Hi! I’m Hand Coach Corinne and I help those with chronic hand pain from arthritis or hypermobility how to support, exercise, and protect their hand joints so they can do all their favorite and necessary activities with less pain and greater efficiency.
In this guest blog post for Grace & Able, I’m going to explain how compression gloves can help you!
Reduce swelling to reduce pain
When it comes to joint pain, inflammation is the enemy. Stiff, swollen fingers and hands can make it more difficult to do everyday activities.
Hands and feet are prone to swelling because fluid tends to accumulate in the extremities, the parts of us furthest from our heart.
Gentle compression guides this excess fluid back into the lymphatic system, reducing swelling, and in turn decreases pain.
Gentle compression confuses pain signals
Have you ever bumped your knee, then immediately rubbed it?
Confusing the nerve signals to the brain like this reduces your sensation of pain.
Compression works in a similar way to rubbing a bumped knee by sending competing sensory information to your brain, which confuses the pain signals.
Better circulation reduces inflammation and pain
When you have poor circulation, your hands can feel achy and cold. Compression gloves keep hands warm and boost circulation to bring healing agents to your cells, reducing pain and inflammation.
This is especially important for people with chronic joint pain conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome (EDS) - if you have one of these conditions you’re more likely to have decreased circulation.
Improves joint proprioception aka ‘reduces butterfingers’
Do you find yourself dropping items? Or unable to hold items tightly enough?
It could be related to proprioception. Proprioception is your awareness of where your hand is in relation to the rest of your body. People living with chronic hand pain may have decreased proprioception.
Wearing compression gloves can bring greater awareness into your hands so you are less likely to drop things!
Those are four ways that compression gloves can help you. Did I miss anything?
If you found this helpful, come and check out more about how I can support you with your hand pain challenges in one of my group coaching programs or a course. I’m incredibly passionate about helping you get back to doing what you want and need to do, just with less pain!