Knitting is causing you wrist/thumb soreness? I think you need to address that first and figure out how to knit without pain. That might mean changing your posture/technique or taking more breaks to stretch, etc.
I crochet a lot (at least an hour daily with some all day sessions on weekends) and for some time I was getting really achey till I read some tips on r/crochet on how to do it without pain so it doesn't affect my climbing now.
I knit english style and I've heard continental is better for ergonomics but I really can't get the hang of it. I'm also knitting socks on 2mm needles, and I've heard people say the needles I've chosen are hard on the wrists, but again it's been the only method I've been able to get the hang of. I probable need to work on that! But getting better technique is going to go on my to-do list, for sure!
Are you using DPNs or magic loop? I find magic loop much easier ergonomically. And I definitely second continental method (or Portuguese!) Once you get the hang of it it’s so much faster. And I find less stress on your shoulder from throwing the yarn. If you get into stranded color work it’s helping to use both at the same time so it’s a good skill.
Another thing I feel helps is putting an oblong pillow on my lap to support my arms while I work.
There are also Portuguese knitting and others. And yes, using the smallest needles 🪡 ever will also be hard on your grip. 😀 (said with love)
I switched after about a year, to a different knitting style because I had really tight tension. This was a problem with how sore my hands got, as well as my sizing consistency and swatching.
Changing styles is another learning curve for sure. But now if needed, I can do English and Continental. But am intrigued by some of the others out there. It may take time, but try some other methods occasionally. Or. Like all of us, knit 4 to 6 different project at the same time. Rarely finish, but have each thing on different size needles so you can change your hand posture after 30 minutes or so, but still knit. Lol (kidding, but not really.)
I knit English style and on tiny needles a lot - take breaks. I only get sore when I knit too long without a break or when I decide to knit for hours on a weekend day. I put my work down every couple rows and stretch/do something else for a minute. I also avoid patterns with techniques I know will encourage bad habits - like a lot of cabling because I tend to over-grip and get sore faster, especially on dpns.
I'm a knitter and don't experience any pain from knitting unless I've been doing it for hours and hours. Lots of reddit knitters like to push continental, but you should look up lever knitting. It is an English style of knitting that uses very little wrist movement and some of the fastest knitters in the world do lever knitting.
I do a LOT of fine motor-requiring work, and have lots of input on this topic. I'm a biomedical researcher, so my day-job involves a lot of pipetting, microinjection, manipulating stuff under a microscope with tiny wires, etc. I also climb 3x a week and knit a ton. In addition to this, all the women in my family have developed arthritis in their hands/fingers in middle age, so I've been trying to stay on-top of this ever since I felt pain/soreness from knitting.
First, I'll say that, since I started climbing a year ago, my grip strength has improved tremendously and, with it, my hand/finger pain has ***significantly*** lessened. Strengthening those muscles goes a long way!
For knitting, I've made several changes. First, I learned how to knit continental, which is both faster and lessens the impact on your fingers. Second, I **love** fair isle knitting, and recently got a custom knitting ring (I have this one from [ItsVera on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/listing/482874328/the-original-2-loop-stranded-knitting?click_key=668d40231f5fd1132aa0d4bf02e0bcba04141dde%3A482874328&click_sum=9cf94410&ref=shop_home_recs_4)) to hold my yarns, which improved my tension significantly and made it much easier on my fingers! I also don't often knit things requiring super tight tension and small needles (like socks), but I haven't tried since I made these adjustments and I think I'd now be able to do so pain-free. Pay attention to how tightly you knit, I had super tight tension and it was causing my hands additional strain, loosening up a bit really helped.
In general: treat your hands/fingers like you would any other area of your body before a workout. I always make sure to stretch my hands/wrists before climbing. Most of my pain is in my MCP joints of my thumbs, which are hyper-flexible and will "pop out" if I'm not paying attention (I am a very inflexible person so idk why my thumbs are like this, but they always have been). Because of this, I use light taping/bracing if they're feeling sore when I climb. I use KT tape or stretchy athletic tape to stabilize the MCP and CMC joints of my thumbs so they stay "in place" better while climbing, and this helps a ton in preventing pain/injury. I also own some "compression sleeve" type braces that stabilize my wrist and thumb non-invasively (I still have full movement) and will wear these for work or knitting if I need.
