Finger injuries can occur during any number of athletic events or as a matter of course in day to day life. Where the finger injury is severe, it might be necessary to resort to surgical means to correct the break. According to information from the Sports Science Orthopaedic Clinic, rehabilitation for finger surgeries is crucial to help prevent permanent disfigurement and restore proper range of motion as soon as possible. Although rehab exercises for the finger can be painful, the results will be well worth the effort.
Ball Squeezes
Perform a regular regime of ball squeezes to improve finger strength and mobility in the weeks following surgery. Ball squeezes are a deceptively simple exercise that can help to regain strength in the finger tendons while concurrently preventing lasting stiffness from the operation. To perform ball squeezes, obtain a new set of tennis balls. New balls are best as older ones will have lost some of their rigidity, decreasing the efficacy of the movement. Hold the ball in your injured hand, applying gradually increasing pressure to squeeze it as hard as you are able without undue discomfort. While you will likely experience some level of pain (which is only normal), you will want to avoid exceeding your pain threshold, so stop increasing the pressure before you experience anything greater than moderate discomfort (a five on a scale of one to ten). Hold the maximum squeeze for a second or so before relaxing, repeating the exercise during the morning and before bed at night, performing 50 to 100 squeezes per session.
Finger Extensions
Perform finger extensions to ensure that your hand remains supple in the weeks following surgery. To perform finger extensions, simply place your palm and fingertips lightly on a wall or other flat surface (like a desk). Initiate the movement by pressing down with gradually increasing force until all of your fingers are fully flat against the wall or until you experience greater than moderate pain. Hold in the maximal stretched position for five to ten seconds, repeating the drill five to ten times per session. As with ball squeezes, practice the exercise every single day, both morning and night.
Considerations
One tip that you might want to employ while practicing these exercises is to first limber up your injured finger by soaking it in a cup filled with hot water or by taking a hot shower before practicing. This can help to remove some of the stiffness from your finger, decreasing the pain experienced while exercising it.
Tags: ball squeezes, finger extensions, following surgery, gradually increasing, greater than, greater than moderate