Hello, my name is Ann Swanson
and I am a licensed and certified massage therapist,
specializing in arthritis and chronic pain.
And today I would like to share with you
a short hand massage routine,
specifically developed for arthritis of the fingers
and thumb, and go ahead and grab your oil.
I'm using the coconut oil
which is solid at room temperature,
and it will melt immediately when we put it on our hands,
but whatever oil you have, totally fine.
Get that set up, and just a tiny bit of oil.
Doesn't need much, begin to rub that into the hand
and just get that all around the hand.
I'm gonna start with my left hand,
bringing full awareness, attention to my left hand.
My right hand will be doing the massage
and starting at the wrist, warming into the wrist,
going in light circles,
and then maybe going a little deeper,
focusing on that space in the joint.
And I like this too,
because we are exercising the other hand.
Now you wanna make sure that you exercise for arthritis.
So we're moving the joints, increasing mobility,
reducing stiffness, but we don't wanna overwork.
So if your hand starts to hurt,
the hand that's doing the work, then make sure you adapt.
So you find a way that it doesn't hurt.
So for example, as we move toward the palm,
if it feels better for you to use your knuckles
or to use the side of your hand, any method is totally fine.
Whatever feels good on that massaging hand,
you may even wanna have it down on a surface,
if that helps you.
So whatever works, moving out more distally further
into the thumb, we're gonna start
at the closest part of the joint here,
and then going a little bit further.
Really wanna take care of our thumbs
and especially going in circular motions
around the joints, which is where the nodes
form in osteoarthritis, moving on to the next one.
So we wanna increase circulation,
improve immunity to the area
by gently rubbing in circles around the joints.
(gentle music)
Making sure you get every little part, next finger.
And notice the massaging hand.
Are you doing this in a way
that is honoring the massaging hand?
Doesn't have to look exactly the way I do it.
And just so you are rubbing and increasing circulation,
you're doing a good job
Good
Maybe one finger needs a little bit more attention
than the other finger, it's totally fine.
And then this meaty part in between the fingers,
I want you to massage there
in whatever way you can get to it.
So on the front and the back here,
in between each finger.
There on the thumb also.
Rub the hands together, create some warmth, friction, heat.
And relax the hands
feeling the hand you just did the massaging on.
Bring full attention to that hand,
feel vibrations, sensations, flows.
Feel the joints, space in the joints.
Bring the attention now over to the other hand,
the one that was doing the massage,
which desperately needs a massage now,
and it's worked and maybe a little tired,
feel what that feels like.
Mentally thank that hand for its work.
And then we will begin to massage the other hand,
and I have enough oil already from before.
But if you need to add a little bit, you can do that.
So starting at the wrist,
starting with medium or light pressure
and increasing gently
Feeling space around the joint.
As you move through the palm of the hand,
awareness of the hand that's being massaged,
so that you can adapt this massage
to be exactly what it needs.
We'll come through each finger and thumb,
all the way to the end,
some circular motion around the joints.
Notice which fingers need more attention than the others.
Getting to the meaty part in between, on both sides.
Get there however you need,
if you can squeeze between there.
The other side.
Anything else that feels good on this hand,
be aware of that hand that's doing the massaging
and its mechanics, making sure that you are honoring it.
Rub the hands around each other a few times,
Rub them together
rub, rub, rub,
create that heat, warmth,
all around the hands
and the wrists, and then release the hands.
Feel the resulting sensations
from both the exercise and the massage.
Feel the warmth, maybe a gentle aura around the hand, glow.
Slowly opening the eyes.
Thank you so much and be well.
If you have any questions,
feel free to write them in the comments
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