View Full Version : Arthritis and grip??
Does anyone else have arthritis in their hands? I have broken three glasses since we got here, one a really nice Orrefors crystal glass, because my grip is just not there how I expect it to be?
Anyone else having this problem?
Teacher Terry
2-15-21, 11:00am
I lack strength when trying to open jars. I remember this happening to my mom. I bought a gripping pad to help. I had arthritis in my little finger on my right hand and it hurt badly when I knitted. 5 years ago I fell and broke it. The arthritis is gone. Very weird.
That is weird-- but kind of cool and encouraging!
Simplemind
2-15-21, 1:04pm
I have some discomfort in my hands but very little strength. Sometimes when I feel I have a good grip I find that I really don't. Mucho oooops going on.
Sometimes I have wondered if some neurological disease is creeping up on me because I am clumsy and drop things. If it is normal arthritis that would reassure me, but I don't have any pain.
Maybe tell the doctor about that, Yppej? I definitely have pain and swelling so was connecting the two. Simplemind, I have that same experience, that I have a good grip when I don't, and boom, the glass is on the floor.
iris lilies
2-16-21, 12:44pm
Sometimes I have wondered if some neurological disease is creeping up on me because I am clumsy and drop things. If it is normal arthritis that would reassure me, but I don't have any pain.
In my late 50’s I found my dexterity to be reduced. I would go to grip something, a small thing, and I wouldn’t get it!
Some exercises would have addressed that. Now i am used to it. Summer weeding, though, is good therapy for this.
I have horrible arthritis in my hands and especially my fingers. Sometimes I need to use both hands to lift a full glass. Also, I had to stop using larger glasses for my drinks. I guess my advice for you would to be just always use 2 hands to lift the glasses, and never use really big glasses. I used to see commercials about aids you could use for arthritis, like help opening a door, help with pulling your socks on, etc......and thought it was silly. Silly me! Now I need those very things. And karma has come back to haunt me when I used to laugh at the "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials. Now I could really use one of those help buttons!
We definitely lose strength/grip as we age if we don't work at it. You may not necessarily have arthritis. You can improve strength using a grip-ball and exercising fingers daily. (We used to call them stress balls). You can also get a hand-grip https://www.yogajournal.com/osp/best-hand-grip-strength-trainers/
A majority of us will get osteoarthritis in our hands over time, nearing 90% of those of us over 50 according to several studies I reviewed. However, only around 10% have pain or ever need surgical treatment.
My 71yo sister is now using a thumb brace when doing handwork (lots of cooking/chopping or her knitting) as the joint at the base of her thumb is very uncomfortable.
I suggest the strengthening activity first to see if it resolves.
I have a lot of hand pain and my index finger is now bent and distorted with nodules so assumed it was arthritis.
I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel on the other hand but that was years ago, and also "arthritic bone spurs on my neck" when I was 33, according to that doctor, thirty years ago.
Teacher Terry
2-26-21, 1:09pm
My mom had a lot of arthritis and she said that the best thing to do is to keep using your hands with exercises and activities that involve handwork. That’s what I have been doing.
I'm knitting again but they feel so stiff and clumsy. Same with playing my viola. But I'll keep at it,
I’ve had carpal tunnel/repetitive stress injury for years due to typing a ton from a young age. I don’t have a ton of hand strength. I find mugs with handles are easier to handle. I don’t use glasses anymore. I have several Hydroflask insulated stainless steel drink containers for tea and water. With being a large round they are easier to handle and the exterior is ever so slightly textured. Plus they’re not breakable.
I meant to show this earlier and forgot. I got this last year. It mounts under the cabinet. It works great, but sometimes it does leave some small spikes on metal jar lids. But I love it. It's the Grip Jar Opener.
3642
frugal-one
2-26-21, 4:48pm
I find the best solution for me is to lift light weights. If I do not do this I have pain as well as weakness. Worth a try.
Yes, thank goodness I have someone else in the house who can open jars.
Sometimes it momentarily astonishes me to look down and see my mom's hands at the end of my wrists.
