Don't give up crocheting because of pain
Do your hands ache when you crochet? Do you have to stop so frequently that it's hard to finish a project? More and more people have repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome or other conditions that make handicrafts difficult and painful to do. All too often, medical professionals simply advise us to stop doing the activities that exacerbate our pain. While this may be a solution for some, it's not necessarily useful to those of us who have long-term chronic pain and who are determined to carry on with our crafty habits. But what can you do to make things easier?
I've found a number of solutions to this problem. While I have severe chronic pain from arthritis and nerve damage in my hands and arms, I love to crochet and knit, and am determined to keep doing them. But adaptations are definitely necessary. Follow the jump to read about the solutions that have worked for me.
• For the hook holding hand, the main stress is generally caused by gripping the tiny handle of a hook. It's much less stressful for the hand to hold a broader (but lightweight) item. There are hooks sold that have bigger grips. But what if you have favourite hooks, or can't spend the money on new equipment? You can adapt your hook yourself by wrapping foam around it. Look at the photo at left to see what I've done. It's not fancy, or pretty, but it does the trick. I had an old piece of foam from a discarded mattress topper, and I snipped off a strip and wrapped it around the hook, fastening it with a couple of rubber bands. That's it. The foam can be re-wrapped if the size and shape aren't working for you -- it's generally necessary to experiment a bit to see what best suits your hand. The main aim is to create a shape that allows your hand to rest in a neutral position.
Other adaptations for the hook include poking it through a foam ball, wrapping fabric around it, or making a new handle from polymer clay. If you normally consult a physical therapist, don't hesitate to take your crochet hook along and ask questions about making these adaptations.
• And what about the other hand? It often becomes fatigued because of keeping a grip on both the yarn and the work itself. The main solution is to learn to hold the yarn in a way that allows you to keep good tension while actually holding the yarn or the crocheted piece with very little force. Here's what works for me: the yarn comes from the ball of yarn, loops around my little finger, and then around the index finger and down to the crocheting in progress. I hold the work loosely between my thumb and middle and index fingers, sometimes shifting to thumb + middle or thumb + index. The main key is to hold it loosely. See the photographs for an illustration.
• Use yarns that are less stressful on the hands. I love cotton but it is definitely harder on the hands because it has little give. Linen is similar. Wools and acrylics, however, are generally springy and much easier to use. And whatever the fibre, yarns that tend to split are going to make you work harder and thereby further aggravate your hand pain. Experiment to see which yarns are most comfortable for you. This doesn't mean you have to give up your favourite yarns; sometimes simply alternating projects and giving your hands a break makes the difference.
• Keep fairly loose tension. This generally means going down a hook size or two in order to keep a nice gauge. With experimenting, I realized that tighter tension is not just hard work for the hook hand, which must push with more force, but is also much harder on the other hand because I have to grip that much harder to counteract the force of the hook hand.
• This won't help everyone, but I find it much easier to crochet things that are fairly lightweight. Fortunately, I love making dolls and small toys. If making something larger, I make sure that the weight of it is largely resting on my lap or on a cushion, and not pulling on my hand.
• Take frequent breaks to stretch your hands. Here are some useful exercises -- you should probably consult your physical therapist for specific instructions.
The reality, for me, is that my hands continue to hurt, but doing these things definitely make it much better than it was before. If you have other tips that have helped you, please comment. Sharing this information may help more of us to continue doing the crafts we love!
Thank you so much for sharing these useful tips. I was diagnosed with RSI a year ago and was told that I should stop using my hands. (Typical NHS response - if we can't give you antibiotis for it, then it is incurable). I have found alternative treatments and my hands are better, but it has been a year since I had done any crochet, because I blamed developing this condition on crocheting too much. Will try all of your suggestions, they make a lot of sense.
Posted by: arelya | September 4, 2007 3:46 PM