Possible Relief for Tight Finger Joints

[Old Grinner]

For some time I've noticed that when I wake up mornings a couple of my motorcycle "clutch hand" fingers are painful to open or flex. It's like I've been holding onto a handlebar all night and they don't want to let go.

Attempting to open my hand . . . make the fingers straighten out . . . is a real effort and I've had to do it slowly over time while having breakfast. Eventually the "troubled ones" do open up with some painful coaxing. Fortunately at this point in life it's just the last two on my left hand.

That said I don't take any medication for it nor do I want to. But I have found a solution. I'm not recommending it but am just sharing the results I have had.

Heat can transform. Heat can loosen up things. I remembered seeing mechanics over the years use a torch to apply heat to loosen up frozen bolts/nuts and other things.

So I started thinking about that tall coffee I have every morning. I noticed how the comfortably warm mug fit nicely into my hand. And it's not a wide mug either. I'm able to hold it in my left hand (not using the handle) with a good grip and let the heat sink in. Regular coffee cups can be real hot so don't use one of those if it would be injurious . . . or at the very least let it sit a while on a table to cool down to a level of comfort that works for you. An insulated mug that allows "comfortable" heat to emit is best. Burning your hand is of no use here!

One morning I had the idea to see if that heat would help loosen up my stiff finger joints. So I poured a tall one and sat back to watch some TV while it cooled for a few minutes on the table. Then I picked up the mug and had a few sips. The warmth on my hand felt good. After a few minutes . . . you've got to give it some time . . . I tried to fully extend (incrementally) my stiff fingers and low and behold they seemed to magically open up and with almost no pain or resistance at all. Not perfect . . . but close enough. Once I can get them extended I'm generally good for the whole day. Keeping them moving and grooving.

It was worth getting up that day just to discover another way to improve my life and extend my riding years. Sometimes the tried and true simple things passed down through the ages are all you need to get by.

coffeecup.jpg

[springer1]

How'd you get the cup to levitate in the photo ?

[Mel46]

Hey, it coffee! That's what coffee does. :-)

As we get older our joints swell. It is just a product of old age. I use to use my hands a lot when I would climb all over the aircraft to inspect and maintain it. I couldn't do that now. The doctor says my thumbs are worn out now.
We have some stuff that we rub on the joints that really heats them up...sort of like "Ben-Gay" but much hotter. It is called "Doctor Hoy's". It works quite well, so a little bit goes a long ways. Just make sure you wash your application hand after you apply it because it is absorbed quickly.

[alx123]

I have messed up fingers too due to BJJ.

Soaking in warm water for a few minutes helps.

[WhiteNoise]

Handwarmers?
Amazon vendors offer these treatments: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hand+warmers&ref=nb_sb_noss

Your method works! So Why pay money for results. Sorry you have this odd morning pain. I get it.
One morning, a few years back a couple of my fingers felt locked...clicked when opening them. That morning I was very concerned. I wondered if my head slept on my hands in some odd position during the night. I mean, what else would one think they didn't feel that way the morning before?
Trigger Finger?? Say it isn't so! Google that one, I did.

Those finger clicks went on for a few months, then disappeared as fast as they came. Weird!!

By the way, I use to buy those packet hand warmers on Amazon for my Mom. She said they worked as long as she held them. Sadly her 93 year old hands couldn't open the individual packets. Sooo...that solve soon became a no solve solution.
Like you OldG, She drank coffee and tea and Held her cup just like you're doing now. It worked.
We have our ways of self fixes don't we? Cheers to that!

[Old Grinner]

How'd you get the cup to levitate in the photo ?

Good question.

If you have Windows 10 with Paint 3D you can do it.

I just cropped out my photo, saved it in regular paint, and then reopened it in Paint 3D.

It has a menu to choose from for a library of images. It won't take you long to figure out how to do the basics.

PCXMonkey1.jpg

[Limey]

Wow - I imagined you looked a lot better than that!

[NADman]

Reminds me of what my hands and wrists felt like after I rode my 650 Norton Atlas for an hour or two in the 'Way back'.
Even when I was young and (tough) Ha. Cheap chain saws etc. Vibration is hard on the body. (Mostly)

[Old Grinner]

I have messed up fingers too due to BJJ.

Soaking in warm water for a few minutes helps.

By the way, I use to buy those packet hand warmers on Amazon for my Mom. She said they worked as long as she held them. Sadly her 93 year old hands couldn't open the individual packets. Sooo...that solve soon became a no solve solution.
Like you OldG, She drank coffee and tea and Held her cup just like you're doing now. It worked.
We have our ways of self fixes don't we? Cheers to that!

Thanks to you both for the advice!

Appreciate it . . ..