This is a collection of things I have discovered, random notes, and tips that have helped me through dealing with RSIs (Repetitive Strain Injuries) over 5+ years.
I am not a doctor and I do not have any medical training. This information comes purely from me living with and dealing with hand issues. Your situation may differ from mine.
If you find this information valuable and would like to support me, I have a ko-fi and I'm an Amazon affiliate (if you click this link before purchasing something, doesn't matter what, I will get a small percent: https://amzn.to/4g74yQP).
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This is roughly where your wrist is at a neutral angle. Note that the top of your knuckles are above your wrist.
Rest is a double edged sword. You can rest to allow your muscles to recover when they are sore or hurt but RSI will not vanish after resting. In fact, it can even get worse if you rest too much.
Too much inactivity will cause your muscles to weaken which can cause further issues. A balance needs to be found between overwork and overrest. This also includes not overusing aids such as wrist braces.
Sometimes muscles will feel weak and not entirely there when you are doing light tasks. Hand exercises and strengthening can help pull back all the muscle to be put into use again, removing the weak feeling. But don't overdo this.
Doing exercise that doesn't use your hands can also be helpful. Increasing blood flow helps with healing and will make you feel better in general. Even just going outside for a short walk can be great.
Wrist braces can help in extreme cases to reduce the chance of further damage from additional strain. But if you use a wrist brace you do need to take it off when you feel like your hands are okay enough to go without it for a bit.
I used wrist braces quite a lot when I was having a very very bad time. But I would usually take them off after a few hours or so.
Having some compression on the muscles can also feel really good. Just be careful to not tighten a brace enough to make your hands go numb or to where it puts a lot of pressure on the carpal tunnel area.
The most obvious cause for hand pain is a hand injury. This may be the case, but there's a chance it isn't. Or your hand pain could be amplified by something else.
For example, if your back or shoulders are messed up or in a very bad posture, this can cause pain in your hands. The entire chain has to be solid.
I won't go in depth here since I don't feel confident giving advice on this. But it's important to know about the possibility that your hand pain may not be directly from a hand injury.
Generally, stretches are not necessary for improving RSI. But they can provide temporary relief from pain.
There are nearly endless methods promoted by different people. Almost none of them feel "safe" as a general recommendation to me.
Except for this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdD7CgN5FGg (developed by Houshang Seradge, M.D.). It is a very gentle routine that should help to relieve pain without causing much strain. It is intended for carpal tunnel, but I have found it also helps for other RSI related wrist and hand injuries.
Don't go crazy with this. Repeating this or any other routine constantly will do more harm than good. Do it maybe once or twice a day.
Importantly, any stretches recommended for pain relief are not stretches for flexibility. DO NOT push yourself hard doing these. You should be very gentle.
Steel ball exercises are one of the most effective methods for warming up and strengthening the hands.
It involves manipulating two steel balls in the hands in various ways. Some examples:
Holding two balls with your palm facing upwards, rotate the balls towards and away from your body using only your fingers.
Towards: (left hand: | right hand: ), Away: (left hand: | right hand: ).
This is the easiest exercise. You should not need to move your wrist or arm to help do this.
Face your palm sideways or upside down and repeat the above exercise.
This may be very hard at first. Especially when rotating away from your body. Aim to not "cheat" by tilting your hands around.
Rotate the balls in any way and try to keep them from touching as you rotate them. You can try to move them further and further apart for extra difficulty.
Any variation of these at any angle. You can increase the number of balls to three, four, or as many as you can fit in your hand. But be mindful to keep the angle of your wrist close to neutral.
I recommend buying 1.5-2" (3.8-5cm) AISI 52100 chrome steel balls to start out. You may also find these referred to as "chrome steel bearing balls". It is important to note that chrome steel is NOT chrome plated steel.
You should be able to buy the absolute cheapest ones you can find. Tight tolerances are not a concern. I bought mine here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPSC6B46.
To verify you have actually received steel balls and not a cheaper metal or hollow balls, check against the following chart or use my mass calculator to check any dimensions (you may get slightly different numbers but it should be somewhat close):
| Diameter | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1.5" (3.81cm) | 226g |
| 1.75" (4.4cm) | 359g |
| 2" (5cm) | 536g |
| 2.5" (6.35cm) | 1047g |
| 3" (7.6cm) | 1809g |
Although I only mention steel balls, these are available in all sorts of materials such as wood, stone, gemstone, or glass. You may also find balls intended for meditation or spiritual uses, I only use and can only endorse their effectiveness as a physical tool.
Many exercises (such as the steel ball ones above) train the muscles that close the hand. But it is also good to train the opposing muscles that open the hand.
Doing so is rather simple with some bands. Some extensor bands have finger holes and some don't, they both work just fine.
The most simple exercise you can do with these is opening your hand about halfway while all your fingers are in the band and the band is placed close to your fingertips. If you go too far, the band may slip down your fingers and the resistance decreases the closer you get to your hand being fully open so there's no need to go too far.
Personally I use a set of bands from Grip Genie https://gripgenie.com/products/extensor-bands. Beware that these bands are quite strong, if your hands are very weak you probably shouldn't buy these.