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Make sure that you take frequent breaks!
Don’t rest your arms on a surface, like a table top or the arms of a chair. This puts pressure on the nerves in your arms, and is particularly damaging as you move the muscles in your forearms.
If working on a bigger project when I get to the end of a row I just rotate my wrists once counter clock wise once clock wise. If it is a small project lets say a dishcloth I do the same thing after 5 rows. Does a pretty good job at holding back the fatigue.
Make sure you take breaks, support your arms, and I sometimes use a hand brace. I also when I take breaks do stretching exercises for my fingers, wrists, and total arm. This really helps. Learned this from working on a comptuer all day at work!
Keep your back straight and your shoulders down.
I wear a wrist brace at night to guarantee a pain free day of knitting when I wake up.
I squeeze and release a small rubber ball a few times to relax and ease the tension in my hands and fingers.
Stretch, stretch, stretch. Hand-wrist-arm exercises. Hold arm straight forward, palm down, pull fingers of hand up and back gently with opposite hand.. repeat with other arm. Than palm up … push hand/arm down and back gently… repeat with other arm.
BUT, don’t just exercise/stretch your hands and arms. Get up and get the blood flowing in your legs and buttocks! Do some “reach for the sky” stretches while standing.
While we want to keep our hands and arms in good working order, we don’t want to develop blood clots in our lower extremities.
Also, drink plenty of water. Keep hydrated.
I make sure I take a break every 1/2 hour to 45 minutes & then do some hand/wrist stretches as well as getting up & moving around.
its hard to stop what your doing but you can rest a bit
Drape a warmed rice bag heat pad around your neck and shoulders. Relieves tension build up.
I’m a “pusher” when knitting and have found soft, flexible thimbles on each fore-finger to help avoid painful finger tips.
I flex my fingers ever so often and sometimes just put it down for a few minutes. I have also found that if you support your elbows on anything, it is more difficult to avoid pain or too much muscle tension. Free movement of your arms, I think, is crucial.
I have a squeeze toy that is a can of very thick putty. I take it out and play with it every so often to ensure my hands stay nimble. It works good for when I am typing too much and when I am knitting too much. So yes, get a squeeze toy and flex the other side of your hand!!
I usually shake out my hands to loosen them up after a bit. If it’s a big project, a couple of rows, and for a small one maybe a bit longer depending on your strength. Also getting up and walking around also loosens things up.
I put a pillow, bed, or throw on my lap when I settle in for a long knitting session. Also, don’t forget to get up and move periodically. You can carry a small project with you and continue knitting, but you’ll probably have to put down a big one.
As soon as I feel a tingling in my arms I stop and do something else for a few minutes. Like change the clothes in the washer to the dryer. Just any chore that only takes a few minutes. This gets other things done and I don’t feel like I have been lazy. Of course, it is hard to stop until I get to the end of a row!!
Regular stretching breaks makes a big difference.
My chiropractor suggested I stretch my fingers with a rubber band (finger tips together, rubber band around the outside, push against the band by opening up your hand). I also use Shaklee Alfalfa which has made a huge difference in my arthritis!
I set the timer on my smart phone for every hour and get up, stretch a bit, get a drink or take a bathroom break!
Isupport my armson a pillow relieving any pull or strain on my shoulders.
Other then the breaks and stretching, I also change the way I hold my needles and I change the way I knit and apply tension to reduce the stress. First, I never knit with long needles, they are too heavy and cause more stress on the hands. If I need longer needles to hold the work, I use interchangeable needles. 2nd, I switched to Continental knitting this is proven to be easier on the hands. Last, I taught myself a different way to hold my yarn that use less tension and put a lot less stress on the hands.
For knitting: I call my hold the hook / chop stick method. My right hand looks like I am holding a crochet hook in the underhanded position, my left looks like I am holding chopsticks with the yarn as the top stick and the needle as the bottom stick.
For crochet, same thing, except the left had has the yarn as the top stick and I hold the work in the bottom stick position.
1 hold, 2 different yarn crafts, 100 similar tension.
Taking breaks and stretching are what keep my fingers moving.
