Opening a jar is an everyday task practiced as a hand exercise for grip and twisting. You sit at a table, hold the jar steady with one hand, turn the lid off with the other, then screw it back on. It works the muscles that close the fingers and thumb, together with the forearm muscles that turn the hand. The voice guide also reminds you to keep your body still and your shoulders down.

How to do the opening a jar

Sit upright at a table with a jar in front of you. Start with a lid that is closed only lightly.
Hold the body of the jar with one hand to keep it steady, as in the video.
Grip the lid with the fingers and thumb of your other hand and turn it until it comes off. Set the lid down on the table.
Pick the lid up again, place it back on the jar and screw it closed.
Keep your body still and your shoulders relaxed the whole time, then repeat.

What you should feel

Effort in the fingers, thumb and forearm of the hand that turns the lid, and a steady squeeze in the hand holding the jar.

Common mistakes

Hunching or lifting the shoulder of the turning arm.
Twisting your whole body instead of turning at the hand and forearm.
Starting with a lid screwed on too tightly.
Pinching a stiff lid with just the fingertips instead of using the whole hand.

How often

There is no fixed dose for task practice like this. A reasonable starting point is 5 to 10 openings and closings, once or twice a day, with a loose lid that you tighten a little as your hand gets stronger. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain at the base of the thumb or in the wrist as you turn the lid.
Pins and needles or numbness in your fingers. 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.
Hand joints that are swollen, warm or noticeably stiffer later that day or the next morning.

From the clinic

The jar in the video is glass. If your grip is weak or your hand tires quickly, a plastic jar is a safer choice, so a slip does not end in broken glass. The hand gripper exercise and thumb opposition build some of the strength and control this task needs.

If you have arthritis in your hands, especially at the base of the thumb, check with your physio first, and give this a miss while a joint is hot, swollen or flaring. For painful arthritic joints, joint protection advice often suggests turning a lid with the palm of the hand rather than the fingertips, or using a jar opener. The woman in the video turns the lid with her right hand. With rheumatoid arthritis in your hands, the usual advice is to open with your left hand and close with your right, because turning the other way pushes the fingers toward the little finger side, the direction the knuckles tend to drift. Your physio or occupational therapist can show you which approach suits your hands.

With carpal tunnel syndrome, ask before you start, and stop if your fingers begin to tingle. If you have had hand or wrist surgery recently, for example for carpal tunnel, a tendon or a broken bone, hold off until your surgeon or hand therapist clears you for gripping and twisting against resistance.

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.

Opening a jar