Does Knitting Hurt?
Wednesday March 28, 2007
A reader recently wrote to tell me she'd been having problems with her wrists because of knitting and has had to stop knitting because of it. She wondered how common the problem was, so I thought I'd ask for her.
It seems to me that repetitve strain injuries having to do with knitting (or caused by other factors and made worse by knitting) are pretty common in this day of overusing computers and other devices that require intensive use of the hands. Then again, I may just think that because I have an RSI that sometimes makes it hard for me to knit.
Let's find out in the most scientific way we've got. I'd like to know who feels enough pain when knitting that it makes you stop knitting. If you'd like to say more about how you keep pain away (remembering that no one on this site should be considered a medical expert), please leave a comment.
Poll:Do you feel pain when you knit?
View Results
It seems to me that repetitve strain injuries having to do with knitting (or caused by other factors and made worse by knitting) are pretty common in this day of overusing computers and other devices that require intensive use of the hands. Then again, I may just think that because I have an RSI that sometimes makes it hard for me to knit.
Let's find out in the most scientific way we've got. I'd like to know who feels enough pain when knitting that it makes you stop knitting. If you'd like to say more about how you keep pain away (remembering that no one on this site should be considered a medical expert), please leave a comment.
Poll:Do you feel pain when you knit?
View Results
Comments
I have found that using circular needles, even when I am knitting back and forth, helps a great deal because more of the fabric’s weight ends up on my lap and less on my writsts. It is also important to remember to stop and rest your hands and wrists periodically, as with any repeated activity. Finally, I find that the more tightly I knit the worse my hands feel, so I try to balance needle size and tension to get gauge without having to strain my hands.
I, too, have to stop knitting because of pain. But my doctor said that knitting is very good for arthritic hands. I do find that knitting first thing in the morning helps to loosen my fingers up. I am not that old, 46, but have arthritis everywhere, so I will listen to my doctor and continue the fun and relaxing hobby of knitting.
I only experience a strain in my thumb/finger if I knot for a prolonged time, quickly. If I make myself slow down, or if I am doing something like lace, where I have to slow down, then I don’t have a problem.
That would be if I knit, not knot. Heh.
I too have arthritis everywhere, but I find that knitting helps after I once get loosened up. If I don’t have projects for the family, I keep knitting by making various style hats and caps for Cancer patients. Keep on knitting!!
When I experience pain in my wrists while knitting, I wear a therapeutic glove (bought at a knitting shop) and stop frequently to stretch my wrists and hands. Mostly my pain is in the finger next to my pinky which is very swollen, apparently with arthritis, but I don’t stop knitting – just handle the yarn differently for a little while.
I find that I rarely have pain if I stick to circular needles & avoid knitting with inflexible fibers like cotton.
I found that I was having pain while knitting because I was using slippery yarn with slippery needles – in my case, acrylic yarn and metal needles. I kept pulling the stitches tighter and tighter to keep them from sliding, making my stitches so tight that they were hard to knit. Leading to hand problems all around. Once I switched to bamboo, no more pain!
I have knit off and on for over 45 years. I had carpal tunnel surgery last year. I have arthritis in my right thumb.
I am left handed but had to teach my self to knit right handed because you hold the yarn differently.
I never knit more then a couple of rows at a time. I am currently knitting a sweater knit from the top town. Each row is longer then the previous row.
I take it slow.
I have been in terrible pain with my first pair of socks. It was on one long circular using the magic loop. I switched from bamboo to metal-still hurt-now I’ve gotten an additional circular into the mix-we’ll see how that turns out. My tension (uber tight on these things) is a contributing factor.
Anyhow, the lady at the LYS said to take lots of b6. Something about it growing back the hurt stuff. I’ve been taking a mega-b blend and the pain is gone. I’ve not had time to finish the socks, so it could be that I’m just not creating more pain. Go figure.
On the rare occasion I have discomfort it’s in the end of my ‘pushing’ finger when using smaller-than-ideal ndls and a non-stretchy cotton. But a sturdy band-aid solves the problem. Luckily, despite being a ‘thrower’ I’ve not experienced any other knittng-related problems.
I have Fibromyalgia (chronic pain syndrom) and my knitting helps me to control the pain. When I need to sit, I knit, and it helps me relax the knitting takes over, and my mind is relaxed from my pain. Who knew!
I give the credit to Bamboo needles.
I have numbness in my left thumb, index and middle fingers if I knit too long, and pain in my left ring finger. Stopping and shaking it out seems to help, and so does a therapeutic glove. It’s not going to stop me.
My mother found that knitting helped clear up arthritis in her fingers that set in when she was in her mid-40s, and so did I.
I’ve never experienced pain while knitting. I learned on circular needles and use them for all of my projects. I’ve broken each of my wrists over a two year period and, in both cases, knitting proved to be very therapeutic. In fact, I knitted a scarf for my physical therapist.
I dislocated my shoulder and when I started therapy, I started back knitting. I feel it helps even when it hurts. Movement is always good. Anyway it’s not going to stop me from knitting!
