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Knitting Injuries

I have touched on this topic before, but today I intend to probe it a bit deeper.  There is a lot of repetitive motion in knitting and with that comes the possibility of injuries like tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome as well as a stiff neck and pain or numbness in fingers, wrists and elbows.

Although this young woman is making lace and not knitting, note the poor posture
Note how this more mature woman is holding the knitting up and using her eyes rather than her neck to look down

Here are a set of links that address the potential problems one can develop with too many hours of knitting:

http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/knitting-daily/knit-on-in-the-new-year-healthfully/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yqn4n_1b8M

http://knityorkcity.com/2013/11/12/knitting-pains-handle/

https://sfsportspinephysicaltherapy.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/knitting-tips-from-a-physical-therapist/

http://www.knitandtonic.net/knitandtonic/2013/02/and-to-think-i-thought-knitting-yoga-was-a-joke-.html

Should you not wish to peruse or watch these videos, here´s my penny summary of what to keep top of mind to avoid serious injury while spending hours at a time knitting:
  1.  Sit in a chair that properly fits you.  Both feet should always touch the floor and there needs to be enough space to spread out the elbows.  (P.S. that lack of space impacts the comfort of knitting on an airplane BTW.)
  2. Watch your posture as you knit.  Keep your shoulders on the back of the chair to avoid hunching over (like the first picture) because over time this creates a strain on your back and shoulders.
  3. Put the knitting down and get up to move around for 5-10 minutes after every hour.  Set a timer if necessary to insure you don´t sit for too long. 
  4. If you feel any aches or pains stop more frequently.
  5. Do finger and wrist stretches (see the first link above for details).  They are like the warm up and cool down before and after knitting.
  6. If there is serious pain, stop knitting and go see a physician.  No deadline is worth serious, permanent injury.
There it is another public announce reminder to help insure if you knit you can continue to do so for years to come.  Or was this really just a reminder to myself? 


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