Hand and finger stiffness is a huge problem for people with Parkinson’s. I bet at one time or another every one of my fighters and dancers has come to me asking for hand exercises.

I was working with one of my private clients and I asked her to do the thumb painting exercise. When she said, “Wow! That is really hard!” I realized we take the ability to use our thumbs for granted when we don’t have PD.

Today’s quick hit is going to be painting your fingers with your thumb. I started doing this as my own hand therapy after I broke my thumb while hiking years ago. I still do it to warm up my thumbs.

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.

Throughout the day in our boxing gym, we help people perfect their boxing technique so they can safely use non-contact boxing modified for Parkinson’s to help them slow down their disease. One boxing move that can be frustrating for people with Parkinson’s is the uppercut. Sometimes we see unusual wear patterns on the thumbs of their boxing gloves. This is because they can’t rotate their forearms and end up hitting with their thumbs up. There are a couple of big hurdles to performing the uppercut correctly, or any other task that requires the “palms up” position.

So often we “pinch” or “squeeze” our shoulder blades together trying to stand straighter. Even well-meaning health professionals use this cue to correct their clients’ posture. This motion puts your back, shoulders, and neck in an unhealthy position, creating more pain and dysfunction.

Your shoulder blades should “glide and float” on your ribs. If you have a stooped posture, your shoulder blades can’t sit or glide normally on the ribs, causing pain in your upper back and shoulders.

The “Open the Newspaper” Exercise is a great way to remind your shoulder blades where neutral position is, and it promotes a healthy range of motion of the scapula (shoulder blades). All you need is a full-size (36-inch) foam roller.

It’s April, Parkinson’s Awareness Month. During this month, there are a lot of fundraisers and public awareness and education campaigns. But I’d like to pause for a moment and celebrate the Parkinson’s “Support Team”—the loving partners, family members, and caregivers operating behind the scenes who so often exhaust themselves with tasks, worry, and run their own tanks empty.