Upper Extremity Exercise: Thumb Abduction
These instructions for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) patients describe how to perform thumb abduction, which is bringing the thumb away from the fingers.
Patient instructions:
Passive movement
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Place the affected hand to be exercised on your lap with your thumb and index finger facing out.
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Place the thumb and index finger of your other hand between the thumb web of your affected hand.
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Spread the thumb and index finger of your unaffected hand so that the thumb web of your affected hand is spread open.
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Repeat as instructed by your therapist.
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Active movement
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Hold your hand upright with your thumb next to your index finger.
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Open your thumb out to the side.
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Repeat as instructed by your therapist.
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Reviewed on December 30, 2022, by Kelly Seibert, MS, OTR/L