I have bursitis in both shoulders and symptoms of carpal tunnel in both hands, as well as a badly healed break in one thumb from an accident a number of years ago, all of which cause me pain when I knit too much or too long. I have learned to shake my hands out periodically and take regular breaks. I don’t sit with my elbows out higher than normal or propped up. I have found that circs and non-aluminum circs (can’t even begin to tell you why aluminum needles make my hands hurt) are easier on the shoulders because the weight is in my lap. I switch projects with radically different sized needles regularly and when the hands really hurt I wear Hand-Eze gloves when I work and a wrist brace to bed at night. But it never stops me from knitting.
I have fibromyalgia and am on Social Security Disability at 43. I love to knit, but often am in pain. I see some mention using the gloves sold in the knit stores. I’ve continued to get worse and am curious if the gloves are helpful (recommended brand please?). Do any of you have my situation and have found a good way to help yourself? I do have a brace for one of my wrists for some carpel syndrome symptoms, but can’t wear them while knitting. Please help, my Husband is going to kill me if all that yarn doesn’t turn into something soon
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try to keep your hands very relaxed and use a light touch as you work.When your hands start to hurt ,stop,wait and it will pass.
I found petting my cats helps when I am really hurting.The Hand eze @joanns.com is great ,just wear it wrong side out so the seam wont hurt the hand, Hope this helps
I have quite a bit of finger pain, but keep on knitting; I’ve also found the short circular needles cause pain; not enough length for a comfortable grip. My fingers also go numb; for this I am considering wearing wrist splints to keep my wrists straight. If my elbows are very bent, I try to straighten them to relieve the numbness.
I have problems at times with my right wrist, but it’s worse if I have also spend time on the computer.
Knitting is my relaxation relief though and would never give it up.For me the splint at night and also the creme”Arnica gel” helps with the muscle pain.
I have underactive thyroid prob and pain in right hand associated with that. Had carpal tunnel op last year so pain again with that. So knitting is a luxury nowadays – a little knitting and figure of eight exercise in between rows helps.
Hope this helps other readers.
Two sessions of acupuncture and no more pain when I knit! I swear by it!
Try switching to continential style knitting. I keep the left needle tucked up under my arm which reduces the amount of stress on my wrists. I find circular and dpn needing very hard on my wrists and hands.
Has anyone heard of French knitting to lessen pain in left thumb? I tried it and found it a tight and new
stitch. Has anyone had success in using this method to curb pain? Shall I keep practicing this?
After I knit for a little while, I begin to feel pain in the palm of my hand, forearm and shoulder. I think its related to poor posture and my scoliosis.
A physical therapist gave me some excersises to strengthen my core muscles which helped a lot (at least now I can knit a little bit!), but I’m still looking for solutions.
On knitting forums, I’ve seen these gloves recommended the most: http://www.beltoutlet.com/thglbyis.html (Isotoner)
I have never had pain until very recently, when I took on the huge project of painting my entire house. It seems the painting is hard on my wrists and hands, and then knitting daily is making it worse. I am only 34, with no arthritis, and I wake up in the night and can barely move my hands, they are so stiff.
I can’t wait to be done painting so I can hopefully get past this. I think I’ll try the gloves.
I have been using an IMAK Smart Glove because it has a flexible splint so you can still move but get support. They also have arthritis gloves. Rite Aid carries the SmartGlove in the store, and Staples has them on line. Drugstore.com has both the SmartGlove & arthritis gloves. Hopefully IMAK will launch the glove with no ergo beads soon.
I have joint pain in my shoulder from my job. Also I have arthritis in my left thumb that has kept me from knitting for three weeks. It felt better this week so I started back knitting. Now it really hurts. I have to learn to take my ibuprofen and glucosamine/chondroitin because that helps me. A lot. I have had carpal tunnel surgery about 11 years ago. It was such a relief. I could actually hold things in my hands without dropping them.
So I have to learn to pace myself. HA.
Gloves are great, I use for computer and knitting, sometimes adding an elastic wrist band in addition for a bit more comfort and support.
All kinds of brands, several dealers sell pairs of fingerless gloves on ebay, or Walmart, Joann’s and Michaels sells single gloves you can use on either hand in needlework dept.
Since I get soreness on my first knuckle, I prefer the gloves with some finger coverage instead of ones that end right at base of fingers. Those tend to bind a bit at base of fingers.
The knitting needle material makes a real difference for me: I find the plastic needles, especially the double points, extremely comfortable to use. The flexibility and warmth of the plastic is wonderful. Look for vintage needles at charity shops etc as they do not make plastic ones much anymore. But one current manufacturer of some excellent needles is Boyd’s Balene line. They look like ivory, and have unique curved points that are very easy on the hands. Michael’s sells these as do most knitting shops.
The metal seems to be very hard on my hands, I hate them. So inflexible they hurt after just a few minutes and are cold to the touch.
Bamboo needles are nice but the quality varies so much; I have had quite a few split and break.