Help for your hands
A few simple exercises can preserve the strength and flexibility of your hands and wrists.
There's a reason that "having a good grip on the situation" is used as a metaphor for mastery. In physiological testing, grip strength is one of the indicators of health and vitality. Yet, although we may exercise to strengthen our cores and limbs, most of us don't make an effort to strengthen our forearms and our hands. "We use our hands continually, but we don't take the time to deliberately exercise them," says Joanne P. Bosch, a physical therapist and certified hand therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.
That said, it's not a good idea to rush out and buy a device promoted for building a "crushing hand grip" or to start squeezing a tennis ball. "Doing the wrong exercise can actually exacerbate some problems, particularly carpal tunnel syndrome," Bosch says.