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
Friday, October 4, 2013
Guitar Finger Exercises for the Picking Hand
Do I need to do wellness guitar finger exercises for my picking hand?
This is an important question. The balance of the muscles on the picking hand, finger and thumb are greatly affected because of the size of the article that is being gripped, i.e. in this case a pick or a string. Thus, the finger and thumb flexor muscles are shortened regularly and, if not properly exercised, will become imbalanced.
Handmaster Plus allows a complete and simple finger exercise that will easily offset this imbalance - and is also an amazing warm up and warm down exercise. So many musicians develop hand, wrist, carpal tunnel and elbow imbalances and wonder why. Yet it is easy to explain - and to offset through proper exercise.
But why is there a thumb and finger muscle imbalance on the picking hand? And why have we missed it in the past? Especially when so many guitarists have experienced carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, and finger and thumb tendonitis & injury issues.
Firstly lets talk about why.
The hand, fingers and thumb work most efficiently when they hold items that are neutral in size. By this I mean not too small, not too big. Too small might be, as an example, a guitar pick or a surgical tool. Too big might be a basketball. When they are extreme, the workload required to manipulate the item is increased.
When we grab something that is especially very small, the function of all the hand, finger and thumb muscles that have to hold and manipulate that item is amplified. What this means is that the grip stabilizer muscles (the muscles on the back of your hand, wrist and elbow) are contracting to support the fine motor flexor muscles that are holding the small items, such as a guitar pick in the picking hand. As well, note that these muscles are contracting statically (in one position) in a small range of motion which means that if used repetitively they are eventually going to become short static with poor blood flow, just like any other muscle in the body that is exercised through only a tiny range of motion.
So to summarize, small items that are required to be manipulated repetitively will indeed lead to imbalance unless specific offsetting exercises are utilized. The picking hand of the guitarist is a classic example, but so are surgeons, dental professionals, artists (painters,sculptures, etc.) and beauticians/barbers. the smaller the tool that is being manipulated and the longer and more repetitively it is held, the worse the potential for imbalance and injury.
Why have we missed this imbalance? Because just like other grip dominated activities (i.e. sports & workplace) we focus more on the 'symptoms that grip imbalance causes (carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, DeQuervain's Syndrome, tendonitis, cramping, etc.)' rather than 'what causes grip imbalance?'
Thumb & fingers exercises must be done to maintain the natural balance of the finger, thumb, hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm and elbow. There is no other way.
We designed Handmaster Plus so that all guitarists have an easy to understand & easy to do thumb and finger exercise to offset the repetitive finger muscle activity required to hold a pick or even to finger pick. The repetitive flexing and gripping aspect of the picking hand must be offset if finger, thumb, hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, forearm and elbow mechanics are to be strong, stable and neutrally maintained.
For more information or to purchase your personal product, visit Handmaster Plus or send us an email at info@doczac.com
Keep healthy, keep playing and look for every advantage that can make you be the best artist that you can be...
Labels: carpal tunnel syndrome, Guitar exercise, guitar finger exercises, Handmaster Plus, injury, picking hand, tennis elbow, thumb
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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