Body Pain while crafting

toomuchreading

I have been dealing with various types of pain for years now, and trying to find different ways to work around it while crafting.  For instance if I use my hands too much my carpel tunnel, arm nerve damage, or trigger finger(s) start to act up and ache or just downright hurt.  I use braces and pads to help my hands and take breaks or change the way I'm moving (like knit continental/portuaguse instead of throwing) which does help.

I'm wondering how you all cope with pain while crafting.  Not just hand/arm pain but back, leg or any other type of body pain you may get and how you deal with it.

JoJo123

make sure to do some stretching exercises while taking your breaks. at least for me that tends to help a lot (also a cup of hot tea makes it so that you have to stop every so often and the heat helps with the hand pain)

scamperscamp

Combo of things! First and foremost, try to keep your elbows at a 90 degree angle. It helps to keep your work in your lap. I also make sure to stretch often, and I only crochet in warm places because the cold can cause pain in your hands. Generally speaking, I just stop if it gets too sore. I love crating, but it's not worth it if it'll cause damage. :p

Mmmmason

I do back stretches often because I hate sitting perfectly straight for hours so I'm usually lying down while knitting and crocheting. Other than that I make sure to keep my grip on the needles loose so I'm not straining my hands. Many people use compression gloves but I've also seen a hack that if you're still straining your hand you can make a DIY ergonomic crochet hook by poking it through a tennis ball. Another thing is to be doing something else while crafting like watching a show or movie. It's enjoyable and just distracting enough that you'll either knit/crochet slower than usual or just straight-up stop to give a scene your full attention. That way your hands get regular breaks instead if you were just listening to music and focusing solely on your project. Good luck with your pains dude

SONYAns

Take breaks often, stretch, do something else for a bit. I used to work on my crochet for hours on end, it made my inflamed elbow nerve act up a lot. I've tried everything, 9 months of daily therapy, ice packs, hot packs, creams, in the end I tried acupuncture and it was the only thing that really helped me cut the pain in half. So now I am very careful and try to not overdo it.

Alfalfa

Sometimes after a crocheting spree what hurts the most is my back and my right thumb :( The only way that i find to cop with it is just taking an entire week off of  crocheting :( and that also takes my inspiration away.
I always take breaks when crocheting but it didn´t work for me.
Hope to find other ways to cop with pain

pitussa

there are excellent videos on youtube on stretching for knitters, for example.

YarnCatnip

I had to stop crocheting for about a year because of hand pain, but found a solution: Exercise. First I used one of these. It helped a lot.



Now I moderate my crocheting (no longer all day and night projects), but exercise with cardio, strength, and lots of stretching. So far so good.

R Lee

I was a weird kid and went though phases where I decided to learn about blindness or losing an arm etc, so I'd spend weekends doing things like wearing a blindfold or with my right hand in a mitten clipped behind my back. Ultimately I decided that I was at a huge disadvantage by not being able to do simple tasks with my left hand, so spent a summer only using it. I spend dozens of hours writing left-handed until it was legible, if much slower than normal. Even decades later, I can do most things as a leftie, so I don't seem to have that burnout factor that most people do. I highly recommend either writing a few lines a day or swapping your mouse to your non dominant hand. Give it a fortnights practice, you wont regret it!