5 Tips for People with Arthritis of the Hands

by Ann Swanson, M.S. in Yoga Therapy, E-RYT500, LMT

Study of Hands by Albrecht Durer

Our hands play such a big role in how we live our life’s purpose. Think of all that you have made or built with your hands. Think of all the hands you have shaken or held in your life. Think of all your hands have done for you just today. To be limited in life by your hands can be devastating. I have even met many people who feel as though they can’t even attempt to do yoga because of their hands. But as a yoga therapist who specializes in arthritis and chronic pain, my motto at Yoga for Arthritis, an evidence-based program and teacher training is, “Get up and live your joy!” For those with arthritis of the hands, this means using yoga to give some loving care to their hands.

Your hands and wrists are some of the most common sites for joint pain from arthritis or related conditions. This makes sense when you consider what typically causes osteoarthritis: repetitive motion. Consider all the repetitive motions we do with our hands- texting, typing, writing….  In addition, for those with autoimmune arthritis, like rheumatoid, joint pain often begins at the distal joints, including the fingers and hands.

So for all of you who are having problems with hand arthritis—and for those who teach students who have this problem—here’s a set of yoga tips that are based on the growing body of research to support yoga for arthritis, including practical adaptations developed during the 7-year clinical trials in the study Yoga in Sedentary Adults with Arthritis: Effects of a Randomized Controlled Pragmatic Trial. by Steffany Moonaz, Ph.D., and a team of experts at John Hopkins University.

These tips will not only make your practice more comfortable but can also prevent arthritis from getting worse. If your hands are not exercised, osteoarthritis can actually lead to deformity in the form of nodes at the knuckles that limit the ability of your fingers to fully straighten. In addition, exercising your hands improves the flow of your synovial fluid, blood, and energy in your hands, which is beneficial for joint health.

5 Tips for People with Arthritis of the Hands

1. Warm Up. Because joint stiffness is a common symptom of arthritis for many people, gentle warm up exercises for 3-5 min are a necessity. Because when we type and grab objects, we hold our hands in flexed and closed positions, in your warm ups, you should focus on simple movements that open and expand your hands as much as possible. Here is a short 1-minute routine to warm up hands.

2. Reduce the Angle of Your Wrists. If the pain is in the wrists but not the fingers, place the knuckles of a fist on the mat to keep the wrist in a neutral position. You can even grab weights if they are available.

You can also use a wedge under the wrists to reduce the angle of extension. Remember to keep the big part of the wedge toward you. I imagine my hand is going down the wedge like a slide.
If you don’t have a wedge, a folded blanket or rolled up yoga mat under the palm of the hand can add cushioning. You can allow the fingers to fall off the surface and gently curl if flattening the hands is too much.

3. Take Some Weight Off Your Hands. In positions where you are bearing weight on your hands, such as Cat-Cow pose or Sunbird pose (illustrated below), come down to your forearms. Consider putting blocks under the forearms to support you in correct alignment of the pose.
Hold the back of a chair lightly or let the hands dangle over the chair to do poses like Half Downward-Facing Dog.
For certain weight-bearing poses, such as Plank pose, you can place your hands on the wall instead of on the floor. With this orientation to gravity, there is little weight on your hands but you still get to extend the wrist and improve range of motion.
4. Change your Grasp on the Strap. When you are holding onto a yoga strap, trying wrapping the strap around your hands so that you do not have to grasp it as tightly.
You can also make the strap into a big loop and put the forearms loop, taking the wrists and hands completely out of the picture.
5. Cool Down After Practice. Try incorporating some simple and meaningful hand positions, or mudras, to connect the body and the mind. In this video, I guide you through a 90-second accessible practice.

End with your hands in a relaxed position, perhaps facing palm up. Feel the resulting sensations, vibrations, and pulsations. By doing these gentle movements with awareness, you have improved the functionality and vitality of your hands (and mind). Now get up and live your joy!

Ann Swanson, M.S. in Yoga Therapy, E-RYT500, LMT, is a lover of life, mangos, and random acts of kindness. After art school, Ann took a trip around the world, studying yoga and massage in India and tai chi in China. When she returned, she did a deep dive into science, taking the pre-med university courses. Ultimately, she combined her passions by getting her M.S. in the first graduate degree program in yoga therapy, at Maryland University of Integrative Health. Now Ann unites the science of yoga and meditation with a sense of heart. For more on Ann Swanson, M.S. in Yoga Therapy, head to www.wellnessforarthritis.com. For more on the research to support yoga for arthritis and yoga researcher Steffany Moonaz, Ph.D., head to www.arthritis.yoga.