Self Range of Motion Exercises for Stroke Hemiparesis

Tabletop Wipe

1. While seated or standing on a firm flat surface, place your non-involved hand on your other hand, on a towel, on top of the surface.
2. Polish the surface by making large circles in both directions.
3. Increase the size of the circles of higher difficulty.

Cradled Shoulder Shrugs

1. Cradle your involved elbow with your other hand and rest your involved hand on the other hand’s elbow crease, similar to crossed arm gesture.
2. Push both your shoulder upwards towards the ceiling or sky.
3. Use a mirror to check for symmetry.

Rock the Baby

1. Cradle your involved elbow with your other hand and rest your involved hand on the other hand’s elbow crease, similar to crossed arm gesture.
2. Raise your shoulders up, almost parallel to the ground, at chest level.
3. Move both arms side to side, as if “rocking a baby”.

Hands Behind Head

Respect your pain, do not force this motion on your shoulders 

1. Laying on your back, gradually bring your hands behind your head, palm side touching your head.
2. Interlink/cross your fingers together.
3. Hold position for as long as tolerated.

Elbow Bend

1. Grab your involved arm’s wrist with the other hand.
2. Raise your hand up and down so that your elbow bends and straightens.

Forearm Flipping Back & Forth

1. Turn your involved palm with your other hand facing up
2. Turn the palm over.
3. Repeat back and forth.

Wrist Motions

1. Using your non-involved hand to support the involved hand, gently move your wrist in the “bye bye” motion, left to right.
2. Bend and extend your wrist with the non-involved hand.

Finger Motions

1. Straighten and curl each finger with the other non-invovled hand.
2. Move your thumb into opposition towards your pinky, then opposite, away from your pinky.
3. “Fan out” and spread each of your fingers at the knuckles to make a “V” or “W” shape, then close them together. In other words, spread your finger tips apart side to side, then make them touch again.