Finger bends around a small ball is a gentle movement exercise for stiff fingers. Sitting upright with your elbow bent and the hand held in front of you over your lap, you hold a small soft ball in your palm, curl your fingers and thumb around it, then let them relax again. The ball gives the fingers something to wrap around, and a soft one lets you add a light squeeze at the end of each bend. The aim is movement through the finger joints rather than a hard grip.

How to do the finger bends around a small ball

Sit upright in a chair with your feet on the floor. Bend the elbow of the arm you are working to about a right angle, upper arm by your side, and hold the hand in front of you over your lap, palm facing up and slightly in. Your free hand can rest on your thigh. If the arm tires, you can rest the forearm on your thigh instead.
Place a small, soft ball in that palm. The video uses a small ball that sits inside the hand, so the fingertips can reach over it.
Curl all four fingers and the thumb around the ball, bending every finger joint, and give it a light squeeze at the end of the bend.
Relax your grip so the fingers open part way, leaving the ball resting in your palm, as in the video.
Keep the pace slow and even, then repeat. If your program covers both hands, do the same on the other side.

What you should feel

Movement through the finger joints, with light work in the palm and along the front of the forearm. Stiff fingers may feel tight as they wrap around the ball, but it should not hurt.

Common mistakes

Crushing the ball as hard as you can. This is a movement exercise, so a light squeeze at the end is enough.
Bending only the big knuckles and leaving the fingertips straight.
Using a ball so large that the fingers cannot wrap over it.
Curling the wrist in or letting it bend back to help the fingers.

How often

A common starting point is 10 to 15 slow bends, 2 or 3 times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sharp pain in the palm, the wrist or any finger joint.
Numbness or tingling in your fingers as you bend them. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Your fingers end up puffier, warmer or stiffer than when you started.
Since the fracture or cast, the hand is getting more painful rather than less, the skin becomes very sensitive to light touch, or the hand changes color, temperature, swelling or sweating compared with the other one, or looks shiny. See your doctor or physio as soon as you can, within a few days at most, as this can be complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and early treatment may help.

From the clinic

The voice guide says to squeeze the ball and release it, and the video shows the fingers curling around the ball and relaxing again at an easy pace, with the hand held over the lap. In the app it is listed as a range of movement exercise, which is why the squeeze stays light here. If your physio wants you to build grip strength, the hand grip squeeze uses a firmer squeeze with a hold. Ball grip and release is done with the hand raised, which suits a swollen hand.

After a broken wrist, hand or forearm, or surgery on any of them such as a tendon repair, start only when your doctor, surgeon, physio or hand therapist says the bone or repair is ready for this, and follow their plan for how much to do. With hand osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, keep the squeeze very light on days when the finger joints are hot or swollen, and ask your physio what suits you.

Fingers that tingle or go numb at night or when you wake are worth getting checked rather than exercised through. The carpal tunnel syndrome page explains one common cause.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Finger bends around a small ball