my purse for when I’m out or in the car

- add a key adaptor to the top of your house key to make it easier to hold and turn (they also have adapters to make lamp switches easier to turn)

- I put everything on a lanyard (my keys and my phone) because I would drop them all the time or end up holding them under my arm or forearm due to weakness

- make your purse strap longer and put it over your neck so you don’t have to actively hold it

- there is a toothbrush strap that is helpful

- I also use a silicone strap on my cell phone case to slip my fingers through

- over time I have changed to slip on shoes and pants that are stretchy enough to pull off and on

- a steering wheel cover may help you increase the thickness of your wheel to help reduce pain

- rocker knife can be useful

- cooking softer meats or meals will be easier to cut and chew and help you conserve energy

- I find that an old fashioned handheld nut cracker / crab claw cracker is much easier to use than a traditional jar helper

Hope these suggestions are helpful to you! I know how difficult it is to teach yourself how to adapt everyday for things that used to be so simple.

Have you tried using spring-loaded scissors? They're much easier to use and some don't involve fitting your fingers into spaces at all. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=spring+loaded+scissors&crid=2C0SEVYKGPDDD&sprefix=spring+loaded+scissors%2Caps%2C143&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Movement exercises also known as range of motion exercises done in warm to hot water - I do them before putting soap and dishes into the kitchen sink in am when I get up, then wash the few dishes that happened the evening before while my coffee gets ready. Squeezing a ball in a massaging motion - from soft foam to tennis - the more firm is is the better. These get the blood flowing so I can use my hands. Also yoga (seated) exercises that concentrate on hands and arms. And flattening hands as much as possible against a tabletop (or on my thigh in the car) as many times a day as I can.
I watched my Mom use these techniques for over 30 years, and have adapted them now for myself. My friend is a professional painter and artist and she and many of her friends do similar things so they can keep working. I am a fiber artist as well as a sewer & quilter, and many of us use similar techniques - we all range in age from 50+ to our 80's.
Sue

@nana75165, @callalloo, @johnbishop, @shanicegj, and all...AMEN! My neurologist at Mayo ordered therapy pool PT for me a couple of years ago. I began working with the therapist in a 94-degree pool, walking, marching, walking backward is hardest, working on balance, and finally using pool barbells for strengthening. The key for me is the water warmth - I begin to relax muscles and pain begins to evaporate as I get into the warm pool! It is heaven. The doctor told me to do this for myself for the rest of my life...He's right.

Medicare pays for this for a while. After Medicare was used up, I was going to have to pay for the pool, but the office manager offered me a deal to use the pool when there were only a couple of folks in the water. I joined the YMCA which has a therapy pool, but covid shut it down. Now, it's open for up to 8 people at a time for a few hours daily.

I have an evaluation with a PT next week and begin pool walking/work-outs again thankfully. I have truly missed this joyful time. No pain. Free movement Easy movement. Getting out of the pool is dreaded since gravity takes hold of every part of my body and it's tough to get up the steps. But, I feel better for hours afterward and I'm better emotionally, physically, in every way for the time spent in that pool. After a few weeks, I began to walk easier, with less pain all over & could move everything easier, with less effort and discomfort.

I also recommend getting a home paraffin wax soak and enjoying the warmth and healing of the warm wax. It helps reduce pain, gives me more mobility, and softens/improves my hands and skin. I bought one after using it for years in nail salons and then at Mayo PT. Again, a great thing to do for yourself. Stick your feet in occasionally and feel the healing...

Hope these thoughts move you to try pool therapy. It's a real treat! Elizabeth

For what it's worth, fiber-workers (knitters, spinners, weavers) in Australia massage emu oil into their hands as an anti-inflammatory. A friend was scheduled for hand surgery that got postponed during lockdown. I sent him a bottle of food-grade emu oil which he massaged twice daily for three weeks and the 'arthritic calcification' and pain disappeared. The hand surgeon had no explanation but the lump has not returned in the two years since. And surgery and post-surgical healing were avoided.

Hello All:

Sue, @sueinmn, has offered some great ideas for hand exercises and getting the blood flowing through those digits! I found a YouTube video that describes several hand/finger/wrist exercises which might be helpful. Here is the video, just click on it and watch the various exercises.

I have a squeeze ball but these other stretching ones look great…also was thinking about those Chinese balls that you roll in your hand….they might be very good too if you have the right size for you hand. Guess you have to try them first.

In December 2021 I had a arterio-venous fistula placed for pending dialysis, just above my right wrist [non-dominant hand for me]. Where there had been two arteries supplying blood flow to my hand, there is now only one. The biggest thing right now is how tired my hand gets as this is all healing atill. Terrible cramps in my hand.

What has worked for me, is to be aware, and not do too much at a time that involves the same muscle movements. A half hour or hour is enough, then switch to something else. Keep those hands warm. I use a good heavy hand cream, then put on fingerless fleece gloves [homemade] to encourage the warmth. Luckily I am basically ambidextrous, and that helps a lot. I switch off when pulling weeds, for example. Stretching my hands out, and working my hands through my cat's soft silky fur helps, too, and she thinks it is all about her [not!]
Ginger