Thursday, November 21, 2013
Hand & Wrist Exercise & Handmaster Plus
I have been asked to post a brief history as to why I developed Handmaster Plus hand and wrist exercise. Here it is:
Handmaster Plus
Hand & Wrist Exercise & Handmaster Plus. Why?
There is much misinformation and misunderstanding regarding hand muscles and proper balanced hand and finger exercise. To follow is a summary why we have spent the last 13 years researching and developing Handmaster Plus so that proper hand exercise principles can be followed and understood easily. Poor hand exercise and repetitive stress/grip injury (RSI) have been at the root cause of finger, thumb, hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm and elbow imbalance conditions and poor performance for decades - and is especially the case in our current computer, smartphone and video game crazed society.
There is much misinformation and misunderstanding regarding hand muscles and proper balanced hand and finger exercise. To follow is a summary why we have spent the last 13 years researching and developing Handmaster Plus so that proper hand exercise principles can be followed and understood easily. Poor hand exercise and repetitive stress/grip injury (RSI) have been at the root cause of finger, thumb, hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm and elbow imbalance conditions and poor performance for decades - and is especially the case in our current computer, smartphone and video game crazed society.
Here is a recap of hand muscles, Handmaster Plus and
balanced hand exercise applications.
The 9 muscles that close the hand are
located generally on the front of the hand, wrist, forearm and elbow. Equally,
the 9 muscles that open the hand
are generally located on the back of the hand, wrist, forearm and elbow.
Most people have very strong shortened closing (grip) muscles, due to
repetitive gripping, but very weak hand opening muscles. This imbalance
threatens the health and stability of the lower arm and hand. Due to the diversity
of the hand muscles, in order to have strong, healthy fingers,
thumbs, hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm and elbow, the muscles
that open and close the hand must be in balance.
Handmaster Plus™ is unique in
its ability to exercise the hand through full, natural planes and ranges of motion,
through both the opening and closing actions. It
strengthens and balances all 18 hand muscles in one simple continuous exercise.
So Simple. No mess. Nothing to misunderstand. USERS WILL COMPLY!
In practise, when I used to use multiple exercises, multiple balls and elastic bands and putty, very few patients ever followed through consistently. It was just too confusing and really did not properly address true planes and ranges of motion ROM.
Other hand exercise products dictate how and where
the hand must move in an exercise, often only in 2-dimensions and not nearly through
the full range of motion (ROM’s). Not Handmaster Plus™… It
allows the natural 3-dimensional motion of the hand to dictate the motion of
the exercise. The result is optimal muscle strength, balance and flexibility,
as well as comprehensive nerve stimulation and maximum blood flow and
venous/lymphatic drainage to and away from all of the tissues.
Compare the Handmaster Plus™ to other products and
consider:
1.Is the hand moving through all
ranges of motion, both opening & closing?
2.Is the hand moving naturally, in
3 dimensions?
3.Are all peripheral nerves to the
hand being stimulated (median, ulnar & radial nerves)?
The Handmaster Plus™ is an all-around finger, thumb,
hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm & elbow training, rehabilitation and
injury prevention solution.
The product is designed by Dr. Terry P. Zachary,
a health care professional and former professional golfer.
“I originally designed the product to train finger
and thumb extension and abduction for performance enhancement and injury
prevention,” says Dr. Zachary. “It worked out as well as I could have imagined.
As I used it in practice, it also became my perfect final phase protocol for
most finger, thumb, hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm and elbow conditions.”
“Explain the desired exercise to your patient or athlete and send them
on their way. It is so easy to understand and use. Daily use of Handmaster Plus
will improve their muscle strength, balance and stability, as well as improve
blood flow and lymph drainage to all tissues and joint surfaces in the area.
This will re-establish the efficient supply of oxygen and nutrients and improve
the transport of toxins away from the tissues. Ultimately, the tissues are
brought to an optimal state and the risk of reoccurring injury, adhesions and
scar formation is greatly reduced. The key to the success of the product is how
the body naturally reacts to daily, balanced exercise through full, natural,
3-dimensional planes of motion. The user just opens and closes their hand. So
simple.”
