Knitting Injuries and How Uncool That Sounds
Well, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve knit too hard and gone and injured myself. I just had to go and finish that one project without taking time out to stretch. I didn’t listen to my own advice and now I’m typing this one handed because my right shoulder is killing me and I have to rest it with a heating pad on it. Why didn’t I just STOP?! UGH!
So I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about knitting injuries.
I told my friend I hurt my arm and he jokingly asked if I hurt it in a fight. I said “No, I hurt it knitting”, and he told me that doesn’t sound very cool. I agree with him 100%… it’s not bad*ss sounding at all. But as uncool as it may sound to say “knitting injury” instead of something like “football injury”, it is actually incredibly painful. So of course I headed to the internet to find the cure.
The cure to what, exactly? Well, it’s called RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) and the most common symptoms are:
- Numbness
- Pain
- Stiffness
- Swelling
- Discomfort while knitting or crocheting
- Pain that spreads from the shoulder down the arm, or starting in the elbow and spreading down the arm.
Great…so now what?! What are you supposed to do when this happens? Well, the first horrifying step is to (gasp) stop knitting right away. Then put ice on it
(I find heat works better for me) and then rest the painful area for a few days (double gasp – no knitting for a few days??!!!!). Also, try pain relievers and anti-inflammatories (but only if that’s cool with your doctor – please understand I’m not giving you medical advice – I don’t know your specific circumstances).
There are also many websites and videos explaining proper posture, stretches for knitters, how to properly hold your knitting needles, etc. etc. Check those out if you don’t want to end up like me, unable to knit or do much else really. I found this resource to be incredibly helpful:
Repetitive strain injuries — the dark side of knitting and crochet – KnitPal
I won’t go on and on about these issues but I did want to mention it because it is super important. It’s a good reminder to all of us that we need to take care of ourselves, and not be in such a hurry to get things done. And, it’s a reminder to me to listen to my own advice, not just so I can get back to knitting but because it’s GOOD ADVICE. We all need to relax once in a while.
Also, when someone says something uncool sounding such as “I have a knitting injury”, try not to laugh and instead try to remember it’s actually pretty serious….and PAINFUL!
So no matter what happens (unless you’re injured like me): just Stick to the Knitting 😊
