Many issues go unknown for some time before pain or sudden need brings your attention to it. Hand strength is one of those problems. We lose our strength so slowly we don’t even notice, today I work with mindfully working on bringing back hand strength and eliminating thumb pain using trigger point self-care.
Trigger pointing to regain strength in your hand, and or eliminate thumb pain might be not what you think. The way to do this is not to just work with the thumb, palm, and the pinky. Trigger pointing the forearm is the way to go.
The forearm is an area that does not get worked anywhere near enough. The weakness here can cause you to overuse your shoulders through an overcompensation. A way to notice if you have been compensating is if you have shoulder pain for unknown reasons. Also, take a look how you open a jar are you using your pinky excessively or your thumb. The power should come from the entire hand, not one side.
Here is a quick exercise to show you how hand strength works with the shoulder.
Bring your arm out in from of you and make a light fist. Watch the shoulder then squeeze the fist hard. Notice the shoulder works to bring the power there. This example explains the harder you need to squeeze your hand to do anything the shoulder has to work
In this video, I walk you through a comfortable routine to feel and give you more strength using a handball and a wall. The forearm holds many areas that can provide you many referral patterns so take your time. Mindfully doing all my self-care activities is the only way to make them more efficient and work quicker.
Watch the video to see how to clear your wrist and hand.