Now Handmaster Plus is changing the way people exercise and rehabilitate their hands worldwide.
Follow hand and wrist exerciser link to get more information on Handmaster Plus
Labels: carpal tunnel, elbow, exerciser, finger, hand, hand and wrist exercise, hand exerciser, Handmaster Plus, thumb, wrist, wrist exerciser
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Hand & Finger Grip Strength Exercises & Bad Posture to the Hand Wrist & Elbow
I can't say I know how it happened, but hand muscle strengthening and grip strength exercises have been poorly misinterpreted in our society for decades. And the resultant problems are rampant. Yet health experts claim that the cause of hand, wrist, carpal tunnel & elbow imbalance is mostly unknown. The anatomy has been there in clear site in Grey's Anatomy since 1858!
Think of what you have been told over the years regarding hand strength exercises. Were you given or told to get a tennis ball, a racquetball, a coiled gripper, a spring-loaded gripper or a stress ball to squeeze repetitively to help you with your hand strength? I was. And It may have felt as though you were getting stronger in the short-term using these items, but in the long term these 'grip-only' items promote imbalance to the hand, wrist, carpal tunnel & elbow. On their own they are inefficient at best... harmful at worst.
We know so much more about hand muscles and hand & finger strength exercises today. There are nine muscles that close the hand (that are generally located on the front of the hand, wrist, forearm and elbow) as well as nine muscles that open the hand (that are generally located on the back of the hand, wrist, forearm and elbow). They work in unison to make each key peck, flex, grab and grip that we do every day. And yet we do such a poor job of taking care of them. Why would we ever think it is a good exercise to only address the nine muscles that close the hand? Because this is what tradition has led us to believe. Our consumer culture provides what we ask for... and we don't know the difference - until now!
And, inevitably, this same imbalance is at the core of so many mysterious finger, thumb, hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm and elbow injuries, yet our ignorance of hand muscle anatomy & balance leaves us clueless as to the cause. Instead we mostly focus on managing the symptoms of the resulting imbalance condition. This is always an inadequate approach. Even experts in computers, smartphones, gaming, sports, music and workplace ergonomics are still adhering to this archaic 'grip-only' advice in strengthening this area. It is the blind leading the blind. There can be no way to accomplish strength, balance and stability with this hand strength exercise approach.
Handmaster Plus combines multiple complicated exercises into very few balanced exercises that allow the user to train through full balanced natural ranges of motion. Great for users, trainers and therapists. People understand the concept of hand muscle balance exercises affecting the stability of the hand, wrist, carpal tunnel & elbow once they hear it. The problem is the dense traditional belief system that society has created about 'grip-only' hand exercise (i.e. the acceptance of coiled grippers, spring-loaded grippers & stress balls, tennis balls, etc.) or no exercise.
We are educating 100's per day and we appreciate your assistance in spreading the word. These are very preventable conditions if we just recognize the imbalance that occurs from regular gripping. Repetitive gripping is much the same concept as bad posture. We would never strengthen the 'flexing' muscles of the core to correct bad posture. Yet this is just what we do in hand muscle balance every day... we keep advancing the flexion imbalance and thus we keep seeing hand, wrist, carpal tunnel and elbow instability... let's address hand muscle balance exercises from the start and stabilize these vitally key muscles & joints!
The other key factor of complete balanced exercise is that we stimulate maximum blood flow. Blood flow is how we get vital oxygen & nutrients to our tissues. Why would anyone only use a small range of any muscle. Move as fully as you are safely able for optimum tissue health. It applies everywhere in your body, not just the hand, wrist & elbow....
For more information on Handmaster Plus or to purchase, click the following link: hand finger strength exercise
Labels: carpal tunnel, exerciser, finger, finger exercises, grip strength, hand, hand exercises, Handmaster Plus, wrist
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Guitar Hand or Grip Strength Exercises & Training - How Often?
