Coping With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Dateline: 09/20/97In response to an invitation to share your experiences in coping with Repetitive Stress Injuries, in hopes of helping others who are experiencing these problems, Patty Smith has this to share:
Patty writes:
"A couple of months ago I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Fortunately, I have been able to forestall surgery for now. I no longer
have the numbness, thanks to Physical Therapy and some excercises I was
shown to do once my treatments were completed, but I do have pain when I
have been using my hands too much. If my fingers hurt whenever I pick something
up or I notice my grip becoming a little bit weak, I just stop what I am doing that is
aggravating my hands. I do a variety of needlework and now, I am very aware of how my hands
and fingers feel. If I notice I have difficulty holding my needle or hook I just stop and do my
excercises. I don't go back to my project, I try to let my hands rest. I
also wear my braces that I was given whenever I work on a project or at the computer. They
are a little bit limiting, but wearing them makes a lot of difference. Even though I can no longer do
marathon sessions with my crochet, knitting, cross-stitch, or whatever, I can still do them for short periods
of time by being aware of how my hands feel.
The exercises I do are very simple and I do them several times a day. One is gently flex the hands, that is pull them back, until a gentle stretch is felt on the underside of my forearm. I then extend my hands, push them down gently, until a gentle stretch is felt on the upper part of my forearm. The last one is moving my hand from side to side keeping the wrist and forearm in a neutral position. You should feel the stretch along the sides of the forearm with this one.
Having RSI/CTS does not mean you have to give up the crafts you love to do. It does mean you have to be aware of how your hands and fingers feel and not to ignore the pain or numbness.
I have also had to learn that I need to use my whole hand to pick up or lift heavy objects, not just use my fingers to do the lifting.
I hope this helps others with these injuries."
--Patty Smith
Thank you for sharing, Patty.
Debbie says:
Hey, its nice to know that I'm not alone with this- I love to do all those
nice craftworks but from myself in alot of pain.. Gone thru the
therapy route and the prescription medicines- I guess, its a 50/50 thing
"a little of this and and a little of that" attitude- hang in there.
--Debbie*
Thanks for writing in, Debbie.
Julie M. writes:
Hi, just my 2 cents worth. I have milked cows off and on for about 6
years now. Prior to milking cows I had an injury to one of my wrists
that cut all of my ligaments and tendons. My wrist and hand were very
weak until I started to do my crocheting again and milking cows. About
a year ago I suffered another injury to the same wrist from being kicked
by a cow. I was seen at the emergency room to make sure that it wasn't
broken. At that time they told me that the carpal tunnel was swollen
shut. It took several months for my wrist and hand to reach a "normal"
status, however, now that I type on a computer most of the time I have
problems. The real point here is that because we do repetitive tasks, no
matter what the task might be, we as crafters need to always be aware
that if you are experiencing any abnormal tingling, pain or any other
unique symptons that you should be seen. The sooner this condition is
diagnosed the better the prognosis. So don't delay seeing a doctor.
Thanks,
Julie
Thanks for sharing with us, Julie.
More Reader Experiences in Coping With Repetitive Stress Injuries
How do you cope with RSI? Send your comments to crochet.guide@about.com and I will post them on this site so that we can learn from each other's experiences. All comments on this subject will be posted unless you indicate that you do not want them to be. Thanks!
If you haven't yet done so, you may want to take a look at this article by former About.com beadwork guide, Emily Hackbarth: Take Great Care of Your Hands.