The Six Pack is a great set of hand exercises to get tendons and joints moving in lots of dynamic ways.
When you are doing hand exercises, it's important not to push past your pain level, so take stretches to where they still feel comfortable.
I always tell people to move as much as possible without raising their baseline pain level. In other words, if your baseline pain is a 3-4/10 at rest maybe it would go up to a 5 or even a 6/10 while you're doing your exercises but then should be back down to a 3-4/10 no more than 15-20 minutes later.
The other side of the coin is that if you're being completely pain avoidant and not not moving at all, then you won't create any positive change.
Exercises should improve symptoms, not make them worse. Stress is good, pain is bad. If anything hurts excessively - stop!
Follow along with me and learn how to do the exercises in this video.
Trevor Petrie, Certified Hand Therapist
Trevor Petrie is a Certified Hand Therapist with a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Washington.
He has been helping people with hand and upper extremity pain and injuries since 2012.
Over the course of his career, he has treated hundreds of people with chronic pain stemming from a myriad of causes including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel and tendinitis.
No two people experience these issues the exact same way, so Trevor strives to find the best evidence-based approach that works for each person’s individual needs in order to get back to living their best lives.
*This content is presented for informational purposes only, and should not be seen as any kind of health, nutritional, medical or legal advice. You should consult a licensed medical practitioner if you are experiencing pain and/or discomfort or have a medical issue or suspect that you have a medical issue. If you choose to rely on the information presented on the Grace & Able website, blog or social media posts, you do so at your own risk.*