Q: I was recently asked by a guitar player how often they should use Handmaster Plus per day to strengthen hand and grip strength, as he was experiencing fatigue. Handmaster Plus strengthens not only the finger flexor muscles but also the extensor muscles both of which are crucial to hand and grip strength for guitar players and injury prevention.
A: Use Handmaster Plus 1 - 3 times per day until you experience a comfortable fatigue. Each session length will be different for each user as 'comfortable fatigue' is an individual goal. I suggest the Handmaster Plus 3-pack as it is on special right now and includes all 3 strengths. You can start with the soft product and progress at your own pace, depending on your level of fatigue. Visit www.handmasterplus.com for more information.
Best,doczac
A: Use Handmaster Plus 1 - 3 times per day until you experience a comfortable fatigue. Each session length will be different for each user as 'comfortable fatigue' is an individual goal. I suggest the Handmaster Plus 3-pack as it is on special right now and includes all 3 strengths. You can start with the soft product and progress at your own pace, depending on your level of fatigue. Visit www.handmasterplus.com for more information.
Best,doczac
Labels: exercise, finger, fret hand forearm weakness weak fatigue cramp tired solo music musician guitarist injury problem exercise training Handmaster Plus grip strength strengthening, Guitar exercise, tabs
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Guitar Hero (and Rock Star) Hand Muscle Exercise
On the verge of the release of Guitar Hero 4 and Rock Star 2, popularity of (and competition for) music related video games is rocketing. With users (gamers) of all ages passionate about these video games, finger, thumb, hand, wrist & elbow injuries (RSI's like tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, gamers thumb, trigger finger, etc.) are also on the rise due to the repetitive nature of Guitar Hero and Rock Star. Like guitarist, drummers, bassists, keyboard (piano) players, wind instrumentalists and other musicians, hand muscles are enormously involved in Guitar Hero and Rock Star playing, so let's understand their role.
Very simply 9 muscles close the hand and are located on the front of the fingers, thumb, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow.
Equally, 9 muscles open the hand and are on the back of the fingers, thumb, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow
Very simply, the muscles that close the hand do most of the visible actions of pressing the color keys or striking the drums (or strumming). The muscles that open the hand work in support of the action of the hand closing muscles, as do the wrsit extensors. All muscles are active when playing Guitar Hero or Rock Star and are therfore open to overuse and repetition syndromes. All muscles must be balanced and toned properly (through full ranges of motion) to maximize Guitar Hero or Rock Star performance (improve speed, strength, stamina and accuracy) and prevent injury.
See our video on Guitar Hero player Dustin Jensen as we collect hand muscle activity patterns using sEMG (surface electromyography) and watch how easy it is to train all 18 hand muscles using Handmaster Plus by doczac (see http://www.doczac.com/).
Very simply 9 muscles close the hand and are located on the front of the fingers, thumb, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow.
Equally, 9 muscles open the hand and are on the back of the fingers, thumb, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow
Very simply, the muscles that close the hand do most of the visible actions of pressing the color keys or striking the drums (or strumming). The muscles that open the hand work in support of the action of the hand closing muscles, as do the wrsit extensors. All muscles are active when playing Guitar Hero or Rock Star and are therfore open to overuse and repetition syndromes. All muscles must be balanced and toned properly (through full ranges of motion) to maximize Guitar Hero or Rock Star performance (improve speed, strength, stamina and accuracy) and prevent injury.
See our video on Guitar Hero player Dustin Jensen as we collect hand muscle activity patterns using sEMG (surface electromyography) and watch how easy it is to train all 18 hand muscles using Handmaster Plus by doczac (see http://www.doczac.com/).
Labels: accuracy, carpal tunnel syndrome, cramp, finger, gamer, Guitar Hero, hand exercise, improve scores, injury prevention, pain, Rock Star, speed, stamina, stiffness, strength, thumb
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