I cut the tips of an pair of battery operated warming gloves, or use those hand warmer packets inside my crafters gloves.
taking breaks at least 1 per hour & doing some stretching
Work in an area that is warm enough. Lots of folks have craft areas set up in basements or garages that don’t have sufficient heating. Being cold just makes your muscles tense up that much more as you work. Also be sure that there is plenty of ventilation where you work, if you use any products with fumes. You’ll help avoid headahces, and perhaps worse problems.
I occassionally take a break and do finger flexes and wrist rotations
i change the position I am sitting about every 30 minutes. I also take short breaks like getting up or just not knitting for a few minutes.
I notice some people have the hook under their hand; my grandmother taught me 60+ years ago to hold it between my thumb and forefinger at the flat part and I don’t have any fatigue. It also helps my arthritis that I wear copper bracelets.
wear fingerless craft gloves that have a good, supporting wrist band while you’re doing your handwork. if your fingers nummb or your wrists hurt, use your fav pain relief cream or rub on your wrists and wear a wrist support at night.
Take breaks, knit or crochet for a shorter time and then stop….it’s not a race to the finish, it’s to be fun. Stretch out your hands so they don’t cramp up….sit comfortable and enjoy….I do hand extentions and massage my hands….
Before knitting and as often as I feel is necessary I put my finger tips together and push against them as if a spider doing pushups on a mirror. I also rotate my wrists as often as necessary to loosen them up. Having a comfortable place to rest your arms is important as well as making sure you maintain your posture so you don’t add stress to your shoulders. Most important is to relax and ENJOY what you are knitting. Happy knitting!
Comfortable chair, good lighting, frequent breaks to stretch shoulders, neck, arms and fingers, and wooden needles!
I stop and stretch my hands, wrists and back every 30 minutes.
I knit mainly at night, and I knit sitting in a rocking chair, rocking occassionally, to relieve tension in my neck and shoulders. My knitting carrier is placed next to my rocker, so that I can have my pattern instructions close a hand. I also take short breaks, and do finger flexes, and wrist rotations. I’m always working on a couple of projects at a time on different size needles, so if I get tried of working on one, I switch to the other.
With a toddler in the house, I don’t get to knit or crochet for long intervals, but on the rare occasion I do, I make sure to take breaks – at least every 1/2 hour or so. I was also taught to work loosely. I think you don’t cramp up as easily if you avoid tight tension. When that’s required, I take even more frequent breaks.
I have learned never to stay at a project for more than an hour at a time. Get up, walk around and find something else to do. Too often it gets to be “I just need to finish this row or this section of the pattern”.
Two things that have helped me: Concentrating on learning to crochet in a more relaxed way (not keeping tension in my hands and arms and paying attention to position), and using a proper chair that supports my back, neck and arms. I have Fibromyalgia and can’t do many activities for long periods. Crocheting is usually my break from something else that hurts!
I have to lay on my right side alot because of my disability and knitting &crocheting are what take my pain away 😀
being a gardener, i already have to do daily exercises for tendonitis using rubber putty, and a tension band, and also taking frequent breaks. if i didnt, i wouldnt be able to do either of my favorite things!
Never run out of yarn. Make sure you have a good stash.
wrist rotations and stretching the fingers, yoga stretches and switching between holding yarn in the left and right hands
Admire often to catch problems early, take breaks for eyes and hands, and for my sanity sake- use life lines!!!
breaks about every 30-45 minutes to flex your wrists and get up to stretch your body. Because it is so easy to forget the time, I leave extra yarn on the other side of the room, forcing myself to stop and get up for a stretch, flex and a drink of water.
Keep your shoulders, neck and arms relaxed. Don’t hunch up.
I use Voltaren rub.
I’ve found that if I crochet everyday, my arthritis in my fingers is better.
Hold your tail with your left hand so you don’t knit it=)
Tiger Balm muscle rub is very nice to use on your sore spots, even Bengay helps! Also, those Ace wraps for wrists work well.
i have found with my thumb pains that i swich every 20 rows, from left to right (contenental– american throw). it has helped tremendously, don’t have to wear wrist guard for thumbs any more.