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[For Seniors] Finger Rehabilitation Tools: Easy DIY Ideas

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Illnesses or disabilities can make it difficult to move the fingers or can cause unintended movements.

When these symptoms affect the fingers, they can lead to various difficulties in daily life, such as being unable to use chopsticks or a pen properly, struggling to get dressed, or lacking strength and falling.

In this article, we introduce DIY rehabilitation tools to help improve finger mobility.

All of them are easy to make, so consider creating them in senior care facilities to support rehabilitation for older adults!

[For Seniors] Finger Rehabilitation Goods: Easy DIY Ideas (1–10)

Pinning

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Independent Assignment Production Log 83. Pin Cushion 2Translation Special Needs Education Handmade teaching materials #Autism Neurodevelopmental disorder #After-school Day Services Tokachi # developmental support (ryōiku)
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Let me introduce a fingertip training tool that uses small pins.

You insert plastic pins into holes in a styrofoam base.

It can help train pinching movements using your fingertips.

Also, by using your fingers a lot, it may help stimulate brain activity.

The process of making this tool isn’t complicated, so it’s easy to create.

If you use items from 100-yen shops or hardware stores, preparation should be simple, too.

Here’s an extra idea: prepare a die.

Color the numbered faces of the die and the tips of the pins.

You can then enjoy it as a game by rolling the die and inserting a pin that matches the color that comes up.

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Finger exercises attaching clothespins

https://www.tiktok.com/@kiju0401/video/7277108790330232082

Let’s use clothespins to train finger dexterity.

Write the names of colors on thick paper or cardboard.

Then clip a clothespin of the same color onto the written color.

Opening a clothespin requires a bit of finger strength, so it helps train the fingers.

Using your fingers to open clothespins is also said to stimulate brain activity.

This was even mentioned in the story of a mother—famous some time ago—who helped her son get into the University of Tokyo.

She reportedly used clothespin clipping as a kind of brain training for her children.

You could also time how long it takes to clip them and turn it into a game to make it more exciting.

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Colored ball matching

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Here’s a rehabilitation activity that helps train finger dexterity while learning colors.

You’ll use an ice tray like the ones used to make ice in the freezer.

Pinch and place craft pom-poms into the compartments of the ice tray with your fingers.

Prepare pom-poms in a variety of colors.

Make a sample in advance, and then place the pom-poms to match the sample.

By distinguishing colors, you can train the ability to observe carefully and compare objects.

It can be done alone with focus, or enjoyed in a small group as a friendly competition.

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[For Seniors] Finger Rehabilitation Goods: Introducing Simple DIY Ideas (11–20)

Pulley

Easy to do at home! A DIY rehabilitation tool: “Pulley” | vol.42 #Shorts

Pulley

Let’s try making a pulley system, which is highly effective for improving upper limb function.

Pulley exercises are a form of rehabilitation performed while seated.

Using exercise equipment, you thread a rope through a pulley positioned overhead, hold the grips attached to both ends of the rope, and alternately raise and lower your hands.

We’ll use items like a pulley, bag strap (webbing), and a round wooden rod to build it.

Thread and tie the cord through the pulley, and drill holes in the wooden rod to pass the cord through.

The bag strap will be used as the part that allows you to hang the pulley on a door.

By using the pulley and the pulling force of the opposite arm, even those who have difficulty raising an arm with their own strength can lift it.

Please use this as a reference and give it a try.

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Anti-contracture/anti-spasticity aid made from gloves

[Video] Prevention method using modified gloves to avoid hand stiffness after stroke

Anti-contracture/anti-spasticity aid made from gloves

After a stroke, some people develop a condition called spasticity, which can leave the fingers clenched.

If left unaddressed, it can progress to contracture, where the fingers become even less movable.

When the hand stays clenched, the nails can dig into the palm and cause wounds, and the hand can get sweaty and lose cleanliness.

Here’s a helpful item to prevent that! Take three layers of gloves and sew the openings together.

Sew the pinky and thumb together to form a loop—and it’s done! During training, place the hand inside the loop, thread the finger portions between your own fingers, and position the hand as if you were holding hands.

The palm area becomes cushioned, preventing the fingers and palm from sticking together.

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Shape matching

[Training goods you can make from unwanted items and 100-yen shop materials] Shape matching with a clear file

Shape matching

Let me introduce “Shape Matching,” an activity that trains the brain while moving your fingers.

You draw simple shapes on transparent sheets and layer them to recreate a reference figure.

You can adjust the difficulty to suit the person playing—for example, by making the same shapes in different sizes, or by combining not just two shapes but three or four.

Completing the specified figure gives a sense of accomplishment, and it also sounds fun to set a time limit or compete with others to see who can finish the fastest.

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Chopstick training goods

[100-yen Brain Training] ADL training for eating: “Using chopsticks” movements

Chopstick training goods

Chopsticks are perfect for hand and finger rehabilitation because they involve a sequence of actions like grasping and releasing objects.

Prepare a container with dividers, such as an ice cube tray.

You can also make dividers in an empty tissue box using thick paper or cardboard.

Next, get felt balls or small crumpled pieces of paper that fit into each compartment.

That’s all the prep! The person training should use chopsticks to pick up the felt balls or crumpled paper and place them into the container.

By setting a detailed rule—like putting one item in each compartment—you can ensure their hands move thoroughly and effectively.

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