Yes, thank goodness I have someone else in the house who can open jars.
Sometimes it momentarily astonishes me to look down and see my mom's hands at the end of my wrists.
So far, I haven't met a jar I couldn't open, but I'm sure I have diminished hand strength.
My fingers are bent. It's amazing what you can't do, when they're just a little bent. Picking up something like a needle or a toothpick is almost impossible. It's weird!
My fingers are bent. It's amazing what you can't do, when they're just a little bent. Picking up something like a needle or a toothpick is almost impossible. It's weird!
Or how about pointing in a straight line! LOL!
I'm right there with you. This week I have dropped an astonishing number of things, the worst being a full jug of water I was using to water the plants on the high window sill. Well, so the floor below got washed at the same time. As some of you may remember, I've had a bad time with my wrists and hands in the past few years with the ulna-shortening surgeries, then the subsequent titanium plate removals, the torn cartilage, and now Duputreyn's Syndrome. I am glad I have my guy around to help with stubborn jar lids and child-proof caps (I had asked the pharmacy for old-people medicine caps last year, but I guess they forgot this time around). I also have trouble opening cans with a hand-powered can opener, so at some point I will probably have to get an electric can opener.
I am making a little jewelry, albeit very slowly. It takes me four times as long to make a batch of rings these days. And guitar playing is going very slowly. I manage about 15 mins twice a week right now. I have no idea if things will improve over time. I am a little over two months out since the last surgery. So frustrating, really....
I'm right there with you. This week I have dropped an astonishing number of things, the worst being a full jug of water I was using to water the plants on the high window sill. Well, so the floor below got washed at the same time. As some of you may remember, I've had a bad time with my wrists and hands in the past few years with the ulna-shortening surgeries, then the subsequent titanium plate removals, the torn cartilage, and now Duputreyn's Syndrome. I am glad I have my guy around to help with stubborn jar lids and child-proof caps (I had asked the pharmacy for old-people medicine caps last year, but I guess they forgot this time around). I also have trouble opening cans with a hand-powered can opener, so at some point I will probably have to get an electric can opener.
I am making a little jewelry, albeit very slowly. It takes me four times as long to make a batch of rings these days. And guitar playing is going very slowly. I manage about 15 mins twice a week right now. I have no idea if things will improve over time. I am a little over two months out since the last surgery. So frustrating, really....
I got an electric can opener a long time ago........it really helps!
Or how about pointing in a straight line! LOL!
LOL! I've said before of my fingers, if someone asks for directions and I would point, they would totally get lost. My 2 index fingers make different turns at the 3 different joints in them! The tips of these fingers being bent is what makes picking small things up so difficult.
GeorgeParker
2-27-21, 4:01pm
The tips of these fingers being bent is what makes picking small things up so difficult.Have you tried using kitchen tongs? My hands are fine, but I keep a pair of tongs in my toolbox for picking up tiny screws, reaching into small spaces, etc.
Tongs come in various sizes, prices, and styles. Some have pointed ends, some scoop ends, some loop ends. Some are hinged at the top (opposite the pickup end) and some are hinged close to the pickup end like a pair of pliers. Take a look around whenever you're in the kitchen area of a store and you'll probably find a pair of tongs that would make picking up tiny objects easier.
OXO Good Grips tongs are highly rated:
3646
Have you tried using kitchen tongs? My hands are fine, but I keep a pair of tongs in my toolbox for picking up tiny screws, reaching into small spaces, etc.
Tongs come in various sizes, prices, and styles. Some have pointed ends, some scoop ends, some loop ends. Some are hinged at the top (opposite the pickup end) and some are hinged close to the pickup end like a pair of pliers. Take a look around whenever you're in the kitchen area of a store and you'll probably find a pair of tongs that would make picking up tiny objects easier.
OXO Good Grips tongs are highly rated:
3646
I also own a telescoping magnet for picking my errant needles off the floor.
Good ideas you guys! I use those OXO tongs in my kitchen, but I hadn't considered keeping one in other rooms. thanks for the idea!
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