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Cooling Hand Spa Sessions

  • Use mint or cucumber-scented water
  • Hand massages, nail care, and relaxing music

Hand Massage

Our hands take a beating every day and can hold a surprising amount of stress. A hand massage can be a quick and rewarding way to relieve pain and tension in someone's hands and leave that person feeling relaxed and refreshed

Method

Have the person sit or stand in front of you.

You should be able to reach their hands comfortably. If possible, sit across from the person at a desk, ask the person to rest their hands palms down on the towel.

  • It’s ok if you don’t have a table available. You can do this massage seated while facing one another on a couch, using two chairs, or even standing.
  • Follow the steps ahead on one hand first, and then repeat the process on the other hand. A proper hand massage should take about 5 minutes per hand. 

Apply massage oil or lotion to your hands.

This will help your hand glide over the other person's skin better. Use approximately 1⁄4 teaspoon (1.2 mL) to 1⁄2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) of massage oil per hand, or a coin-sized dollop of lotion. You can always apply more oil or lotion as needed during the massage.

  • Popular oils used for massage include sweet almond oil, olive oil, coconut oil, and grapeseed oil.
  • You can even use sesame oil or shea butter, but be sure to ask the person if they have a nut allergy before applying almond oil.

Smooth the massage oil or lotion over the person's hand.

Use smooth, gentle strokes (called "effleurage") to apply the oil or lotion and warm and relax the muscles of the hand.

  • Apply the lotion using your palm in 3 to 6 long, smooth strokes to the back of the fingers and hand.
  • Flip the hand over and smooth more lotion or oil into the palm and fingers. Work from the tips of the fingers to the wrist, and then back down to the fingers.

Massage their fingers with your thumbs.

Hold the person's hand, palm down. Beginning with the pinky finger, pinch the tip of the finger firmly for a moment. Then, using firm, short strokes with your thumb, massage up the finger towards the knuckle. Finally, squeeze the finger all over.

  • Repeat the process with each finger, and finish with the thumb.
  • Be sure to ask the person you are massaging if the pressure feels right, and remind them to speak up if they would like more or less pressure at any time.

Massage the back of their hand using your thumbs.

Hold the person's hand in your hand (palm down) and use your thumb to massage the back of the hand. Place the pad of your thumb between the pinky and ring finger. Then, using medium pressure, slide your thumb along the finger bone, up towards the wrist.

  • Repeat this process, working your way up along each finger bone.
  • When you get to the thumb, take some extra time. Massage the webbed area between the thumb and index finger, using a circular motion.

Massage the back of their wrist in the same way.

With the hand still face down, use both of your thumbs to massage the wrist using a small, circular motion. Focus first on the middle of the wrist, and then move to the sides.

Massage the palm of the hand with circular movements.

Turn the person's hand over, and cradle it in both hands. Then massage the palm in small, circular movements using your thumbs. Begin in the middle of the palm, and work your way towards the sides, and then up towards the wrist.

Stretch out their fingers by entwining your fingers with theirs.

Hold the person's hand palm down, and then interlace your fingers with theirs to stretch and separate the fingers. Grasp their whole hand in yours, and gently push back to stretch the wrist a bit. Then, slowly and carefully turn the wrist from right to left, and then left to right.

Finish the hand massage using long strokes.

Hold the hand in yours, palm down, and give several long strokes with your palm and fingers. Begin at the back of the wrist, and smooth your hand down towards the fingers.

Repeat the hand massage on the other hand.

Use the same steps to massage the person's other hand. Try to be consistent in the motions you use and the amount of time you spend on each hand.

Benefits of Hand Massage

Improves Blood Circulation

Massaging the hands can benefit circulation involving both the flow of lymph and blood flow. The friction between the skin and fingers is what does the work to improve circulation and remove lymph materials, which include waste products and toxins in the body.

Massaging hands can help increase blood flow and circulation to reduce the inflammation associated with arthritis and improve joint mobility. It’s able to loosen stiff joints and relieve tension.

Increasing circulation via hand massage also benefits neuropathy, since it gets the blood moving through areas that may be experiencing nerve damage that causes numbness, weakness, or pain.

Reduces Inflammation and Pressure

Massaging hands stimulates the lymphatic system, which aids in removing waste products from the tissues. This results in a decrease of both swelling and inflammation. Hand massage also reduces inflammation and pressure by improving circulation and decreasing stress hormones in the body.

When swelling of the hand occurs because of fluid buildup in the tissues, due to injury, inflammation, or infection, massage can help increase blood flow and reduce swelling and fluid accumulation.

Relieves Pain

Performing hand massage is known to alleviate pain on the hands and the wrists by increasing blood flow. It also encourages oxygen and nutrients to flow back into the hands and wrists so the healing process can move along more quickly.

Hand massage specifically benefits those with carpal tunnel syndrome, which causes numbness, tingling, and weakness. Massaging the wrist, hand, and forearm is believed to reduce inflammation and pressure on the median nerve.

Getting or giving yourself hand massages can help those with pain from repetitive motions and overuse of the muscles in the fingers, hand, wrist, and forearm. It’s also said to help improve circulation and reduce pain in overused joints, while increasing the range of motion and flexibility so further injury can be prevented.

Improves Grip Strength

Hand massage can also help increase grip strength needed for various sports and physical activities. Along with grip-strengthening exercises, massaging the hands, fingers, and wrists is used when rehabilitating those areas of the body; it’s also said to help reduce muscle pain and delay soreness after working out.

Those with carpal tunnel syndrome can also experience poor grip strength, as well as people with nutritional deficiencies or a lack of physical activity.

Reduces Anxiety

Just as a full body massage has a generally positive effect on promoting relaxation, hand massage also helps release endorphins to create a feeling of well-being. It’s said to decrease cortisol levels, which also reduces stress and anxiety. It can also positively affect headaches, mood, and quality of sleep.

Massage encourages the release of serotonin and dopamine, which are neurotransmitters linked to positive moods and feelings of peace