Ouch! Crafter’s Elbow is No Joke!
Last Updated on April 4, 2018 by lydiaf1963
I’ve done did it, y’all. All the crocheting and teaching myself to knit continental style (along with Norwegian style purling) has caused a fairly common injury called crafter’s elbow (widely known as tennis elbow or more precisely, lateral epicondylitis ). It hurts. A LOT.
The injury is to a tendon that attaches the muscles of the forearm to the elbow. I have a definite tender spot on the outside, but no swelling thankfully. My elbow has hurt off and on for about a year, nothing drastic, I just noticed some discomfort when carrying the groceries. I really overdid it when I did some marathon crocheting in an attempt to reduce my stash. I think the icing on the cake, er elbow, was when I spent half my flight back to the US working on my current knitting project. When I got off the plane it hurt to straighten my arm, or to carry anything heavier than my phone. It’s really stiff in the morning, too. As with many injuries like this, the key to healing is R I C E, some anti inflammatory medication and time.
Rest
Crafter’s elbow tends to occur in the dominant arm, so resting can be difficult. Take your normal anti inflammatory medication as directed to help with the pain. If necessary, you can purchase a sling to prevent yourself from unconsciously using that arm. I haven’t had to do that yet, but just yesterday I lifted a pot on the stove like I normally do. I nearly dropped it because of the pain. Wearing a sling would have forced me to adjust. Resting also means to stop doing the activity that caused the injury in the first place. Bleh. After a week without my needles, I’m starting to feel a little resentful. I have projects to complete!
Ice
Icing your elbow will help with the pain and reduce the inflammation in the tissue. You’ll want to apply ice two or three times a day. I’m using a flexible ice pack that wraps around my arm. I prop my arm up on a pillow and watch knitting videos for 15 to 20 minutes. Vicarious knitting is better than no knitting. Another solution is to fill a basin or bucket with ice and water and soak your elbow. The advantage is you can treat the entire area this way, but it is awkward. When I tried it I put the basin on the counter and kind of leaned over it. If there’s no real swelling you may find using a heating pad on the area to be soothing, too. I’ve been doing both.
Compression
There are braces you can purchase specifically for tennis elbow. They wrap around your forearm and support the tendon, spreading out any force that may be applied to the elbow. Mine has a little cushion that can be positioned near the more tender spot. It helps a lot, especially for everyday tasks where you commonly use both hands, like preparing meals, washing dishes, or using a keyboard.
Elevation
It’s kind of tricky to elevate your elbow but I’ve found when I’m sitting or laying down it feels better to have the support of a pillow..
Massage
After a few days, you can do what’s known as a cross fiber massage to help break up any scar tissue that may be forming in the injury. This video demonstrates a couple of ways to massage the injury and gives some tips for gently stretching the area. This one goes into a little more detail about the cross fiber massage and gets specific about what’s going on with the injury.
When to See the Doctor
Crafter’s elbow, like other injuries of this type, takes a long time to heal completely but after a couple weeks of self care you should be noticing an improvement. If that’s not the case you’ll want to give your doctor a call. Obviously, if the pain is so severe it’s impacting your ability to sleep or find a comfortable position during the day you shouldn’t wait.
Moving Forward
Unfortunately, it’s easy to re-injure yourself when you restart your activity. Learn how to gently stretch the affected area before crafting, just like an athlete stretches before activity. This is also a good idea if you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.
Pace yourself. No hours of binge watching your favorite shows while crafting. Instead try to limit yourself to 20 or 30 minutes and gradually increase the amount of time spent crafting.
Evaluate your methods. Are you gripping your needles too tight? Can you alternate techniques to change the motion of your hands? When I go back to knitting (hopefully next week…my summer t shirt is calling me), I’m going to use my preferred method of flicking for a bit. I find continental requires me to twist my left wrist. I will also be looking for ergonomic handles for my crochet hooks so I can hold them more comfortably in my left hand. I consider myself lucky to be a leftie as I’ve been more or less forced throughout my life to also use my right hand with some proficiency. Some people aren’t ambidextrous at all and may have more difficulty recovering from this type of injury.
Have you experienced crafter’s elbow? How did you treat it? Do you do something else to help prevent another occurrence? Tell me about it in the comments!
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Lydia: re: compression. I regularly wrap my leg, foot and area up to my knee, which really makes a diff when I’m trying to sleep. I prefer heat, but am having to alternate heat and ice. I can only use ice at nt, when lying down. I’m getting up and sitting up most of the nt. The compression-try using an ace bandage, wide, helps the most. In addition to ibuprofen, I’m using Voltaren gel, arnical gel, ice gel, frankincense, Topricin cream, and more ice. The gels, cold in and of themselves, help, as do the Lidocaine patches and roll on. Have even tried CBD salve from hemp, does almost nothing. Good luck.
Thanks Robbie Lane. I have Voltaren tablets which Rick bought for me in Spain, but the cream is widely known among people who walk the Camino. I didn’t know it was available in the US. I’m sure there are readers with arthritis and inflammation who will find your reply helpful as well as those of us who are only dealing with temporary discomfort.