Friday, June 20, 2008
Repetitive Strain Injury
Repetitve Strain Injury. The most hated words in a knitter's vocabulary. And now they are unmistakeably in mine.Too much knitting has taken its toll and I now have to go on a knitting diet. And I am finding it excruciating. Not the pain, the restrictions.
For example, the physiotherapist has said: Knit only in 20-minute stretches. Knitting for 20 minutes and then stopping. Impossible! I am usually at the most interesting point when that 20-minute timer goes off and often I can't summon up the discipline needed to actually stop.
And who remembers to do those hand exercises before starting to knit?
Now, though, I can no longer ignore the symptoms and have to get serious about taking care of my hands and shoulders and arms. After all, I don't want to be put on a permanent knitting diet, the kind that won't let me knit at all.
So let this be a warning to all knitters. Here is what you can do to prevent RSI. (The following is taken from a website on Repetitive Strain Injury.)
- Take frequent breaks. Put down your needles and flex your hands, fingers, wrists, shoulders.
- Avoid marathon knitting sessions. (And aren't those the most fun?)
- Warm up! Stretch your hands before you knit.
Knitters can be at risk the moment they sit down. Many of us slouch, shoulders drooping and head bowed. Manipulating the needles forces the hands and elbows into an unnatural fixed position for long periods of time. The wrists are flexed up, stretching the tendons. The fingers and thumb exert pressure to hold needles and yarn. Passing the yarn over the needle involves repeated finger movements and the weight of the work in progress also drags on the wrists. Over time the rhythmic sequence of knitting and purling can pinch nerves and other soft tissues.
Don't let this happen to you.
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