Self-Care: Hands Edition
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If you have hands, they probably hurt. My clients are often surprised by this, until I remind them that we use our hands for everything! **If you don't have hands, your wrists, forearms, etc probably hurt, in which case most of the following still applies**
So what can you do about it?
First and foremost, book a massage. And when you’re talking with your therapist pre-session, make sure to mention that your hands hurt and that you’d like to have some work done there. Your body has a lot of soreness to attend to during your session, so if you don’t mention a specific area, we might forsake it in the interest of spending more time on, say, your tired shoulders.
Now that you have your massage booked, there’s actually a lot you can do for your tired hands in the meantime!
ICE
Depending on the level of inflammation and soreness in your hands (did you type a 20-page essay and then go rock climbing for 3 hours?), you may need to start with ice. Use either a couple of ice packs, or a bowl full of ice water. When using ice packs, never apply directly to the skin. Instead, use a cloth or towel to protect your body’s largest organ. Limit your cold therapy to about 10 minutes. Longer than that and you can actually trigger an inflammatory response from your body, thereby creating MORE inflammation, and MORE soreness.
HEAT
Run warm water over some towels and then wrap them around your hands until the towels cool off. Test the heat of the towels on the inside of your wrist, as this is your most temperature sensitive area, to avoid burning your hands. Never use boiling water or a microwave, as they can get too hot or heat unevenly.
EPSOM SALT
Add about 1 tbsp of epsom salt for 8 oz of water. You won’t need much if you’re just soaking your hands. Whole body sore? Try a whole body epsom salt bath. You’ll need about 2 cups of salt for a standard bathtub. Make sure to soak for about 20 minutes to help rid your body of inflammation.
STRETCHES
Whether using a soft ball to squeeze, silly putty, or just your average wall, stretching each finger and each individual joint in your hand will help increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, and get your hands back to feeling like themselves again.
MASSAGE
You can also use your hands to massage your hands (Whoa.). You can even use some tiger balm, lotion or massage oil to make your hands feel really pampered. Use your opposite hand to clamp down on the webbing between each finger, especially the meaty muscle between your thumb and forefinger. Take your time, and do what feels good. There isn’t really a wrong way to do it. Just know that just because something hurts doesn’t make it good for you (more on that in a future post!). In fact, if your self-massage hurts in a bad way, you should probably stop. Sometimes massage hurts so good, but when it doesn’t, it’s ok to ease off and try another technique.
