If you are suffering from something like arthritis or general joint inflammation, you may not know what to do anymore. The pain and stiffness can be unbearable at times. Taking anti-inflammatories and pain meds can help, but maybe you don’t want to pump yourself full of drugs, or maybe they just don’t work.
Another option you have is to massage your inflamed joints. Getting a professional massage is obviously best, but maybe you don’t have the time or maybe it’s not in your budget. Yet, there are ways you can massage your own inflamed joints. Right now we want to focus on a few specific problem areas which people often have inflammation in.
Massaging Inflamed Finger and Hand Joints
One of the most common places where people have inflammation is in the finger and hand joints. Whether you have arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or anything else that may cause inflammation, here is how you can massage your own hands and fingers to help get some relief.
- Apply a bit of heat to your hands in order to help the muscles relax. A hot pad or a long hot shower will do just fine.
- Now, try to find a comfortable position to sit in. Keep in mind that it will be easier to massage your hand if it is resting on a table or solid surface.
- Now, take your palm and use it to stroke your forearm from the wrist to the elbow, or you can even extend this up to your shoulders. Do this on both sides 3 or 4 times, with the idea being to warm up the muscles.
- Take the palm of one hand and use it to stroke the other hand from the fingertips to the wrist. Use a good amount of pressure when doing this, and repeat it 3 or 4 times for each hand. More is better in this case.
- Now it is time to take your hand and cup the other forearm with the thumb underneath. Pinch your skin fairly hard, starting at the wrist, and then slowly work your way up the elbow, and then back down again. Use moderate pressure and repeat this 3 or 4 times, or more, for each side.
- Next, using your thumb and forefinger, or all of your fingers, press down, apply some pressure, and move in a circular motion, all the way up and down the arm. Once again, use moderate pressure and repeat this 3 to 4 times per side.
- Use your thumb, apply a good bit of pressure, press down with the tip, and move it in a circular motion. You want to do this all along the back of your hands and your palms. Use this same motion to massage the spot where the forefinger meets the thumb.
Massaging Inflamed Hip Joints
Another common area where inflammation and arthritis may strike is in the hip joints. This is a serious one because it really decreases mobility. However, with a good self-massage, you can get back on your feet and walking in relative comfort.
- First you need to find the spot where the hip bone pops out, just at the top of the pelvis. You want to target the area that is just below and inwards from the hip bone.
- Use a ball (something like a lacrosse ball if you are small and thin, or a softball if you are a large person), and lay down on the floor with the ball underneath the target area.
- Now you want to put as much of your weight as you can on that ball, thus really pushing the ball into your sore spot, so in this case your hip joint.
- Try moving your knee off the ground while raising and lowering the lower leg (below the knee) from the ground. Repeat this about 4 or 5 times and then rotate your leg inwards and outwards.
- Beware that if you are doing this right, you should feel a good bit of discomfort, if not downright pain, in the front of the hip. If you aren’t feeling any discomfort when you are doing this, you will need to switch to a larger ball.
- You can repeat this technique on both sides of your hips up to 2 minutes per day.
Conclusion
If self-massaging is simply not an option for whatever reason, we would recommend consulting a professional, because massages can go a long way in relieving the pain caused by inflamed joints.