ptspin
by Amber Narro
Get a grip – and exercise it often
Golfers focus on their grip, regrip and
change their grip. And still, hands hurt.
Over time, the grip gets weaker, but
Occupational Therapist Carrie Higgs says
there are things we can do to protect the
hands from weakness and accidents that may
come with that weakness.
In sports, hand strength is important for
catching, throwing, gripping or lifting. In
daily activities, hand strength can deteriorate
as activity lessens, so this strength is important
whether or not people are involved in
athletics to perform simple tasks like turning
a doorknob.
“I have seen a 93-year-old woman
who could barely open her yogurt work to
strengthen her grip to be able to do that and
much more,” says Higgs. “She had taken
care of normal daily living for years and then
stopped performing those daily duties and
lost her strength.”
But with occupational therapy and hand
exercises, she regained that strength pretty
quickly and is now working to get even
stronger.
Occupational therapists use a tool called a
dynomometer to measure hand and forearm
strength. The patient will test one hand
against the other in instances when patients
are recovering from injury or compare the
strength over time as they go through the
therapy process.
Higgs’ patient got stronger and stronger
over time, leaving a mindset that she was
getting weaker and weaker. This patient had
even chosen the walker she would eventually
use. Now, she has turned her focus to getting
stronger – at 93.
“She doesn’t even think about that walker
anymore,” Higgs laughed. “She drives herself
here, and she’s enjoying her life again, not
over-preparing for old age to set it.”
While it is important for everyone to
exercise their hands, Higgs says that people
should be careful not to assume that weak
hands are simply a part of aging.
“J