If you are like most knitters, you were probably up late this Christmas Eve, knitting.
Also like most knitters, you may have woken up with knitting pain in your hands, fingers, and joints.
Any flagrant overuse of your joints can lead to stiffness and leave you susceptible to more chronic knitting injuries.
I asked my sister, Kate Howe of katehowemassage.com, what knitters can do to get some relief from knitting pain.
Tight Muscle Fasciae Prevent Joints From Healing
Kate explained to me that muscle fascia is the “bag” of dense connective tissue that surrounds your muscles and joints, kind of like plastic wrap.
Fascia surround every muscle in the body
Fasciae are made of collagen and are connective in nature, like tendons and ligaments, except that fasciae connect muscles to other muscles.
If the fasciae are tight around your muscles, all the stretching or massage in the world can only provide limited relief, because the muscles don’t have room to move.
The good thing is there is an easy way to fix this, and it works, feels good (after you’re done), you can do it by yourself, and it doesn’t take very long.
Just do a series of fascia stretches on yourself. This is called myofascial release, and it’s a form of massage therapy developed in the 1920’s.
After you stretch your forearm fasciae, you can stretch the muscles of the wrist, hands, and fingers and experience a lot of relief from knitting pain next time you go to knit.
Grasp, “Lock,” and Push To Stretch Muscle Fascia Correctly
- Make sure you don’t have on any hand lotion that might make your arm slippery.
- Unlike most massage techniques, you want the skin to “grab,” not slide.
Grasp your left forearm with your right hand. Squeeze just tight enough to prevent your skin from slipping, and push down towards your wrist.
Note: If your right hand is too sore or weak to get a good grip, you can stabilize your left forearm between your legs (still hold onto the fascia with your right hand) and pull your left arm towards you.
“Lock” the fascia and push towards the wrist
Maintaining your hand grip, now push your hand towards your elbow. Your skin (and fascia) will move, about an inch. That’s how much room your fascia have.
That’s what we want to expand.
Perform These 5 Fascia Stretches to Relieve Knitting Pain
1) Forearm Stretch. Work down your forearm (just a few places will do), holding each stretch for 90 seconds.
I like to do this while standing in front of the microwave, waiting for my tea to heat up.
After 90 seconds, you will feel that the fascia have relaxed and stretched. Move your grip down your forearm and repeat.
2) Wrist Stretch. Make sure to keep your elbow straight (this is like keeping your knees straight for a hamstring stretch).
Do not overstretch the wrist by applying too much pressure. Easy does it.
3) Milk the Fingers. Grasp, lock, and push down each finger, stretching the fasciae.
Work your way down each finger, stretching for 90 seconds. Check your manicure.
4) Stretch the Thumb and Hand. This one feels sooo good.
The tops of the arms face each other as you grasp and stretch each thumb.
5) Stretch Your Pinky.
Be gentle on your pinkie and keep that elbow straight.
You can do one whole arm then repeat, or alternate each step.
Either way, your hands are going to instantly feel better.
To Save Time Just Do Stretch #1
✓ If you don’t have much time, just do the myofascial stretches on your forearms from step 1. These alone will provide very fast relief.
✓ Do these stretches in the bathroom, in front of the microwave, or waiting in line at the grocery store.
I’ve been using these stretches all week, and I love them! Leave a note in the comments if you find anything that has worked for you.
Photographs were taken with the assistance and direction of Kate Howe. Kate is a certified massage therapist based in Aspen, CO. Find her at katehowemassage.com.
If you liked this tutorial on how to get relief for sore hands, post in the comments and click the “Like” button!
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OMG! Thank you bunches! I’m on a knitting marathon (for gifts) and my hands were hurting so much LOL! I tried the excercise and omg, what great relief! My poor hands were smoken’ from trying to finish! Again, thanks soooo so so much! And you’re right, great for waiting for tea LOL
These are marvelous! I’ve arthritic hands… thumb joint, right wrist, and right hand’s pinky finger. I felt immediate relief. In fact, it seem to help my shoulder and neck … even my lats… where my ribs are.
Thank you soooo much for giving us these exercises. Now… what have you got for our knees? LOL
Also… I’m a member of an online knit forum… would it be okay with you if I copied your link to this page and share it with my fellow-knitters. I know that many experience finger and/or hand/wrist discomfort/pain. It’s a “topic” at times; asking for advice/suggestions for pain/discomfort relief.
Hi Thelma —
You are wonderful! Of course you can share the link to this page with your fellow-knitters. It’s always great to have more members in our amazing knitting community. :)
I’m really glad that the stretches are working for you as well… I’ll see what I can do about the knees!
I emailed these stretches to my daughter. Her Dr. made her stop knitting completely for 2 weeks because of the pain in her wrist from knitting so much. She’s excited about these exercises!
Charla wouldn’t that be great if these helped her?! Please let me know if they do!
Wow — they are fab! I love the explanation that went with the exercises — it really made me understand my body better! Thanks you soooooo much!!! I’ve passed the info on to two people already and I’ve only just read about it!
