You've got to hand it to your hands — they’re magnificent pieces of engineering. Twenty-nine bones and a network of muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons, and blood vessels work together to allow you to do precise movements or make grand gestures. Until they don't.

One study found that more than 40% of participants of all ages and races had osteoarthritis of the hand. Luckily, less than half said it caused them pain.

But by age 85, the Arthritis Foundation says half of all women and a quarter of men deal with pain and stiffness in their hands.

The joint at the base of the thumb and the joints closest to the nail and in the middle of each finger are the trouble spots for most people.

Hands down the best way to manage the discomfort — or lower your chance of osteoarthritis — is to reduce body-wide inflammation with a plant-based diet (including salmon and other fatty fish), maintain a healthy weight (people with obesity are at increased risk for osteoarthritis of the hand), and use heat and ice to soothe pain and reduce swelling.

It's also smart to do hand exercises, especially if your work physically strains your hands. 

Three smart hand exercises are wrist extension and flexion (stretching your hand to 90 degrees in relation to your forearm); thumb slide (from across your palm to extended like a hitchhiker); and full hand rotation from the palm facing up to palm down.