3 tips for comforted & cozy hands
Hi {first_name}!
The vibe of this post is cozy and comforting ☕
So read on if you want those feelings for your hands! 😍
Last week you learned all about how we feel more pain in our hands per neuroscience. (If you missed that post, read it here).
Orrrr… TLDR:
Your hands have a greater density of nerve endings in them, which can make us feel more in our hands (including pain)
Guess which body part takes up an EXTREMELY DISPROPORTIONATE amount of space in your brain compared to their actual size? Yuuup, it’s our hands. This means we get a lot more communication to and from our hands and our brain, which can ALSO make us *feel* our hand pain more.
With this new understanding about how pain is communicated to us from our hands, what can we actually do about this??
Today I am spilling 3 tips to decrease your hand pain using neuroscience:
TIP #1: Meet your new BFFs: Compression gloves.
One of the reasons compression gloves decrease your hand pain is because they provide continuous pressure over all the aspects of your hands.
Your hands communicate this pressure sensation to your brain, and this can actually INTERRUPT the pain signals being sent from your hands to your brain.
🤯 🤯 🤯
Amazing right?!?! How simple is this explanation!
Compression gloves are perfect for defeating your hand fatigue after a long day of using your hands, and they also are soooo cozy to sleep in! If you sleep in them, be sure to flip them seam-side out and size up 🙂
(And if you’re in the market for compression gloves, be sure to check out my favorite brand. They’re so soft and cute, and you can use my code ‘CORINNE10’ for 10% off!)
TIP #2: Hand massages are not only relaxing, they can also decrease pain.
Using these same principles, if you expose your hands to different types of touch (for example, light tickly touches or a deep pressure massage) these signals will interrupt your hand’s pain signals to your brain.
Hand massage is a great way to distract your brain from the pain, and so often my clients report lingering benefits even following hand massages, especially if you use a pain relief cream!
Ask your partner or best friend to help you, or do it yourself!
You can play around with how light or deep the massage is. One of my favorite ways to massage my hands without using my other hand is to use a massage ball such as these (or a bouncy ball, to be honest LOL). Just roll it between your hands, or on a table!
TIP #3: Kinesiotape makes so much sense now!
While (depending on how you apply it) kinesiotape can provide slight support to your hand joints, the *real* reason why it works so well at decreasing your hand pain is because…
…the touch sensation from the tape interrupts your hands’ pain signals and instead feeds your brain with that gentle light touch sensation.
(If you’re looking for a way to apply kinesiotape to your thumbs, I’ve got you! Here is my most popular tutorial 💛)
Isn’t science just too cool! 🤓
PS - If you haven't yet tuned into my free masterclass, do it now! You'll learn these essential secrets for decreasing your hand pain:
😱 One of the most overlooked things that could be contributing to your hand pain, that nearly all your doctors and therapists have missed
💪 My #1 Hand Exercise Hack: How to exercise your hands daily, without adding ANYTHING EXTRA to your calendar
😍 How to reduce your hand pain without spending a penny