Opening jars, turning a set of keys to the deadbolt to our homes, or just picking up bulky items throughout our day; hand movements make our lives functional. The unique organization of fingers and thumbs at the end of our arms gifts us the ability to type, use our phones, drive, and make food. Opposable thumbs are a unique tool to the human race, giving us a one up on over other animals. What would we do without our trusty hands?
Our five fingered money makers provide many life enhancing attributes. Toddlers learning to build Legos and refining their dexterity and fine motor skills. Students from grammar school to college perfect the art of depicting their thoughts via pen and paper, typing, and now enter into the era of utilizing cell phones to text as their primary mode of communication. Tradesmen such as framers, electricians, and mechanics have the unique ability to of build houses, wire the electrical infrastructure of a house, and the invaluable ability to make cars go “vroom.” Hands are significant to life the same way wings make birds fly. Hands take a beating throughout life. After a career’s worth of putting our trusty mitts through stressful situations, they might get tattered and worn out.
Maintaining physical abilities to perform everyday tasks is important. Hands deteriorate over time just like a car’s brakes do after a few years of driving. As we advance in our age, we might develop painful symptoms in hand joints such as arthritis, broken fingers, or damaged tendons. These maladies present obstacles to function in our normal routines. The first natural approach to an obstacle is to move around it. Unfortunately, maneuvering around hand upkeep can lead to a halt in our daily physical activities we enjoy so much hand pain isn’t as enjoyable as a November trip to Kauai. However, if we let it deter our normal functions, it’s a hassle to regain the strength of our hands if unmaintained over time.
Risk of falling is another critically significant factor that can occur as we age. After a hard-working career, physical activity might slow down during retirement. As physical activity decreases so does balance, coordination, and awareness to the surroundings of our environment. This presents the situation of tripping over objects and falling to the ground. As my 100-year-old grandpa told me last week, “There’s nothing worse than plummeting to the ground and not knowing when you’re going to crash.” He related this to when he bailed out of a flaming plane in World War Two and to a fall that he experienced a few years back. He shared that both experiences were similar.
The normal reaction when a person falls is to reach out and grab onto something to either save themselves from toppling over or reducing the speed of the fall. This is where hands can come in as an emergency breaking mechanism should a fall occur. Society has adapted to decrease the severity of falls by ensuring there are ADA compliant rails around walkways and businesses. These rails are a significantly important tool to be used as a resource if someone is at the risk of falling. The ability to grab onto objects such as rails, handles, or a person’s coat sleeve decreases the catastrophic events a fall can impose upon a person. Therefore, appreciating the ability to grab onto objects with our hands shouldn’t be overlooked.
We can reinforce our ability to grab, hold, and manipulate items with our hands via an adherent resistance training program. Grab those weights and bust out a set of ten repetitions of biceps curls. Perform finger, wrist, and elbow stretches. Get in the garden and use that shovel to throw some dirt around. Keep opening those jars without asking for help from your grandkids. In order to maintain our ever so important grip strength, we can’t stop performing the duties that make our hands strong.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