Melissa, thank you! Aren’t they good?! I’m so grateful to my sister for teaching them to me so that I could share them with you. Thanks for sharing the page, too — that means a lot to me. Happy pain-free knitting!
I sent this to my daughter, a college flute player who experiences some overuse pain (practicing 3+ hours a day will do that, I guess!) She tried them just today, and loves them. Thanks, Liat!
Yay!!!
A good resource. The stretches do feel good.
Anne, I’m glad you gave the stretches a try. They are great for your hands.
Thank you, I’m currently having trouble with my elbow, shoulder and fingers. I’m sure these will help! My fingers are swollen.
These are great stretches. I imagine they would be great for anyone who does alot of computer work, or even a student that has to do alot of writing. I am certainly going to try them. Even someone with arthritis. I just think they’re great.
excellent stretches. thank you for guiding.
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kate , do you have a photo of this stretch? I do not understand how to rotate, and is my arm straight out to the side of my body? confusing instructions to me.
Hi there, which stretch are you confused about?
Hold your arm straight in front of you — this will be the easiest. Kate had to hold her arm to the side for the photos.
Try this: grab your right arm with your left hand, thumb on bottom. Push your grip down towards your right wrist (don’t let your grip slide). As you do this you can rotate your right arm in slightly, but it’s optional.
How does that feel?
I saw this post on CraftGossip. Thanks for sharing. I have pain in my hands/thumb from too much hand sewing. Going to give these a try for sure.
Hi Sheila, thanks for commenting! How do your hands feel after the stretches?
Saw this post on CraftGossip. I have been experiencing pain in my thumb from too much hand sewing. I am definitely going to give these stretches a try.
I really needed these this morning…thanks:-)
I crochet like a fiend and I bet these will work for me too! Thank you!
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good for me!
Thanks for sharing these tips. They also work great to relieve arm and wrist pain after a full day of typing!
I’ve got another tip to relieve shoulder and neck pain. I’ve read it in knitting related context, but I cannot remember where. If your neck is stressed out and tensed do the following: turn your head to the left as far as it goes comfortably. Then push your lower jaw forward and hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds. You’ll feel your neck muscles and tendons stretching. Switch to the other side and repeat. Two to three “sessions” usually help me a lot if I’ve been sitting in the wrong knitting or working position for too long.
I hope this helps!
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The stretches have now become an important part of my knitting “regimen”. I’m mostly a machine knitter, so I’m holding handles and working with small tools. Feels great! I’m doing the stretches with my hand knitting, too. Thanks, Liat and Kate!
Thank you for sharing these stretches with us…great relief. I did them while reading and could feel it immediately.
My sister is a Physical Therapist and I questioned her about the discomfort from knitting a while ago. She suggested I wrap my arms and hands with a warm towel prior to stretching, stretch about 30 mins prior to knitting (yea, like that’s going to happen!), and to also stretch my neck (ear to shoulder then slowly rolling my head forward to stretch the muscles around the shoulder blade). She also suggested to ice my hands AFTER I knit, not to stretch, so the muscles, tendons and ligaments can calm down.
Again, thanks for sharing these very specific stretches!!!
Thanks for adding this advice, Karen! The neck stretches sound relaxing.
Hi, guys! I’m so glad these helped you! Perhaps when I get back in town Liat and I can shoot a short video about how to work on your friends at Knit Night so everyone feels better! You don’t have to be a massage therapist to really help someone’s pain, just a few good pointers.
Joyce, I think that the muscle group you are talking ant is the pecs, and front delt from how you are describing it. Stand in a doorway or at a corner of a wall, like you are going to walk through the door. Then, put your palm against the wall straight out from yr shoulder, at 90 degrees to your body. Use a long, straight arm. Now, rotate your body away from your palm as far as you can with a straight arm and no big discomfort.
Relax your shoulders down from your ears. Relax your face, let the tongue fall off the roof of yr mouth. Breathe out, then rotate your body a bit further. Let the pec and the front of the shoulder feel a good stretch, which can feel burn-y, (that’s a fascia feel) but should not feel crunchy. Know the difference between “bad pain” and “good pain” in your body and be mindful of going to your place of benefit.
Happy knitting and happy new year!
Hi Liat
Thanks to you and your sister Kate for these exercises. I can definitley feel a different already. I am presuming that the 90 seconds hold is not crucial as I only did it for 20 seconds and I still felt the difference. If I had to hold for 90 secs on each exercise I think I would give up.
I wonder if Kate has any suggestions for the muscles under the arm next to the breast? I find when my work starts to get heavy that I feel the most discomfort there.
I will certainly be passing this information on to all my knitting friends.
Thanks again
Joyce :)
These stretches are AMAZING! I did them briefly after seeing the pictures and immediately felt relief from the stiffness in my fingers! Thanks so much!
Yay! I’m so glad! Isn’t it amazing?!
I wish my doctors had given me these stretches when I was diagnosed with De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. I just went through this series of stretches, and I feel more pain relief than I ever did after the last cortisone injection — and I didn’t have to pay $300!
I’m so glad these helped you! I was so surprised when I could actually feel less soreness in my fingers immediately after doing them. Thanks for commenting!