Help! Pain after crocheting!

[Annapanna]

Hi!

 

Lately I’ve developed pain in my hand from crocheting. And not in the hand holding the hook, which seems to be more common, but in the hand supporting the yarn. The pain is centered in the base of the thumb, the “meaty” part of the palm under the thumb. I have tried taking a break from crocheting for a week or two but it comes back again right when I start again.

 

Anyone with similar experiences and some advice? Thanks!

[Lacycrochet]

Hi AnnaPanna

I also get hand pain there when I am working with yarn on big projects like an afghan.  I do hand exercises before and after I crochet for a period of time. 

If you look on youtube there are lots of videos with some hand exercises.  I found some of the videos helpful.

[Granny Square]

Welcome to the 'ville, and OUCH!, my sympathies.  

I've observed that some people tension their yarn in a way that makes me cringe watching them (I have wrist issues due to not-crafting).  My sister-in-law for example carries her tensioning fore-finger high and wiggles it around as she goes for example. 

My tensioning hand is 99.9% stationary, fingers next to each other.  Movement is on the order of a millimeter here and there, maybe, max.   I do not wrap yarn around any fingers, but rather drape it over my first finger, under the second, and over the last 2.  The only movement is gently and very slightly moving my fingers apart to let the yarn pass by.

Your issue sounds like De Quervain's tenosynovitis--I have this, and have for over 20 years (it never goes away completely) but thankfully mine flares briefly but simmers down quickly if I 'behave'; and it happens where the thumb meets the wrist.  Opening new jars, even with a tool, is still excruciating tho.  This describes a test you can for this condition, warning if this is what you have, it will hurt like heck.