Working at a computer all day and a sewing machine all night caught up with me a bit this past week. I've never had carpal tunnel before, but this must be what it feels like: achy wrist, weakness in my hand, dull pain in my forearm. I use my hands for literally everything I do - on the computer at my day job, and for Connect the Dots, which is about 50% sewing and 50% computer work (blogging, editing photos, updating the facebook and flickr pages, reading blogs and looking for inspiration).
When I get in the zone, I'm often sewing/working on business for 8+ hours at a time. It's easy for me to forget to eat lunch, never mind take a break every 30 minutes to stretch and give my body a break. But I'm realizing the importance of taking the time to take care of myself.
{ I made myself a little heatable keyboard wrist rest }
Five things I can do to help it get better:
Stretch
Wear a wrist brace (I bought mine at CVS - it said on the package: "For crafts and keyboard work." Ian and I laughed because it might as well have said: "For Carole Ann.")
Take aspirin
Ice my hand/wrist at night
Go easy on it
The last one is what I have the hardest time with. I love sewing too much to take a break from it for even a day!
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oh no nightmare!! Im resting up from crochet crap at present and typing.. of course.. makes sense!
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked for the post office, they did a whole seminar on ergonomics, making sure that you are working at the correct angle for you. You might want to look into that. Also, there are lots of stretches and gentle exercises that you can do as a preventative measure. Here's a link: http://www.ergonomicsnow.com.au/exercises/hands.htm
ReplyDeleteBut I hear ya! I often have tingling in my hands after I've been working with them all day. You could try soaking them in warm-to-hot water mixed with epsom salts, because that's good for relaxing the muscles.
Thanks for commiserating, ladies. I'll be sure to check out that link!
ReplyDeleteI have found the craft gloves at Micheal's help when knitting. They are a little sleeker and a lovely copper stretch fabric and lighter weight.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy - I'll keep an eye out for those next time I'm at Michael's. It is starting to feel a bit better. I think it was "the perfect storm" of my three jobs all taking a toll on me - doing a mass mailing at one, redesigning the website at another, and all of my crafts for connect the dots. Eeek!
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