Date: 27 July 2020. Keeping Hands Flexible.

© janice142

In the springtime of 2019 I thought I was Tinkerbell and attempted to fly. I told you about that fiasco in the Broken Arm Lessons article. As a part of my rehabilitation the physical therapist recommended a series of Range of Motion exercises. For my hands I have done similar for many years in order to keep my fingers moving properly. Today I'll give you my $1 solution to stiff hands.
 

These are some of the gizmos I have utilized to keep my fingers moving.

 

Real physical therapists have fancy foam balls to squeeze. For someone with weak hands those simply will not work. The balls are often too firm and uncomfortably large for my smaller hands.

Decades ago I discovered that computer work along with holding a mouse caused my hands to stiffen. Movement would become both difficult and painful. My fingers would ache.

Fortunately the Dollar Tree store now has a solution:

The pretzel is easy to hold. When gripping it tightly there is a small
amount of stiffness to the toy. For me this is a Good Enough exercise ball.

I knew that by gently moving the squishy toy my hands would become more flexible. There is an old saying which sums up the program I initiated all those years ago:

Move It or Lose It!
 

Eons ago I had the cutest little Scooby ball. It provided exactly what I needed. The toy easily fit in my palm. Throughout the day I would give it a few squeezes.
 

Later that Scooby exercise ball was discovered by a dog-friend of Skipper's.
Sid shredded it leaving damp bits of my exercise ball all over. Argh! This is the culprit:

To Sid, the Scooby was great fun to destroy.

Dogs will be dogs. Because Skipper does not play with
toys of any sort, I did not even consider hiding the Scooby.
 

Sid seemed to have had a wonderful time killing the exercise ball. To him Scooby was a nifty new chew toy. Fortunately for me it was easily to replace. Best of all the new one was inexpensive. Plus Sid had a good time, so there is that too.
 

Squishy toys found on the toy aisle at Dollar Tree are regularly utilized to keep hand stiffness at bay.

Every time I go to the Dollar Tree I look with an idea of what secondary use a particular item could have. Recently I spotted a squishy cake to add to my hand exercise stash. These toys are soft and do deteriorate over time. Thus having extras is, if you will pardon the pun, handy.
 

I keep the recently purchased cake by my bunk. Others are scattered
where they might be used momentarily then tucked back aside for later.

The Dollar Tree is a favorite store for inexpensive gear that can be utilized to make my life easier. Though this is not precisely boat gear, keeping dexterity is especially important. When it comes to normal day-to-day life aboard Seaweed being flexible helps more than one might imagine.
 

Stuff breaks, all too often. Next up is a tale of
woe, along with what I'm doing to rectify same.

Preview:

Thank you for reading. I appreciate that.
 

Is there any particular routine you use to keep flexible?
And, have you found anything cool at the Dollar Tree of late?
 

COMMENTS:
 

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