New to forum, been around a long time, just never really posted. Hands are tired and wondering what you all do for the pain associated with knitting, or if you have any pain. Maybe I’m just an old 40??
What problems do you have and what do you do for it?
Check your posture, see if you’re knitting tighthly on the needles and/ or yarn, take frequent breaks to get up and move around and stretch out your hands, lower arms, neck and shoulders. And breathe!
Take frequent breaks is great advice. And as hard as it is to do, I now have to take nights off from knitting. I will take a night off if my hands are really bothering me. I work at a computer all day so I have a double whammy.
Good luck and just make sure you take care of your self now and don’t let it become a problem. There are also stretches you can do before you begin to knit as well. You can do a search for Carpal Tunnel Exercises and get a good one.
When I started knitting again some months ao, I had right hand pain, too, which didn’t surprise me since I have arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrone in my right hand. I was taking physical therapy for a hip problem at the time, so I asked the PT what she recommended. Luckily, she knits, too, and suggested that I keep my fingers together as much as possible while knitting, as well as my wrist. I knit English, so, instead of weaving the free yarn through my fingers and/or around my little finger, I wrap it around my palm and move my hand, rather than just my finger, to throw the yarn. It took a little while to get used to, but now, I’m about as fast as I was when I using a more orthodox position – which wasn’t all that fast to begin with, to be honest.
Loosen your grip and take frequent breaks.
I get sore, too, in my wrists and the base of my thumb. I find if I stop every row or two and do a couple of stretches, it really helps. I look kind of weird, kind of like the karate kid (remember that movie? ) but it does really help.
I agree with the others do lots of stretches not just in your hands but upper back and shoulders too
I do a load my physiotherapist recommended
My hands, neck, shoulders, and knees hurt when I knit for log periods… I get so engrossed in the knitting, I forget to stretch. I have also started to take Glucosamine/Chondroitan regularly. When knitting really bothers me, I take anti-inflammatories. One thing to remember is that if you are not properly hydrated, your joints can ache and become inflamed. Drink plenty of water!!
I had same issue with hand pain and just had carpal tunnel surgery - arthritis also adds to problem. Frequent rests and time off to do other things so your hands can ‘recover’ is helpful. I take ‘natural’ anti-inflammatories from a health food store every day to help prevent pain.
Whenever I have a rheumatoid flare up, like now, my knitting slows to nothing and even typing is painful. I’m already on heavy duty pain relievers and taking more meds just isn’t an option if I’m to do anything at all.
I just try to find something else creative to do.
I knit for hours at a time. I stop every 30 minutes of continuous knitting and massage my favorite lotion onto my hands, wrists, and forearms…and feel very refreshed.
I’m not a “tight” knitter. My tension is normal. I think tight knitters would probably suffer more.
1x1 ribbing & seed stitch hurts my hands the most. I just finished up the Tempting II Summer Top (the whole thing is 1x1 ribbing) two days ago (knit it in 8 days) and my right hand (thumb especially) still hurts. Too much, too fast, and no breaks. Ouch.
Am now knitting something on US9 needles (18st=4") and the larger gauge and easier knitting is a real break for my right hand!
These are some great tips. I guess we all tend to suffer from soreness or pain at least some of the time. I think it depends on how we hold our needles, yarn and how tightly (or loosely) we knit. I, too, have to take nights off sometimes. And honestly, about the only way I can do that is to be away from home (unless I have company). I do stretches all the time but sometimes even that isn’t enough. I will try the natural anti-inflammatory stuff though - great idea! One thing I have found is that the smaller the needles, the more my hand hurts. The same applies when I’m crocheting. If I’m working with thread (for bookmarks, etc) I’ve discovered the Clover crochet hooks with the fat handles make a remarkable difference. So what I do with knitting is have more than one project going at a time … Oh, I know? How COULD I? LOL Seriously, if I have a project with smaller needles I’ll also have one with larger needles so I can switch back and forth. And since I crochet too, I usually have a crochet project going too. I find that being able to switch back and forth between everything helps. It’s all repetitive motions, but a little different.