Hand & Wrist Elevation and Swelling Control
Keeping the hand above heart level and pumping the fingers — the most important thing you do in the first fortnight.
What it helps
Controls the swelling that is the main cause of stiffness after hand and wrist surgery. A swollen hand cannot make a full fist, and fingers left stiff in the first weeks are much harder to free later than the wrist itself is.
How to do it
- Rest the hand higher than your heart. Sitting, prop the whole forearm on a stack of cushions so the hand sits above chest level.
- Standing, rest it on the opposite shoulder; lying down, support the whole forearm on pillows.
- With the hand up, slowly make a loose fist and open it fully, spreading the fingers.
- Repeat the slow fist-and-open several times, then let the hand rest in the raised position.
- Come back to it regularly through the day rather than doing one long session.
Tips
- Above the heart is the part that matters. A hand resting on your lap or in a sling at waist height is not elevated, and this is the commonest reason swelling does not settle.
- The fist-and-open is a pump: muscles squeezing push fluid back up the arm. Elevation alone works, but elevation with movement works far better.
- A hand that is puffy and stiff first thing in the morning usually means it spent the night down; support it on pillows in bed.
Commonly done as every hour while awake sets of 10 slow fists, daily.
Where this appears in recovery
Hand & Wrist Elevation and Swelling Control is part of 32 recovery programs, most often at the swelling & finger motion (weeks 0–2), wrist motion (weeks 2–6) and wound healing & extension (weeks 0–2) stages, among others. Each program shows how it fits alongside the other movements:
- Distal Radius Fracture ORIF exercise guide
- Distal Radius Fracture ORIF exercise guide
- Dupuytren Fasciectomy exercise guide
- PIP Joint Arthroplasty exercise guide
- Needle Aponeurotomy (Dupuytren) exercise guide
- Proximal Row Carpectomy exercise guide
- Partial Wrist Fusion (Four-Corner Fusion) exercise guide
- de Quervain Release exercise guide
- Ganglion Cyst Excision (Wrist) exercise guide
- Carpal Tunnel Release (Open) exercise guide
- Cubital Tunnel Release exercise guide
- Metacarpal Fracture ORIF exercise guide
- …and 20 more
All exercise guides · Condition guides · Recovery education
These are general exercise guides, not a personal prescription. The repetitions and frequency shown are what's commonly used — your own surgeon or therapist may advise something different, and their guidance comes first.