I noticed a couple of years ago that my fingers would get stiff from time to time. Moving them individually would help but when I let it get too bad before trying to do something about it, I would have a hard time doing that. For a while, a finger exerciser would help, of the type that allows me to squeeze each finger individually. I still have that but the last time I used that, my fingers were throbbing for days, and the pain was awful. I found that twirling a stick between my fingers, like a majorette, would loosen my fingers up very well. At first it would hurt but if I had the right weight to the stick, I could work that out. The problem was that sticks weren't heavy enough, or weighted properly. I used a curtain rod for quite a while but it was a little too wide, and didn't have enough weight on it. I haven't exercised them in quite some time, and last week I found that it was hard for me to make a fist. Not that I particularly needed to make a fist, but I do like things to work regardless of whether I am using them. So I ordered a baton, a regular majorette baton, and I think that's going to work perfectly. The weight is right. The size is right, and the balance is perfect. It just came this morning, and already my fingers are feeling better. Now I just need to remember not to twirl my baton in the back yard where anyone can see me. I think that's even worse than using an electric chainsaw, as far as the reputation goes.
Lol, Ken! Your hair is long also, isn't it? Make sure you always have some facial hair going on. Just teasing you but you do like cats also and most men don't. I have a different problem with my fingers, it's from using a touchpad all day. By late afternoon I'm in agony and Really can't even type anymore. I've tried a stylus but my finger pads still hurt.
Do you have a keyboard for your iPad, @Chrissy Page ? If you do not have one, then having one would make a world of difference for your fingers, I believe. I have a Zagg keyboard case for the iPad, and it is like having a small laptop , but with all of the aweome feature that an ipad has. The iPad Pro is larger than my iPad Fourth Generation, and the keyboard case that I have for it has a detachable keyboard, so if I am using it for editing pictures, or something where I want to turn it while I am working, it is easy to use it in any position. Amazon has a lot of options for bluetooth keyboards, including ones that will fold for traveling; so I think that if you look, you can find one that is perfect for you, and helps protect your fingers better than the touch keyboard.
I do have one that's still in the box it came in. Never tried it because I balance my ipad on the arm of my recliner. I'll see what I have but maybe there are better ones. My ipad is on it's last legs anyway, and I need something new. This was only 16 GB and the battery doesn't charge well anymore. The hole is loose. Not worth getting fixed, I don't think. Will wait til,Christmas and ask for a new one. How much is the ipad pro?
Stiff fingers, yeah, and who isn't experiencing that sometimes? When I wake up, I would press on my fingers as a little exercise to warm it up and to feel normal. I remember a former colleague who was complaining muscle pains when he wakes up in the morning. His hands would be painful in the joints, obviously arthritis. My husband went to the car and got the stress ball. When the colleague tested pressing the stress ball, he was jubilant as if he had found a remedy. He didn't know what a stress ball was - a small ball that fits the palm and good to press with the fingers. On our next reunion, that colleague said there was much improvement in his hands because of the stress ball.
Mine was a Christmas gift from Robin; @Chrissy Page ; so do not know what it cost. She thought that my iPad 4 was getting old and so she got me the new one. I have a lap desk, and it rests partially on my lap and partially on the arm of my recliner; so the iPad is right there where it is easy for me to see and reach and type. It is so much easier when you are not trying to hold up and balance the Pad, and the lapdesk works perfectly for doing that. Otherwise, you are trying to balance the tablet with one hand, and type with the other one. This way, mine jusst sits on the lap desk, and I can type with both hands, just like I would with a laptop. I still use the old one a lot because it is smaller and easier to hold and type with; but even with the larger one, I use the lapdesk and the stand.
I twirl the baton every now and then while watching movies, and I have no more pain in my fingers. I still don't have the dexterity to twirl it very well with my left hand, so I drop it from time to time, but still it's enough to keep my fingers limber. Most of the pain had been in my right hand anyhow.
I am trying to find a video I saw just yesterday showing a tennis racquet being twirled in the air. I can't find it now. Here's what it showed. There are 3 possible axes around which a racquet can be twirled: one straight through the frame and handle, the wrist twisting to make it spin around in mid-air. I spins nicely, and is caught in mid-air. Second, it is spun flat, in a plane, again no unexpected reaction. Third, the axis lying where the handle joins the hoop, spun in mid-air, the damned thing turns around the axis of the first throw, in mid-air! This is said to be a conflict in contemporary physics!
It's still working great. When I leave them sit for a few days, my fingers begin to get stiff again but as long as I twirl the baton for a few minutes off and on throughout the day, everything is good. I'm afraid I'm going to break something using my left hand though, because I still haven't become ambidextrous, and I drop it a lot.
@Ken Anderson I've always felt that even though one has a predominating "strong hand", it's possible through practice for most to become as dexterous with the "weak" hand as with the strong one. I was right-handed mostly as a kid, but for some reason threw (baseballs) with the left. Kicked with right foot, batted "righty", wrote with right hand only. For some reason, I started doing many things using my left hand. Eventually, certain movements became more comfortable for the left that the right. I never tried scribbling with my left, though. Interestingly, the experts who teach self-defense strongly urge practicing, say, shooting, using both hands. Handguns are often held with both at once, but long-guns require hand and eye-preference. Despite years of extensive practice, I always pick up a handgun with my left hand! Frank
As a followup, the baton worked great for a few years, perhaps staving off the onset of debilitating arthritis in my fingers, and the baton still helps limber my fingers up. However, seemingly overnight, one day I noticed that not only was the baton no longer having the good effect that it once had, but I could now even see the effects of arthritis on four of my fingers. Now, while I still use the baton, I also use Biofreeze. If I apply Biofreeze in the morning, then do a few spins with the baton throughout the day, I am pretty much okay for the rest of the day. One day, I suppose that Biofreeze will no longer work, that is unless I die of something first.
My dad and I both have the exact odd shaped three fingers on our right hands. Mine really doesn't bother me all that much unless it's a cold rain day, but my Dad takes penicillin for his flare ups since it is a type of virus/bacteria related disease. This really does help.