Brownmed - IMAK Compression Active Gloves for Arthritis & Joint Pain-Men & Women Fingerless Gloves to Support Circulation

Often I would wake up in the morning with a bent finger. The joys of getting old. These help to keep my fingers straight at night while sleeping. I found them to be effective and a good value for the money.

I bought these because I'm ALWAYS cold. When I'm gaming on my computer, my hands get cold and I just can't feel them, and my reaction time is slower, etc etc.. (Yes, nerd.) While these aren't fleece or anything thick, they are targeted to help circulation, which I'm guessing helps my hands stay warm. Just having some fabric there is exactly what I needed, and these go pretty far down my fingers - not just the first knuckle, like most fingerless gloves. The little rubber grippy things are great for my gaming needs, too. After seeing these, my mom and husband were both super jealous and went to get some of their own. UPDATE: My husband finally got his, and he's been wearing them to work. He used to play games with me every day, but he couldn't play for more than a couple hours because his wrists hurt so badly. Now he wears these at his computer job all day, then wears them at home while playing computer. This means he's wearing them for a good 10-12 hours just about every day, and he hasn't had any pain in his wrists at all since he's been wearing them - a HUGE improvement.

I like these pretty well. Very compressive and instantly the ache began to subside. I've not needed to take ibuprofen. A bit challenging to type in at first, but it can be done. Left glove feels tighter than the right one, and eventually I had to remove it as my index fingertip felt as if it were bulging, becoming worse with continued wear. The right glove became more comfortable with wear/use. Being right-handed, I expected the opposite, so this was a curious finding. Of note, I purposefully purchased a size small (my palm is 3.2, or size M probably) in an effort to seek the same tight compression I can get with carpal tunnel braces. For comparison, I also got Alaska Bear silk gloves as well as Doctor Arthritis copper gloves. The Alaska Bear, size XS is too big. Probably a fine lining type glove but in terms of offering compression, useless. I really like the Doctor Arthritis copper-type ones too but they're a little too big as well, even in size small. If they came in XS, they would be perfection in terms of grip, compression, warmth, and tactility. Unless I missed it somewhere, I couldn't find sizing help for Imak, so I guessed based on measurement guides available for the other gloves, and again, purposefully ordered down seeking strong compression. According to the Dr. Arthritis site, my glove size should be a M. I ordered S and its still just a bit big. The Alaska Bear company has a very detailed measuring guide to determine size and according to them, my size fell between XS and S, with XS still being too big. Thus, Imak are probably the best of the 3 in terms of addressing what i need them for; compression for my aching hands.

NOT all body parts react the same to compression apparel, so sometimes this science is trial & error, and a lot of these items on the market are hard to understand, some are frail, some are thick, some are just plain ridicules to trust. That being said. These compression gloves are a lot nicer than I expected. They are soft and thin—which is nice for flexibility. The little silicon grips on the palm and fingers do help at holding things. The fingers go clear up close to my cuticles, so all my fingers are covered rather well which is nice, the thumb is covered to the knuckle. They are double stitched at the finger tips, to ward off any unraveling. I found taking these gloves off was a bit difficult but all compression gloves are. So What I do is I, put my hand into my arm pit close my arm and pull my hand out of the glove. It seems to be pretty easy and is not Pulling the material or stretching the material out and I don't take the chance At accidentally tearing or stretching the fingers. A little preventative maintenance I guess. I am a diabetic so my hands get very cold. These don’t keep my hands as warm as I hoped, But then Diabetics have that problem with just about any glove. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, it is just my body chemistry does not allow for these particular gloves to warm hands completely, they do a little bit though. But they do help with the stiffness and numbing that I have to deal with. I wear the medium gloves. This glove size is as like the Tommy copper gloves, and most Copper Compression gloves. Those are the other two brands that I tried, and by the way they were terrible they come apart like there’s no tomorrow. Here is how you tell what size you wear. NOTE; Always check the size charts they are not all the same. Close your fingers and put the back of your hand down flat on the table. You measure from the first finger to the fourth Pinky finger just under where your fingers stop and your palm begins. Or where your knuckles are on the back your hand. For me it was 3 ¼ inches which is a medium on most size charts. This medium glove has just the right compression for me and they are not too tight and not too loose. Now, some size charts will say 6 inches or 7 inches. So in this situation you would Measure in the same way except you would measure the complete circumference of your hand. Mine is almost 8, which is a medium. Kind of weird huh? In general, if you get a compression that is too tight it will put a large strain on the stitching and too much pressure might make your fingers ache. A lot of people that don’t measure their hands properly will deem the product no good because it fell apart, not realizing that it is simply the wrong fit. Tips for Maximum Relief • Make sure your gloves fit well. If they're too tight or too loose, there's less chance you'll get any benefits from wearing them. Ask your doctor or therapist if you need help with fit. • Stick with the 8-hour at a time rule. You probably won't see any changes if you only wear them for an hour here and there. • If you also have carpal tunnel syndrome, talk to your doctor before you try the gloves. Your carpal tunnel symptoms could get worse if you wear arthritis gloves at night. I hope this information helps anyone interested.

These gloves worked very very well for me. I used them to prevent hand swelling and fatigue while on an extended river trip, and they really worked. I also ordered another brand at the same time, which I quickly returned, a they did not provide the compression or support the IMAK does. A friend, who has reflex sympathetic dystrophy tried one of mine, and I just gave it to her, she was so happy with it! They do, if wet, have a significant cooling effect, and when dry are quite warm. I have a large hand for a woman and tried the medium and large sizes, which are slightly different. The gloves with dots on them provide extra grip on them, without dots and it is better for night use. They are somewhat hard to get on and off, but are worth it. I am a physical therapist, and will recommend these to patients with similar need!

Good fit but I only wore a few hours and the serged edge immediately started to fray.

I love these gloves. My hands feel so much better after wearing them, even for a little while. I even use them when driving because sometimes my hands hurt just holding the steering wheel

REVIEW EDITED AND RATING CHANGED -- LOWERED TO THREE STARS UPDATE: Less than a year after getting a second pair of these gloves (holes developed in my first pair, as noted below), the seam along the thumb of one glove of the second pair split open. Clearly the stitching came out. I was able to sew it back together, but I shouldn't have had to. Now I don't know if I'll ever order another pair of these again. I don't have arthritis -- I wear these gloves as liners under heavier gloves on really cold days and I wear them on their own when it's not as cold out, and I just want something to keep my hands comfortable. They're perfect for both uses -- and I like the way these gloves look. They make my fingers look long and slim. Since these are compression gloves, they feel almost too snug when you first wear them, but they will stretch over time. Because they are snug but not bulky, you still have good manual dexterity while wearing them. The grippy dots are helpful. The only reason why I didn't give this product 5 stars is the fact that a hole developed in my first pair after about a year. I'm pretty sure the hole was caused by one of my rings, because the hole was positioned right over it. If you wear any rings -- particularly bulky ones with big stones -- you might experience the same problem. My ring wasn't even big -- it was a flat band, but it had a textured weave pattern and it spins, so I assume the hole was caused by friction against the ring. I wear a different flat band on another finger, and a hole didn't develop over that one. I've ordered another pair of these gloves, so we'll see how long they last.