Is crocheting good for my hands?

Sasha

Hi everyone,

Just after some advice.

I have RA in my hands which is making things a bit difficult and painful at the mo, I’m in the middle of a flare up.

I love to crochet but can’t decide whether its helping or making my hands worse! It loosens them up whilst I’m doing it but after I stop they go back to being stiff and painful.

Im not sure whether the current climate and work (I’m a nurse) are causing the flare up but crochet helps me relax. I do use a heat and cold to help and do hand exercises but try and avoid pain killers unless I have to.

Any advice or thoughts would be great.

Thanks x

BettyMac

Hi Sasha

Sorry to hear you’re having a flare. It’s not much fun.

The stresses of work and pandemic could well have contributed to the flare. I’ve always found that stress makes things worse for me.

It’s important to be able to carry on with activities that bring pleasure. For me, that’s knitting. I do find crochet to be harder on the hands than knitting - and there’s always that tendency to do “just one more row” 🙂

I’m not a medic but from personal experience, I’d say - keep doing it, but try really hard not to overdo things.

When I told my rheumatologist I was doing a lot of knitting, she said “Great, keep it up. It’s good for your hands”

Obviously, you’re not me and advice has to be tailored specifically for each person. Whoever provides your RA care is best suited to advise you.

It might be worth asking your specialist nurse or rheumatologist if taking a prophylactic dose of anti-inflammatory analgesia might be something you could do sometimes, to allow you to keep up your crafting? ie - if you took something before picking up your crochet hook, you might be able to minimise the reaction you’re getting afterwards?

I know you prefer not to use painkillers. I’m the same. But sometimes they have their place and judicious use might be considered appropriate?

What sort of things do you crochet? I have a box of granny squares waiting to be joined into a blanket. That’s about my level of crochet 🙂

At the moment I’m just finishing knitting a baby blanket for a new grandchild. I have two and a half triangular lace shawls under my lockdown belt - and I’m about to start a new project. I have a beautiful pattern for rows of Danish buildings - and some gorgeous yarn to use. My friend in Copenhagen says they look just like the houses at Nyhavn. It’s supposed to be a blanket but I’ll figure out how to make it a wall-hanging instead.

Hope the flare eases soon!

BettyMac

Hi Sasha

Something else has just occurred to me.

What type of crochet hook do you use? After a bit of trial and error, I found some with fat, plastic handles. They’re much easier on my hands than the conventional thin, metal ones. They’re called addi swing

.

Sasha

Thank you Betty Mac
I probably do crochet for too long so will try not to over do it. I’m currently trying my hand at a shrug but have done a few blankets, hats and I’ve even made a dress.
The Danish buildings sound interesting, they’d make a great blanket
Maybe I should try knitting, although not sure I have the coordination for two needles :)

I use the clover hooks which are flat but have a wideish handle, I did wonder whether a fatter hook would be better. I’ll have to have a look & buy more crafty bits, shame!

Hopefully work & stress will settle and things will improve, the hand exercises I do really help.

I’m seeing the rheumatologist in June (hopefully) so I’ll have a chat about it all.

Thank you for the advice xx