Method and means for exercising hand and wrist muscles

Abstract

A means and method for exercising particularly hand, wrist, and lower forearm muscles and tendons as a preventive measure against overstressing the muscles and tendons leading to possible carpal tunnel syndrome. A specific exercise device consisting basically of a rod with two cushiony hand grips is disclosed to enable the user to practice the exercise method.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for stretching muscle, tendons and ligaments in the regions of a user's hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and upper neck comprising the steps: 
 extending frontally outwardly to a starting position, both arms of the users with the palms of said hands facing upwardly;    providing an elongate rod having a length exceeding two hand widths of the user;    a pair of hand grips located adjacent opposite ends of said rod in spaced apart position from one another;    positioning the hand grips of said rod in the upwardly extending palms of the user when the user's arms are in said starting position;    closing the fingers of both hands around said hand grips in a substantially closed fisted manual grip;    folding the elbows toward and close to the upper body to cause the hands, while gripping said rod, to move close to the user's upper body at near shoulder level;    causing the hands to move inwardly toward and downwardly in front of the body by moving the elbows upwardly above hand level and moving the forearms inwardly and downwardly;    continuing to move the hands downwardly below the horizontal plane of the elbows while maintaining a close-fisted grip on said rod to at least a minimum stretching position where the user can physically sense the physical stretching of his muscles and tendons in the regions of his hands, wrists, and forearms.    
     
     
         2 . The method according to    claim 1    and wherein movement of the hands gripping the rod is continued toward a maximum stretching position by the user moving his clasped hands around the rod grips frontally outwardly to a completely outreaching position whereby said user's hands and wrists as an interconnected anatomical unit have axially rotated a total of approximately 360° from their starting position.  
     
     
         3 . A method according to    claim 1    and wherein the hand grip portions are located in spaced relation on the rod and are formed of a relatively non-slippery surface material so that during the exercise the said rod and grips will not axially rotate in the hands of the user while the fists are in clenched position.  
     
     
         4 . A method according to    claim 1    wherein the said spaced grips are formed of a relatively cushiony, non-slippery material.  
     
     
         5 . An exerciser device adapted to be gripped in clenched fisted fashion by both hands of a user performing an exercise to stretch muscles and tendons in the hands and wrists of a user comprising: 
 an elongate rod having a length at least slightly exceeding the estimated width of both hands of a user while manually gripping said rod adjacent opposite ends thereof in clenched fisted position;    first and second manual gripping surfaces mounted on said rod adjacent its opposite ends;    the length of each gripping surface being large enough to accommodate all four fingers and the thumb of a user's hand while gripping in clenched fisted position an associated grip surface;    the diameter of each said gripping surfaces being co-equal and of a size to enable a user to comfortably and non-rotatably hand grip an associated surface in clenched fisted position.    
     
     
         6 . The combination of    claim 5    and wherein each of said first and second gripping surfaces comprises a tube of relatively soft hand grip material; 
 each said tube mounted on and circumferentially encompassing opposite ends of said rod.  
 
     
     
         7 . The combination of    claim 6    and wherein the outer gripping surface of each tube is formed of a soft, cushiony foam plastic material.