So I’ve seen a lot of posts about knitters and crocheters needing to stretch their hands after probably working like crazy to finish Christmas gifts which is good. No criticism. I’ve got videos of yoga that specifically targets shoulders and hands if anyone’s interested but that’s not why I’m making this post. I have something to add.
We need to add some *light* weight lifting. I know, boo, hiss, throw the tomatoes.
So you’re stretching out tendons when you work your arms, specifically your wrists. I want you to think of that tendon like a rubber band. What happens when you stretch a rubber band too much? It weakens and eventually breaks. There is such a thing as too much stretching, especially if it doesn’t seem to help the pain. Which is why we also need to build up strength in our arms and hands to counteract that. You don’t need to lift anything heavy. I usually don’t lift heavier than 25 lbs if I’m trying to rehab my hands and arms. And literally all you have to do is walk around with the weights in your hands. Like a suitcase. You can do dumbbells, you can do kettlebells, you can carry your 25lb kid around, I just want you to do it. You can even just carry jugs of milk around at the store if your hands can’t do the weights. And it feels good after a while. You might feel weird just walking around with weights but this is literally how farmers get strong.
This isn’t even something I’m an expert on, but my husband is. And half of what we do for weightlifting is just to protect my hands and arms long term. Message me if you have questions. If I can’t answer it, my husband can. We want you to be able to craft until you die, not until you get carpel tunnel in your 30s-40s. Love you knitblr.
