Tuesday 16 March 2010

Knitter’s Elbow Continued

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions about the knitter’s elbow and how to help it (resting). I did this over the weekend and also invested in an elbow strap specifically designed for tennis elbow, and it felt a lot better by Monday morning. Unfortunately after a half a day at work I was in pain again, despite the brace. This morning I had to go looking for ice at work just so I could sit at my desk. Post ice, pain killers, tightening of aforementioned brace and repositioning my chair to change the angle of my arm, I was relatively comfortable for the rest of the morning. I am, however, going to the doctor this afternoon just to get better pain meds and in the hope that he’ll have other helpful advice.

Also thanks for the comments about the needles. Everyone has their own favourites it seems. It all depends on what kind of knitter you are. The funny thing is that I used to adore my bamboo knitting needles until I discovered that, I tended to bend them while knitting so they became deformed, and that I really prefer using circulars for most things. Circulars mean you can spread your work out, try it on while knitting and the Options are exchangeable so I have all I need with my two sets. Unfortunately, they haven’t come up with the absolutely perfect needles yet. Addis kink, the Option cable joins are weak, Pony/Inox joins are horrid in general, straights are just dangerous (ask my cat who likes to sit next to me while I’m knitting) and too short, metal needles are slippery, wooden ones stick, etc. etc., and I’m sure there are hoards more out there that I haven’t tried. I’m equally sure they all have their good and bad points. Personally I want Addy metal tips and joins with the memory free Options cables – I’ve heard there are problems with the Addy circular sets too. I’d also like to see it mandatory to have the size indelibly printed on every needle ever made so that I’d never need to look for my sizer again. I must add a big thanks here to Uncle for lending me and showing me how to use his metal engraver to engrave the size on my Options needles without causing any snaggy edges. It worked a charm.

Knitting work has been slow to non-existent lately. People think knitting is such a quite, non-dangerous hobby. Little do they know…

5 comments:

  1. I've been considering getting some interchangable round needles and can't decide between the Options or the Addis.. the Addis are soooo expensive, and I really like my Harmony double points so I thought they'd be nice in rounds.. but then Ive heard so many horror stories about the cable popping out mid project.
    If you ever find the perfect set let me know!

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  3. I had good luck with acupuncture and massage for my tennis elbow as well. Not as a result of playing tennis, mostly computer related then it flared up from shoveling.

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  4. Ouch! Your "knitting elbow" sounds painful. I'd hate to think that knitting caused it, but it makes sense since it is that repetitive motion that causes a lot of us trouble. It sounds like you knit quickly (reference to your post about knitting needles.)

    I like the Harmony double-points too, but I'm not going to try their circulars. I've heard the bad stories about the connections too. My hands are more tense when I used circulars, but I do have one pair of #6 (bamboo?) Addis that are really nice. I've knit a couple of blankets with them.

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  5. Two and a bit years since you posted this. Gee I hope your knitting elbow is better. I'm suffering at the moment, not only can't I knit, but it also means I'm not enjoying the gorgeous colours of the yarn unfurl on my lap. mega sad sigh :-(
    Sue

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