Warm up cold hands

by Noel

While out walking in the Chiltern Hills on Sunday I experienced something that many of my clients have commented on and that is cold hands. Now, you may well ask what's so remarkable about cold hands.....we all experience this when it's cold. But sometimes we can get hands that are colder than it is outside, even when wearing thick gloves and even when it's not cold at all. In extreme situations the colour of our hands or feet can change from pink through purple to orange, blue and even to white.

As with any medical condition it is important to not self-diagnose. By trying to diagnose for ourselves without professional experience and then to 'treat' a medical condition for ourselves it's possible to delay discovering the actual cause of the problem to such a degree that the condition gets worse. So if you have concerns that you have circulatory problems of any sort, you should visit your doctor without delay.

There are many causes of extremely cold hands....apart from the weather. Raynaud's Syndrome is a condition where some people's blood vessels go into spasm and contract in response to feeling cold, but do so to such a degree that they constrict the flow of blood to the extremities of the body, such as hands or feet. This can be very painful, resulting in white finger or wax finger. But this may not be the cause for many of us who just create unnecessary tension and constriction of blood vessels by postural habits.

In my own situation on Sunday, I was carrying a backpack for our lunch and I had been tensing my shoulders in a way that is not normal for me, and of which I should have been more aware. However, the experience served to remind me how uncomfortable it can be. By hunching my shoulders even just a little, it's possible to create sufficient tension in muscles around the blood vessels to constrict the flow of blood, so causing my cold hands. I was fortunately able to do a lot for myself and relieve the situation.

It's interesting though, just because we suffer the discomfort in our hands or feet, the cause of the problem is unlikely to be limited to that location of the symptom but elsewhere too. As I've said, tense shoulders can reduce circulation to the hands, but so too can tense wrists or elbows as well as in the hands themselves.

The answer to many cases will be to help free up our arms and shoulders. Try swinging your arms over your head like a cricket bowler or a windmill. Stretch your fingers while you do so. I picked up ia very useful tip from an article in January issue of The Strad magazine by Simon Fischer who describes an exercise Jascha Heiftez recommended to his pupils to warm up their hands in readiness for playing the violin.

There are three stages to this exercise. Neutral, Stretched and Closed.

Neutral: Keep the back of your hand straight with your forearm then allow your fingers to curl gently. The fingers should be close together. Viewed side on, your hand forms the letter C, but the thumb should be pointing in line with the back of your hand.

Stretched: Now pull all the fingers backwards so they are still hooked, but pulled away from the palm. The muscles in the back of your hand are contracting to do this. (If you were a rock climber you may hang onto a ledge with these hooked fingers.)

Closed: Then push them forwards so the fingers close inwards and touch your palm to make a fist. The muscles in the inside of your fingers are now contracting.

This exercise uses both extensor muscles and flexors alternately. Do this repeatedly, but keep your hands and fingers relaxed while doing so. As Stephen Fischer says, they will not feel completely relaxed or 'floppy'. The muscles will be 'active' but should not tensed tight.

As with any situation regarding tense shoulders, there is a real requirement to 'let muscle tension go', to let them relax. Think of freeing your neck, and allow your shoulders to 'soften' and think of them widening. Do not 'pull' your shoulders back, as that is more tension in a different place! 'Think' them wide. You can also shake your hands and fingers loose...make them floppy and flap them around a bit.

If you are concerned about your hands and circulation, it is very important that you visit your doctor and do not just rely on my suggestions written here. However, I do hope this has been of help or interest.