Comments on: Crochet Pains

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:58:22 +0000

I have pain in my left hand ring finger knuckle. I know it is the way I hold the yarn and the tension, but I can’t seem to break the habit. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to retrain your brain? I found a tension hook on Joann’s website and wondered if anyone had tried before?

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:53:26 +0000

*gasp*

Oh, dear Lord! Please, NEVER try to “pop” a ganglion! (I get them on the back of my hand, they come and go for me, but my sister had one surgically removed in her youth). And your doctor should NEVER had stuck it with a syringe even once, never mind over and over.

*leans against wall, fainting in horror*

I hope the MRI is able to determine what this lump is, and I hope a biopsy has been ordered as well. Any odd lumps and bumps need to be checked out as soon as possible.

Wishing you the best of test results, Gina.

By: Gina P

Gina P — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:42:35 +0000

I worked on a large crochet shawl last year, the largest crochet project I had ever done as I just taught myself in the summer of 2010. Before I finished, my wrist hurt and I thought I had overdone it. It kept hurting even after I finished and gave it a rest. It has been hurting since April 2011. After a couple of months, I noticed a lump. I had thought it was a ganglion cyst and tried to crack it by banging it up against the wall as when you read about them, in the past, they used a large Bible to “pop” them. I couldn’t break it up by hitting it hard ( and oh that hurts like the dickens!!) and finally had to go to the doctor. It keeps on getting bigger and bigger and now it’s 3 inches around my wrist on the up and underneath, but starting on the side. It’s HUGE. I have to go for an MRI tomorrow as when I saw the doctor, no fluid would come out of it when he stuck it with the syringe over and over. I just hope this comes out cleanly as I love to crochet and knit and don’t even want the down time from cutting it out..But I need to as my wrist hurts all the time. I have other chronic pains and the medicines I take for that have helped with this pain. Otherwise I think I would have gone crazy a few months ago. I just hope it’s not all tangled up in my tendons as it’s pretty large now and hurts all over, causing pain up my arm and into my hand and thumb. Wish me luck in that I’m not out of crocheting too long!
I guess I just wanted to share this so others can look for lumps as they may be there. He said Ganglion cysts are most common but this isn’t what I have unfortunately.

By: Katie

Katie — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 01:38:43 +0000

I have fibromyalgia and after trying to meet a large crochet deadline for an order, I developed duQuervain’s tendonitis (think carpal tunnel of the thumb). Did I say I also play musical instruments? With PT, I learned some massge and movement techniques. I also learned to switch projects and if you absolutely must crochet all the time, switch hook sizes. There are hooks that have handles that are built up, Also, I use Handeeze (sp?) craft gloves — turned inside out so the seams don’t irritate my hands — both for crochet and for clarinet.

By: Paula Sloan

Paula Sloan — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:49:11 +0000

My wrist is the main thing that bothers me, however there are times when my thumbs feel as if they are going to lock up. I have worn a half glove/band to help my wrist, but it doesn’t seem to do much for it. I’ve taken Ibuprofin for pain and even gone as far as to take percocet. I’ve also used hot/cold patches or rubs, but nothing seems to help. I either have to work through the pain or take a couple of weeks off to let things have time to settle down.

By: Lisa Hayes

Lisa Hayes — Tue, 31 May 2011 03:59:17 +0000

I also have rheumatoid arthritis in the middle finger 2nd knuckle of my right hand. I don’t think it’s from the crocheting, but it hurts when one least expects it to. I take 2 generic tylenol twice daily and it seems to help it, and if I have the time, put some kind of capsaicin or other kind of cream or lotion on it to make it feel better for awhile. It doesn’t occur all the time, but when the humidity and the barometric pressure rise, that’s when all my joints ache more often than not.

By: Lisa Church

Lisa Church — Tue, 31 May 2011 01:33:11 +0000

Yes, I have developed what I call “crochet finger”, which is a throbbing ache in my right index finger above the first knuckle. Sometimes it wakes me up with a nasty twinge. This is how I know I’ve been overdoing the crochet. I’ve actually been crocheting for 15 years now, but this pain is a new development. Old age, I guess!

By: Maria

Maria — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:03:42 +0000

I’ve been crocheting for approximately 30 years. I always made those pretty doilies with the cotton #10 thread or #30 and very small hooks. Now it too find it a little hard on my hands. I’ve been croching more with yarns but still make projects in the cotton threads with the smaller needles. I too use magnifing glasses which really help a great deal. When I’m work on a project and sitting for long periods of time, I tend to suffer with pain all over, so, what I do now is every hour or so, I stop for a few, walk around, stretch and do something else then I go back to my crocheting. That has really helped me a great deal with dealing with discomfort during crocheting. I pray that I will be able to crochet way into my 100′s if I’m around that long. Thank you everyone for sharing and happy crocheting to all!!!

By: Adelina

Adelina — Mon, 30 May 2011 21:42:26 +0000

I too have many of the ailments mentioned above, from the numbing arms to the aches all over. I too have arthritis and all of it’s cousins that cause chronic pain. But like Barb in TN I crochet to relieve the pain because the motion is very soothing, crocheting helps me to take my mind off the never-ending pain I live with and in the end the projects I complete make it worth it so there is a pay-off both ways! But I have noticed that with this new “ergonomically” styled crochet hook that it begins to hurt and annoy the palm of my hand and I have to reposition my hand. Sometimes this works but mostly it doesn’t and I spent so much for the needles thinking they would be better for my hands because it has become so difficuly to hold the needle comfortably. However, while reading I have found a new idea from Michelle Jones, I think your idea is better than the product I just bought to do exactly the same thing and it didn’t work out real well for my H-J needles, thanks everyone for all of your input, I was experiencing the very same things mentioned here and now I don’t feel so alone….back to crocheting for now, enjoy what is left of the holiday weekend and remember—BE SAFE!! (“,)

By: barb in tennessee

barb in tennessee — Mon, 30 May 2011 20:24:36 +0000

Y’all are gonna think this is pretty peculiar…….but I crochet because of the chronic pain that is due to rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and the other “cousin” inflammatory conditions that seem to come along,adding to the “fun”.
There is just something soothing about the rhythm of the crochet hook as it makes row after row following the pattern. Also, I’ve found that sitting in an old fashioned rocking chair is comforting to my aches and pains.
Sure, there are times that my hands and fingers don’t want to work properly. Changing to a different size hook sometimes takes care of that. Guess we all have lots of works in progress.Things that we can always drop, and then pick back up.

There is just something magical about a hook and a piece of yarn that turns into something special…..like those little tobbogan caps for the NICU, the edgings on flannel blankets for those sweet babies to take home when they leave, or lapghans for those who get cold during their chemo-therapy. Makes you appreciate what you have, and what you can do.