Thumb Tales

My continuing adventures with Occupational Therapy

On the left is my injured thumb, and on the right is my good thumb which is in the correct position. (photos by author)

Comparing my left to the right, I did do a number on my left thumb. I now have a series of exercises I need to do every day.

photos by author

The first set I do three times a day, and the other two only once a day. The set with the putty is double sided so my thumb gets a workout. One exercise is impossible to do correctly with my left hand. I am supposed to squeeze my fingertips together with my knuckles bent and then slowly open my fingers, the putty giving me some resistance.

The right hand and fingers are positioned correctly, but the left hand isn’t even close. (photos by author)

My therapist now has me doing this with my left hand palm up and dropping the putty ring over my fingers, making sure I have it positioned over my thumb, and then moving my fingers outwards, doing it the best as I can.

Eventually, I will start using a stiffer putty for these exercises. I like using the putty, it is so nice and squeezable, not to mention, a pretty color.