Finger tendon tightness can contribute to everything from tendon injuries, to tennis elbow, to wrist problems, to carpal tunnel and more.
It turn out that these tendons are one of the most overused areas of your body.
The palm press is my favorite exercise to make sure those tendons are supple and healthy.
Watch the video below then give it a try.
Start with your palms together in front of you, with the elbows close enough for your wrists to be neutral.
Push the hands down and the elbows out to bend the wrists back.
When you get a stretch in your wrists pause, then try to press the bottom of the palms away while you keep the base of your fingers (the part where people often have callouses) together.
Pause, then reverse the motion.
Watch in a mirror as you do it.
Does one side move less than the other? (if you watch the video closely you can see that my right side isn’t as flexible)
Does that side correlate with the side of your body you tend to have more problems on? (for me…yep!)
The Purpose of the Exercise
The palm press is a recovery exercise for the tendons of your fingers and hands.
The tendons in your fingers begin as muscles in your forearms.
Most people have done some standard wrist stretching which can be helpful, but those stretches don’t always isolate the finger tendons (by the way, here’s a better way to do that wrist stretch).
This exercise forces you to move through those important tendons to keep them healthy.
How Many and How Often?
The palm press is another perfect exercise to do each evening after a busy day. It’s perfect for helping those finger tendons recover.
Here’s a simple sequence that I have found works well.
- 10 slow repetitions
- Shake out the hands for 10-20 seconds
- 10 more slow repetitions
- Shake out the hands for 10-20 seconds
- 10 more slow repetitions