I've kinda been over-doing it with the lacy scarf, and my left wrist is really sore as are my thumb and two of my fingers on my left hand. Phil tried moving them last night to see if he could figure out the problem, and all that happened was shooting pain up to my shoulder and me crying out "Why would you do that? That HURT! Don't touch me! Don't touch me EVER AGAIN!!!" He recommended I take some ibuprophen ("it's an anti-inflammatory, but it will raise your blood pressure so don't over-do it." Thanks Nurse Phil. Now put the damn drug guide away.). Then he recommended that I take a break from knitting.
Cue dramatic wail from the Knitter.
The lacy scarf is sitting in front of me, taunting me with it's loveliness. It misses me, and I miss it. It's so nice to knit, I may never stop...just keep knitting and knitting and knitting until it's miles and miles long....
Meanwhile I am typing entirely with my right hand because the left hurts too much to move.
But look at it:
No, really LOOK AT IT:
I had cast it on with the intention of giving it to my mom for her birthday next week, but I am far too attached to it. I am using the "It's June. I cannot possibly give my mom a scarf in June" defense, and getting her a lovely spa certificate instead. She wants a spa gift certificate. More than she wants a scarf in June.
Ok, I'll make her one for Christmas, alright?
Last night I took a brief break from scarf knitting to make dinner and realized that while I was waiting for pots to boil and sauce to heat I could be knitting. I took out Grace's sweater and saw where I was in the row, which was partway into the front right side, near the beginning. I thought, that's weird, why did I only knit the new yarn in that far? If I knew I was leaving shortly, why did I bother? I ignored that voice that says "Stop and think here, there is a reason you left it this way" and I knit on, got very close to the end, and realized what was going on.
I wasn't knitting when I set down the project to go home...I had been tinking. Because I don't like to start new yarn in the middle of a row if I don't have to. After much internal debate, and actually starting to tink, I decided to just start the new yarn partway anyway, since I don't want to waste any of this yarn (can't get more, and the sweater I ripped back used pretty much every inch of it). It'll be on the back of the sweater anyway, so not hard to hide. So basically I wasted a bunch of time knitting and did not get any further in the sweater. Sigh.
Regarding my wrist issue, those of you knitters out there who have dealt with this kind of thing, any recommendations? I am considering a wrap for my wrist, any thoughts? What's really worked for you, what's just cost a bunch of money and not helped at all? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
9 comments:
do you always sit in the same position while knitting? i've usually found that shifting my posture is enough to resolve any pain issues. my mom uses wrist wraps, but i find them much too uncomfortable. (she was a secretary - yup, carpal tunnel.) the scarf is GORGEOUS!!! colour, pattern... whoa, baby!
Hmm, "don't touch me, don't touch me ever again" is pretty infallible as a birth control method ;-)
Those support gloves at the Loop were a godsend for me when I was having troubles. Doing wrist stretches while you knit helps, as does switching between projects, especially if the neddles sizes are quite different.
PS: Thank nurse Phil for me, he just answered an ibuprophen issue I'd expereienced.
Aw, Lesley, you aren't going to like what worked for me... but considering the pain you told me about yesterday... it doesn't sound good.
I'll show you the exercises the physiotherapist showed me for carpal tunnel. Bring the disco music, ok? 'cause these are some fancy moves.
There is too much of a good thing.
Perhaps you need a buffer hobby.
I wish I had an answer for you... but since switching to circulars is what helped me, and you already use circs, I don't know what else to tell you.
I'm with Moe. Too much of a good thing, while sitting in a poor position. That happened to me once, because I got all caught up in one particular project, and hadn't been seated in a good position when I started, then came out of the knitting concentration trance hours later with numb fingers in one hand. Now I sit properly when I knit, and pay attention to how I feel. Won't' happen again, not if I can help it!
I feel your pain... literally. I have carpal tunnel and find that if I change my position frequently that helps. Taking breaks is also helpful, but hard to make myself stop sometimes. I may have surgery this winter if things continue. I received cortisone shots as a diagnostic/treatment. Try wearing wrist braces to bed if your pain is persistent and worsens. If it's only during knitting, I'd follow all of the other advice and change your position frequently.
~fellow virtual vacation knitter (Alicia)
Thanks for your kind comments on my blog. I couldn't find a way to email you personally.
As to your wrist problem, I've used the wrist supports from the Loop as well. They really do help. But sadly, what helps the most is to limit my time knitting. I try to knit for 15-20 minutes, put it down. Stretch, pick it back up. That has helped the most, sorry to say!
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