We spend a lot of time on laptops and smartphones. The fingers are always in motion, which can lead to joint pain. Physician Meike Diessner reveals how you can reduce the risk of osteoarthritis in your fingers with two simple exercises.
The evolution is impressive – and crazy. Or is it us? Once upon a time, the first primates stood up and saw their surroundings standing on both legs. Suddenly they had two hands free and could use tools.
The fingers became more and more skillful and a good two million years ago the flexible thumbs became another decisive and tangible factor why today we not only hold stones, but also smartphones in our hands and can use them more or less skillfully.
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Fortunately, the brain grew with it (at least we like to think so of ourselves) and we ensure further development and our own evolution with new technology at an ever more breathtaking pace. On all levels. good and bad. Because high-tech can not only simplify many things and heal illnesses and injuries. Progress always brings new complaints. Shouldn’t be boring.
Meike Diessner is the founder of the practice for integrative orthopedics in Bochum and specializes in conservative therapy methods. As a sports and nutritionist, the topic of healthy eating is particularly important to her. More information can be found on their website or their Instagram channel.
In the past, people toiled to death in the fields, underground the lungs got dusty, muscles and joints groaned. And today? In the high-tech world with PCs, tablets and the like, the groundbreaking thumb is flying around our ears more and more often.
We’re always on our smartphones or sitting at our laptops: That’s how this column came about. Although I no longer have to sit hunched over my typewriter when a mistake creeps in in the last sentence and I can start from the beginning, we all adopt forced postures: on the PC, tablet and smartphone.
Our thumb tirelessly wipes across the display at record speed and our fingers are pushed to the limit by constantly repeating email and WhatsApp activities. All of this increases the risk of osteoarthritis, this time specifically in our hands. It’s not for nothing that the “mobile phone thumb” has meanwhile become its own term alongside the “mouse arm”, although our filigree grippers and powerful paws are by no means as susceptible to arthrosis as knees and hips.
One thing is clear: If a symptom becomes a common disease and it is given a memorable name, that is a dubious success. It’s good that my column should be a strong partner for your health and joints.
So let’s get down to business again – with the usual light fare. This time not served on a plate, but warm in the bowl and fresh from my book “Joints in Luck”.
“Joints in Happiness” by Meike Diessner
Because lenses are not only good from the inside, they also help our fingers when arthrosis is approaching, when pain or swelling makes everyday life difficult.
All you need is a bowl, some uncooked lentils and an oven or microwave (saves time, electricity and money. And time is money, so doubly good). This is how polyarthrosis is tackled so that you, dear readers, do not have to make the painful acquaintance with the technical term for arthrosis of the middle and end joints of the fingers.
When the lentils are pleasantly warm (please do not cook!), we immerse our hands in the bowl for 10 minutes, slide our hands through the legumes and carry out gripping movements in the lentil bath.
As you can see, movement not only helps on a large scale, but also with such small movements. If you want to kill two birds with one stone with the exercise and want to support your hands inside and out, please wash your fins beforehand.
After work, as is well known, comes pleasure: you are welcome to cook your lentils afterwards. Lentils are considered an excellent source of protein, which not least pleases the muscles on our fingers.
Now that you’ve learned how to give your fingers a spa treatment in no time, let’s take another quick look at our thumb—the slightly different finger. It has a few turns more than its longer counterparts. In other words: In addition to bending and stretching, we can let it circle in all directions and of course over our smartphones.
Does your thumb hurt when you lock the door or open a bottle? Does it crunch and rub when you twist your thumb? If so, please don’t think “don’t forget it”, rather grab one.
Get a scouring pad from your closet: Don’t panic, I don’t want to encourage you to a cleaning orgy, I just want to show you what you can do with simple means so that your thumb runs like clockwork again.
Dip the sponge in warm water, then slowly squeeze it with your hand and repeat several times.
Admittedly, warm-up exercises in the heat of summer also take effort, but the cold doesn’t help the battered finger joints with arthrosis at all. Unless a joint is acutely inflamed. If you don’t like it warm, because the seventh zoom meeting of the day was already hot again anyway, you can let your frustration out – better off the camera angle: clench your hands into fists and then spread your fingers apart until you feel a stretch. This makes mind and body flexible again!
We simply have so many options these days: We shouldn’t be discouraged by new complaints, but rather take targeted and simple countermeasures. By the way: If you are right-handed, you can also develop osteoarthritis in your left hand.
This shows that we can’t necessarily do anything about it, even if we churn out 187 messages a day in a row or ensure that hundreds of people can happily receive their packages because someone lifts the burden, shoulders it and delivers it for us every day. (Epi-) Genetic factors can also play a role and we women are generally more frequently affected by polyarthrosis. To put it bluntly: Mama arthrosis, daughter watch out and better go for a swim in the lenses.
If you take countermeasures early and pay attention to signs, you can prevent arthrosis and alleviate symptoms before they have really settled in with us. And honestly: cell phone thumb, mouse arm, smartphone neck…
For me as a doctor, the modern “laughing numbers” are enough for serious complaints. I don’t need any new terms and don’t want to have to treat my “laptop shoulder” any time soon. I’d better squeeze sponges together and close the computer now.
