Electrical stimulation can also be used with active muscle contraction to strengthen weak or atrophied muscles. Caution must be used with patients who have pacemakers and those with very sensitive skin, which can be irritated by the electrodes. Massage is useful in stimulating blood flow, reducing edema, and breaking up localized areas of muscle spasm or trigger points. It's also helpful for general relaxation and stress reduction. Sitting at a desk or making music, while not athletic in the strict sense of the word, definitely has its physical demands.
Therapeutic exercise is useful in both preventing and treating specific ailments.
Often, after a period of injury, the muscles in the hand and forearm become weak from disuse or nerve compression. Therapeutic exercise, along with a gradual return to working or playing, is necessary to restore muscle strength and endurance. Working on proximal strength, especially scapular stabilization, is greatly beneficial. Strengthening the wrist and finger extensors, a common area for pain and dysfunction, may be preventative as well as therapeutic. Hand exercises must be undertaken with caution and supervision because of the risk of overdoing the exercises and thereby worsening the condition.