but I have tennis elbow. Knitter's elbow. Aka an intense soreness in the outer muscle of my right forearm, with a knot of pain at the elbow.
I'm ready to go back to the city of my birth (Niagara Falls) and jump.
Everything I've read on the net says that the best treatment is to .... I can't type this .... I can't ....
stop knitting!
I don't think I can. I don't think anyone will want to be around me if I do.
My good friend Andrea (a non-knitting lawyer) who always seems to hit the nail right on the head describes knitting as my "comfort food" -- that each of us has an activity that helps us cope with the stresses of our lives -- the practice of law, worries about kids, petty annoyances of daily life -- and, as everytime she pops in my office she sees the basket of knitting on my desk -- mine is knitting.
What will I do? How will I cope? If I ignore the pain, or ice it and take lots and lots of anti-inflammatory drugs, can I still knit? What if I knit very very slowly?
I've tried knitting Continental style and that doesn't seem to make a difference, though learning how to do it has made my 2-color knitting alot easier.
I've tried a pillow under my arm.
I've tried cursing, lots.
Rats, the Falls is probably frozen over. I'd probably just slide down, and further hurt my elbow.
:(
*sniff*
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7 comments:
Oh no! I don't know what to do, but there's gotta be a solution other than to stop.
Yikes.
I am sooo sorry to hear that.
Alleve has helped me a lot in the past - and Addi needles, or something lightweight, may help too.
Taking breaks to stretch may also be good.
Best of luck to you!!!
Hope it clears up soon
Do you use striaght needles mostly? I find circulars let me rest the project on my lap & reduce stress on my wrists & arms.
I feel your pain. I have tendonitis in my wrists which prevents me from knitting sometimes if I happen to have been on the computer all day at work. I would recommend on the nights that you are in pain to just relax and not knit but I know that is easier said than done. I would suggest to get one of those tennis elbow braces -- my mom has one and it has helped her a lot.
I had this problem around Christmas. Everyone told me to stop knitting. I totally ignored them and got a lot of disapproving looks. It went away eventually.
I have the exact same problem, which varies in intensity. I spin, too, so I am lucky enough to have that to fall back on when it gets really bad. My best advice, which helps me, but also drives me crazy, is to unbend your arms a good deal (I knit with my needle tips about 8 inches from my nose). If I straighten out the bend in my arms, it relieves some of the pain, but then I feel like I can't properly "see" my stitches, not that I look at them all that much, but it still makes me a bit crazy. Unfortunately, it really does work for me. So either I suffer, or look like I'm horribly far-sighted.
First of all, I'm very sorry, and I know it sucks, but PLEASE be careful. A little time off now is better than never being able to knit again. Anti-inflamatories and ice are definitely good. The idea of looking at the amount of bend in your elbows and how you hold the needles is good too. Just be sure you take this seriously. It's your body giving you the signal that something isn't quite right. Don't ignore it!
Jessica
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