A hand massage can help:
- Pain relief: The most common forms of arthritis in the hand are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. If you suffer from chronic arthritis in your hand, regular hand and wrist massage can reduce your pain and improve your grip strength.
- RSI: If you use your hands for repetitive tasks, such as typing, and you regularly experience pain or cramping, a hand massage could relax your muscles.
- Improve circulation: Stimulating circulation in your hands is important, especially if you suffer from a condition such as Raynaud’s disease, a painful condition of the fingers, toes and other areas, which is believed to be caused by a sharp and persistent contraction of a blood vessel, causing a marked reduction in blood flow to the fingers.
- Surgery and injury: Improving circulation in your hand is also important following surgery or after an injury, such as ligament sprains and muscle strains. Improved circulation to your injured tissues helps speed your healing by bringing more nutrients to the area of injury and removing the harmful metabolic byproducts that tend to accumulate in your tissues following trauma.
- Improve hand mobility: Hand massage helps loosen tight hand muscles, reduces scar tissue and adhesions that cause decreased finger and wrist mobility, and improves your hand’s various ranges of motion and flexibility.
THE HAND MASSAGE
You could put a flower essences mixture in the centre of your palms before giving yourself a hand massage. Or mix a little essential oil in with some hand cream and rub into your hands before giving yourself the treatment. Not too much, otherwise your fingers will skid everywhere!
Step 1 – Begin your treatment by sitting quietly and closing your eyes. Take a few deep breaths as you still your body and focus your mind.
Step 2 – Begin your hand massage by pinching the tips of each finger of your left hand (nail to back). Reverse and repeat this process on your right hand. The pressure applied to your fingers should be firm, but not painful. A few seconds for each fingertip will do.
Step 3 – After pinching the tops your fingertips go back to each tip and pinch them again, this time squeezing from side to side.
Step 4 – Vigorously rub from base to tip of each finger of your left hand, front and back plus sides. Reverse and repeat this process on your right hand.
Step 5 – Tug each finger and thumb firmly.
Step 6 – Using your right thumb and forefinger, firmly grasp the webbed area between your thumb and forefinger of your left hand. Keeping a firm hold, tug at the skin gently until the fleshy web snaps away from your grasp. Repeat this process for the areas between all your fingers. Reverse and repeat this process on your right hand.
Step 7 – Turn your left-hand palm down. Use your right thumb to massage the back of your hand. Massage the knuckles and in-between knuckle area first. Continue thumb massaging each area on the back of the hand. Reverse and repeat this process on your right hand.
Step 8 – Cradle your left wrist (palm up) inside your right hand. Use your thumb to massage your inner wrist. This is an especially soothing massage for anyone who routinely uses their wrists in repetitive movements, such as computer work. Reverse and repeat this process on your right hand.
Step 9 – Massage the palm of your left hand with your right thumb, knuckle or the blunt end of a crystal wand. Massage the fleshier mound areas more deeply. Reverse and repeat this process on your right hand.
Step 10 – At the end of the session press your right thumb or the blunt end of a crystal wand deeply in the centre of your left palm. Reverse and repeat this process on your right hand. Take a few deep breaths and centre yourself.
If you are a Reiki practitioner, activate your hand chakras before giving yourself a hand massage.
