Fran Henry, R.D.H. www.franhenry.com

There are several great exercises for the hand and
wrist that I teach in yoga classes. I will describe
them here and if you need more help you may contact me
privately through my email or phone. This is such a
great self-care topic for all dental professionals.

1. Two-second exercise: Hold right hand up with palm
facing toward your face. Keep hand, wrist and forearm
in a straight line with fingers relaxed and separated.
With first two fingers of left hand gently stretch
little finger of right hand backward for two seconds
(1 one thousand, 2 one thousand). Repeat with each
finger and thumb of right hand. Never push to point
of pain, only to point of good stretch. Make sure
hand and wrist are aligned. Do the same with left
fingers and thumb. Repeating the entire process three
times per day will prevent carpal tunnel syndrome
according to my yoga guru.

2. Put palms together with moderate pressure in
prayer position and extend the hands out in front of
you so you have room to move them. On the exhale,
turn fingers away from you to maximum comfortable
range of comfortable motion. On the inhale, turn
fingers toward you to maximum range of comfortable
motion. Repeat at least four complete cycles, then
release palms and shake out hands.

3. Bend elbows and extend hands away from body. Make
fists with both hands and very slowly rotate both
fists/wrists in opposite directions. You may hear
cracking and popping. This is normal especially for
hygienist's wrists that haven't been exercising.
After a number of repetitions that feels good to you,
stop and reverse the direction of rotation. Repeat
several times per day.

Finally, it is very important that you seek
professional help if you do not get relief from
existing pain after a week or two of consistently
performing these exercises. Ignoring your body’s
message of pain may permanently damage your health and
your career. Coaches work with professionals to
practice extremely good self-care as part their path
to a happy, healthy and wealthy life.

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Fran Henry, RDH
A Personal and Business Coach, working with people to create happy, healthy, and wealthy lives.