The tabletop finger bend is a small movement exercise for the big knuckles where the fingers join the hand. With your elbow resting on a table and the hand held up, you bend the fingers at those knuckles only, keeping the middle and end joints straight so the fingers make a flat tabletop shape, then straighten them again. It works the small muscles inside the hand (lumbricals and interossei). Hand therapists and physios often use it for stiff knuckles after a hand or wrist injury, a spell in a cast, or with arthritis.

How to do the tabletop finger bend

Sit up tall with a table in front of you. Rest the elbow of your working arm on the tabletop with the forearm pointing up and the hand in front of you, fingers straight and together.
Hold the wrist straight so it lines up with the forearm. If it tends to drop, support it gently with your other hand.
Bend the fingers at the big knuckles only, so they tip forward together until they are close to level, like a tabletop. The middle and end joints stay straight.
Go as far as the knuckles comfortably bend, and pause for a moment.
Straighten the fingers back up to the start, then repeat.

What you should feel

Work in the palm and between the knuckles, and a mild stretch across the back of the knuckles as they bend. Stiff knuckles may feel tight at the end of the bend.

Common mistakes

Curling the fingertips as the knuckles bend, which turns it into a fist.
Letting the wrist bend forward or back instead of keeping it straight.
Rushing, so the knuckles never reach their full bend.
Lifting the elbow off the table.

How often

Many programs use 10 to 15 slow bends, pausing for a few seconds at the end of each, 2 to 4 times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in a knuckle or any other finger joint.
Numbness or tingling in your fingers during the exercise. 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.
The knuckles stay puffier or stiffer after the session than they were before.
Emergency: while you are in a cast or splint, your fingers turn blue, white or pale, or feel cold. Do not wait to see if raising your hand helps. Go to an emergency department straight away, and do not drive yourself. The cast or splint may be cutting off the blood supply, or pressure may be building up inside the forearm (compartment syndrome), and both need checking quickly.
In a cast or splint, the pain gets worse, your fingers feel numb or tingle or look more swollen, or the cast feels too tight. Stop, raise your hand above your head, keep moving your fingers and contact your fracture clinic or get medical advice straight away. If you cannot move your fingers, the pain is severe even after painkillers, or the numbness, tingling or swelling has not settled within 30 minutes of raising your hand, go to your fracture clinic or an emergency department straight away, and do not drive yourself.
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 name comes from the shape of the hand, not from the table under your elbow. The video and voice guide agree: elbow on the table, hand up, and the bend happens only at the big knuckles. Keeping the finger joints straight while the knuckles bend is harder than it looks, so copy the video slowly for the first few goes. The tabletop is also one of the positions in tendon glides, which takes the fingers through three kinds of fist as well.

After a wrist fracture, keep moving your fingers and thumb as far as the cast or splint allows, unless your fracture clinic has told you otherwise. After a broken hand or finger, a tendon repair or other hand surgery, how far you may move the fingers and thumb is often limited for several weeks, so do only the movements your surgeon or hand therapist has shown you.

With hand osteoarthritis, keep the bend within a comfortable range on days when the knuckles are hot or swollen. With rheumatoid arthritis in the knuckles, ask your physio or hand therapist whether this one suits your hands before you start.

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.

Tabletop finger bend