7 Finger Exercises to Improve your Gameplay
If you have ever had to stop playing your game to massage your hands and wrists because of cramping, exercising your hand might be a good idea to work into your gaming routine. Although gamers don’t often use the same muscles as weightlifters do, video games strain the muscles in our hands and wrists, causing pain and cramps if we play for too long.
While we would never encourage you to work up a sweat, we believe incorporating a few hand exercises into your gaming regimen is vital. Ensure that playing the best online casino, adventure, or fighting game stays strong regardless of how many hours you spend battling friends and foes. Hand exercises like these can help you avoid pausing mid-game to deal with a throbbing wrist or numb digits. Also, we’re sure your gaming buddies will appreciate not having to wait for their friend to stretch out his fingers before continuing their adventure.
Let’s get started. If you want to kiss your finger and wrist pains goodbye for good, there are seven hand exercises you must do right now:
1. Prayer Position Stretch
Forearms and wrists are loosened up with this stretch. Starting with your fingers and palms together, raise your elbows as you pray and put your fingers upwards. Keep this position for at least 30 seconds. You can increase the intensity by lowering your hands slowly while keeping them tightly together.
2. Reverse Prayer Position Stretch
For the next stretch, you will stay in the original prayer position but press the backs of your hands together so that your fingers are pointing downwards. Hold for 30 seconds or more. If you want to make it tougher, slowly raise your arms while keeping them close together and point your elbows outwards as you go.
3. Supine Flexors Stretch
For this stretch, perform it on each hand separately. Begin by stretching out your left side and keeping your elbow extended and your palm facing up. Using your other hand, gently pull down the bottom part of your fingers in order to draw your wrist downward. You should feel a slight discomfort but no pain. If you start to feel pain, back off the intensity of your pull. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds before repeating on the other hand.
4. Pronated Extensions Stretch
For this stretch, you’ll repeat the position you used for the supine flexors stretch but with your hand facing down instead of up. Pull gently on the outside of your fingertips with your other hand to help you slowly lower your wrist and feel the strain in the top of your forearm. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds on each side, then repeat.
5. Joint Distraction Stretches
To loosen up your fingers and thumbs, follow these steps
- Relax your hand and face your palm towards your chest
- Using your other hand, grab the tip of one thumb and lightly pull on it so that you’re extending the thumb outward
- Hold for 10 seconds before repeating with the other thumb and fingers on both hands
You can also perform a wrist distraction exercise. To do this, rest your hand in front of you with your palm facing forward. Gently seize the hand facing you near your wrist junction with your other hand and pull outward. Pull slowly until you experience mild discomfort. Hold for a few seconds, then repeat on the other hand.
6. Wrist Joint Circles
Extend both hands out and rotate your wrists in a circle. Perform 10-15 circles rotating clockwise and 10-15 circles rotating counterclockwise.
7. Thumb Extensor Stretch
Take your thumb and place it in the palm of your hand. Close your fingers over it, then slowly start to bend your wrist toward the outside of your hand (where your little finger is). You should feel a stretch in both your thumb and forearm. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds before repeating it on the other side.
Final Thoughts
Your hands are utilized in a variety of tasks throughout the day. Your fingertips and wrists are essential to your overall quality of life, from texting to typing to driving to eating. Taking care of them — especially when you’re in full-on game mode for many hours or days — can aid in the prevention of tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. To have pain-free fingers and wrists, perform these exercises on a regular basis.
