United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

i have a lot of problems with my thumb not wanting to cooperate with the rest of my fingers. i have come up with some excercises that helps me and may help other people on here.

taking a bottle and practice turning the lid open and close (gatorade bottle or milk jug lid or anything along that size)

round maze kids toy. use bpi hand only to get ball in and out of center

shuffle a deck of cards

straighten a stack of paper using mostly bpi hand

toss a dumbbell weight from one hand to the other (as heavy as you can tolerate)

a 1 inch diameter bolt with a nut, turn the nut with bpi hand holding the bolt with good hand and vice versa

play piano or keyboard whether you can make music or not doesnt matter turn it off if you need to. just pushing down the keys one at a time with each finger will be good excercise. find someone who can teach you how to play a scale. playing a scale is a VERY GOOD thumb excercise. kids would really love this. it may even give them a musical skill. double bonus!!

these are only a few of the things i have found that helps keep my hand function from going down. any more suggestions?

If you are able to, typing two handed could probably help as well.

I try to type one-handed. but with my BPI hand. since i cant touch my fingers together, and i have no feeeling in my hand, i do not know what key i am pushing while typing 2 handed. i can watch my fingers to make sure they are on the right keys. it does help.

Maybe pinching like clothes pins or potato chip clips. They also make grip strengtheners in all sizes not just for hand grips. Silly putty and stress balls are always good too. Maybe even give someone a shoulder massage. That requires a lot of thumb strength.