An Amazingly Easy Exercise to Treat Parkinson’s Arm and Hand Stiffness

One of my fighters was reporting advancing stiffness and tremor in her left hand. She also said her neck and shoulder were stiff on that same side. She wanted a simple exercise she could do at home that would address the curling fingers and stiff shoulder.

I came up with an easy solution that doesn’t require any equipment—you can do it anywhere. It really helps by getting the upper back, shoulder blades, and shoulder moving. This extra self-cueing helps to remind you to “splay” out your fingers. By using your less symptomatic hand and arm, you can raise up the more symptomatic side and stretch out both at the same time.

Watch this video to see how to do this amazingly simple exercise to treat Parkinson’s arm and hand stiffness: 

Here are the steps to do this great exercise:

• Stand or sit up straight and place your best hand/arm (you may call it the strong side) on your stomach.

• Place the stiff hand with more symptoms (some call it their weak hand) on top.
• With fingers splayed on both hands and elbows lifted, start to push the top hand up with the bottom hand. Go up as high as you can with pain-free motion.

• Once your arms are as high as you can lift them, separate and circle them around, bringing them slowly to the starting position again.

• Make sure you are standing straight and using your core. It’s very easy to compensate by bending backwards. This will strain your low back; you have to pay special attention to this.

• Instead, go into an athletic stance (a slight squat) and do the exercise from that position to tip your pelvis slightly forward.

You can do this throughout the day, seated or standing. Anyone with PD can benefit from this easy exercise.

If you want more easy-to-follow videos specifically designed for people with Parkinson’s to help with stiffness in your hands, arms, and shoulders, check out my complete hand course:  PD Exercises to Improve Hand Dexterity & Mobility. These short, effective videos will help you improve the function of your hands, increase your quality of life, and preserve your independence. We’ve received great testimonials on this course. To own these videos, click here!

As always, go forth and conquer!

💜 Coach Kimberly