Weighted Compression Glove for Reducing Hand Tremors

Many aging people experience hand tremors, caused by various health conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. These involuntary, rhythmic, and quick contractions in the hand can make some activities and actions difficult, limiting the individual’s freedom of movement and independence. However, for some, wearing weights on the hands helps reduce the intensity and occurrence of these tremors, allowing them to complete various tasks that may be difficult with the tremors. This tutorial demonstrates how to create your own unevenly weighted compression glove using readily available materials. The weights on this glove consist of weighted pouches attached to the glove with velcro. Furthermore, each weight pouch is closed with Velcro. This makes each pouch and the glove in general adjustable to the user’s needs as they evolve.

What makes this glove different from current gloves on the market is that it has a higher weight (approximately 13 oz or 0.8 lbs), and the weight is distinctly distributed in specific positions around the hand and wrist. Our tests show this is more effective than using the evenly distributed gloves with less weight currently available on the market.

1. 1 off-the-shelf compression glove
2. Ours is from Walgreens in the size L/XL
3. Other similar option from Amazon
4. 1 set of ¼ oz car weights from Amazon
5. Alternatively, you can use 54 pieces of any other ¼ oz weights of your choosing
6. Extra stretchy/polyester fabric (any color is fine, we chose black)
7. Velcro strips
8. You can choose between using stick-on velcro or sew-in velcro, however, we noticed that stick-on velcro may come off of the glove as you take the pouches on and off with one hand. The small velcro patches on the opening of the pouches may also be difficult for some to sew in. Feel free to choose an option or mix-n-match as needed to match your needs/abilities
9. Black thread (or whatever color you chose for your stretchy fabric)
10. Sewing needles
11. Straight Pins
12. Scissors (both standard and fabric scissors are needed)
13. Marking tool (can be a marker that can mark on fabric, tailor’s chalk, etc.)
14. In our case, we used a white color pencil
15. Ruler/measuring tape
16. Scale (optional, but helpful for portioning out metal)

As per the supply list, buy an off-the-shelf compression glove in a size that will fit the person who will use the device. Try on the glove, test for proper fitting, and make adjustments as needed.

We found that the glove we chose had very long fingers for our user, so we had to cut and stitch the gloves to fit them. To do this, we gathered the gloves, sewing needles, thread, and marking tool. We then had them put on the glove, marked right above their middle knuckles with the marking tool, cut on the line with fabric scissors, and stitched around the now raw edges using a blanket stitch with black thread. Using a blanket stitch prevents further fraying while giving the finger holes some structure.

Gather the weights you’re using and the scale. If using weights different than the ones we linked, use the scale to measure the following weights out. If you are using the same weights we did, group together the corresponding number of weights.

1. 4 Finger weights: 5 weights = 1.25 oz.
2. 1 Thumb weight: 4 weights = 1 oz.
3. 2 Small back of hand weights: 6 weights = 1.5 oz.
4. 1 Large back of hand weight: 12 weights = 3 oz.
5. 1 Wrist weight: 6 weights = 1.5 oz.

Gather the weights you just sectioned out, stretchy fabric, thread, sewing needles, velcro, and marking tool. Repeat the following steps to make each pouch the appropriate size. Our example photos are for the Thumb weight pouch.

1. Photo 1: Measure the appropriate amount of fabric to fully enclose one set of weights. We did this by placing the stack of weights on the fabric, and marking out a rectangle around it that when cut out and folded in half would create a pouch around the set of weights. (don’t forget to add a seam allowance!)

1. Photo 2: Align the sides of your pouch with the wrong side of the fabric facing outwards. Pin them together, creating a rectangular pouch. Choose one of the smaller edges to be your pouch’s opening. Using your needle and thread, sew along the other three edges (as marked in pink in the photo) to enclose the pouch.

1. Photo 3&4: Once sewn, cut out small strips of each side of the velcro (loop & hook) to match the edge of your pouch (ours happened to be the same size as the weights). Stick the hook side of the velcro along the edge of your pouch’s opening (marked with a pink rectangle). Then flip your pouch over and place the loop side of the velcro in the same position. (If using sew-in velcro, sew these pieces down to the fabric now). You should now have something resembling Photo 4.

1. Photo 5: Now flip your pouch inside out so that the wrong side of the fabric we just had facing outwards now faces inwards. You should now have something resembling Photo 5.

1. Photo 6: Measure and cut a hook side of velcro matching the length (from one small edge to the other) of your pouch. Stick or sew this piece of Velcro along the length of your pouch. You should now have something resembling Photo 6. (If using sew-in fabric, you can also do this step earlier, before Photo 2, to make it easier to sew onto the fabric)

1. Photos 7&8: Place your weights into the pouch. It should be able to comfortably fit your weights. Close the pouch using the small strips of Velcro we placed on the fabric in Photo 3.

1. Photos 9&10: Repeat for each set of weights. Your final pouches should resemble the pouches in photos 9&10.

1. Have the user put the glove on
2. Mark where the pouches should go
3. Three vertically on the back of the hand, one vertically on each finger and thumb, & one horizontally on the wrist
4. For fingers & thumb: mark between the middle and bottom knuckle
5. For the back of the hand, the largest pouch should have its middle in line with the part of the hand between the 1st and 2nd knuckles. For the smaller pouches, one should be in line with the 3rd knuckle, and the other should be in line with the 4th knuckle
6. Cut out the loop sides of the velcro to match these marks (should be about the size of the hook velcro on the corresponding pouch)
7. Attach these loop sides of velcro to their corresponding mark on the glove. Do this while being worn to ensure accurate placement.

Video trying it on: IMG_8600.mov

Connect the hook velcro on the pouches to the loop velcro of its corresponding spot on the glove. Have the user try it one last time. Have them move their hand around to make sure the weights are stable. They shouldn’t sag or slide significantly or fall off when the hand is moved.

If it is unstable when tested, add extra stitches and/or velcro strips until it is stable. It should be stable enough to be suitable for everyday use. Congrats! You just made an unevenly weighted and adjustable compression glove.