Ouch! It hurts!

I think I may have knitting related repetitive strain injury.

No, I’m not joking – this hurts. 🙁
All of a sudden, my wrist and elbow hurt, my fingers are getting pains and going “pins and needlesy” and I’m getting odd pains in my thumb and fingers. All on my right side.

I think I may have got over enthusiastic with the glade edging – it’s on smaller needles than I’m used to. It’s going to take me longer to finish than I hoped 😥 I’ve been spending a lot of time on my PC too – I need to look at my desk setup.
It would be stupid to ignore it so here’s my my treatment plan…

  1. Stop actual knitting for several days 😯 Spend Time making curtains, tidying and cataloguing stash, sewing up, researching patterns etc (anything not holding the needles)….maybe even housework!
  2. Take glucosamine and cod liver oil every day
  3. Limit time on PC (no 4 hours at a time surfing knitting forums and blogs)
  4. Choose another project on different needles so I can change over to vary my grip.i already use bamboo – maybe circs??
  5. Buy a new chair for my computer (the one I have has arms – I hate arms cos I can’t get close enough to the desk)
  6. Get rid of the hard plastic wrist support on my keyboard tray and replace with a squidy one.
  7. Buy a wrist support and wear when knitting ( a crepe bandage definitely helped)
  8. Go to the gym and get everything loosened up again (I’ve been bad and lazy 😳 )

Any other ideas out there???

5 Responses

  1. Rachel
    Rachel March 26, 2007 at 2:22 pm | | Reply

    God, I’m sorry you are having pain! How alarming! Do try with different sizes and types of needle, as this may help. I am much more relaxed with small needles and fine yarn; big needles make me strain. Also, while knitting the Perugino, I started on bamboo straights so the yarn could get a better grip but then switched to Addi chrome circs once I’d done a few rows. I am still gripping and manipulating the yarn too tightly (this doesn’t happen to me on a small gauge) but it is much better then when I was using the straight bamboo needles. So try your fave projects with different needles and see if that helps, or switch to a project your hands can relax with. Good luck, and please let us know how it pans out!

  2. Isobel
    Isobel March 26, 2007 at 3:27 pm | | Reply

    I had this happen to me last summer. In July I started with a pain in my right shoulder, down into my right upper arm, then my hand. I also experienced numbing and tingling in my arm, hand and fingers. I ended up having to go to physio therapy 3x a week, then 2x the finally 1x. This lasted into October. I have a series of exercises I do 3x a day. I couldn’t knit or be on the computer and it even affected my driving, I could only go short distances as the numbing became unbearable. I still have residual pain, and they feel I will have to live with this for the rest of my life as I have damaged my skelton from years of being on the computer and knitting. It has been very difficult to live with and my knitting projects have changed drastically, no more large projects now I knit mostly socks, and small projects. The repetitive nature of typing, and knitting have done their damage. The only positive was that I retired from my school district a month before all this began, because I would not have been able to work for the first semester of this year. I would consult your doctor and see what he suggests, it sounds that your are putting serious thought into this and that the choices you are making are very sound.
    good luck

  3. Arianwen
    Arianwen March 27, 2007 at 1:12 pm | | Reply

    I hope all aches and pains subside, though I have found as I got older that my fingers hurt in the morning if I have been knitting the night before. Soaking them in hot water really helps to get them moving again. I am not sure if circs will help or not I am busy using one at the moment and have a pain in my left arm I think I am holding them funny. Go and enjoy making curtains and hopefully you will feel better in a couple of days

  4. Knitting Ninja
    Knitting Ninja March 27, 2007 at 9:17 pm | | Reply

    I’ve also had this problem, and I used Brian Gray’s Iron Palm Liniment. He makes it for Ninjas-in-training, used to strengthen hands for the rigors of fighting. Works great for Ninja Knitters, too. Not cheap – but good. Just google Brian Gray Iron Palm Liniment and you’ll can find a link to his website where it can be purchased. I only had to use it a few times, and my tingling stopped. I use it on my neck all the way down to my palms. It’s the stuff!

  5. susan crowe
    susan crowe March 30, 2007 at 8:38 am | | Reply

    Thanks all for your messages – Seen my GP today – it’s golfer’s elbow!
    (Nothing to do with golf)

    Rest and anti-inflammatorys…. is wine an anti-inflammatory?? 🙂

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