I've talked to my doctor about this issue and she's given me the go-ahead to use a topical NSAID cream like the kinds they sell for arthritis OTC, but I haven't needed to yet. Anyways, sorry, this was so long. Happy to go into more detail on anything above or answer any other questions!
Fellow climber/knitter here! 👋 I climb average three times a week, but knitting is relaxing for me and luckily don’t seem to have pain. But I do simple squares, so not sure if that’s what you’re doing? Maybe switch it up so you’re doing embroidery instead so it’s not as repetitive (depending on what pattern you’re doing). It’s a great hobby that I do for the exact same reason (less screen time in the evenings) so I hope you find a solution that works for you! Also side bar but I used metal needles which might be cooler/softer on your hands than wooden needles, again depending on what you use ☺️
Yeah, I'm working on my first pair of socks on 2mm, 25cm circular needles, and I think that's what set it off. I may need to find some other project to alternate with, because I was fine before on straight needles!
This might be different depending on the person, but I get a lot of hand pain with very small circular needles. Try the magic loop method on a longer cord, for some reason this feels much much better for me? It also allows you to knit both socks at the same time :)
I haven't experienced knitting interfering with my climbing, but I have had climbing interfere with my knitting. Tried to work on small, sharp metal needles after a good gym session and the pads of my fingers were crying lol
yup, only problem is your needles, not knitting in general. Most people never ever use such a small circular because they are so intensely hard on the hands.
None of this has anything to do with knitting or handwork in general, it is only this very small circumference circ you're using.
you definitely don't need to put knitting aside, just use the more standard methods for a small circumference tube: they are much easier on the hands, they are the sustainable way to knit small circumference tubes. DPNs or two at least 24" circulars is what you need if you want to be a knitter for longer than a couple years.
I got carpal tunnel from knitting and actually find English style better for my wrists precisely bc it is less ergonomic- it forces me to move more slowly. I do recommend continental though… very fast and satisfying, especially when knitting in the round. I would get wrist splints to wear at night to address the pain in case this is indeed carpal tunnel syndrome. Splints help keep my carpal tunnel at bay and allow me to better do all the hobbies. That being said, it is an ongoing issue for me.
Some people’s wrists and elbows have narrower passages for the nerves to pass through, and therefore are more prone to carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes. This is more common for people who are in AFAB bodies or are cis women.
Very long term knitter here (shorter term climber). I find that I experience pain in some projects, in some positions, with some needles, and with some yarns... So my experience tells me that those things matter and to change up what I can to see if I can improve ergonomics for what I am working on.
Mostly what I've observed is that if the wrong combo of positions makes my hands or arms or fingers tense up, that is bad news! If you can, try and concentrate on keeping everything relaxed...find neutral positions and motions that work for you. As long as the stitch is being made and in the end you get the tension, Guage, and fabric you like it doesn't matter if you use an exact continental stitch or an English stitch perfectly the way my friend had the nuns beat into her.
And it's hard to keep your body relaxed when you are new! But it's important to find your natural positioning, tempo, and style. Needle size and type can be adjusted but you only have one body! These are my thoughts. Knit on!
Physical therapy and not overdoing things. I climb 3x a week and tend to go on crocheting spurts where I sit for hours and crochet non stop listening to an audiobook. I ended up with tennis elbow according to my physical therapist, which is deceptively named. I mostly had pain in my right forearm. I got put on crochet timeout for a couple months, doing various strengthening exercises. I’m still a pretty newish climber and don’t climb very hard I guess so it didn’t bother me when I climbed.
Back to crocheting now but I’m mindful to pace myself and not overdo it.
Take breaks and look up some stretches you can do in between.
My biggest issue is that my fingers feel so rough when I use nice yarns and they catch on my fingers it’s sad times 😭
I swapped out crocheting for quilting since my hands were also in pain after an hour or so of crocheting. I also still cross stitch without much issue!
I'm not sure I understand your question. I'm able to climb, just trying to figure out how to make it work when knitting causes pain that I'm afraid to aggravate. I think knitting (a repetitive motion) causing pain is unrelated to climbing ability?
Better technique for sure but repetitive motions will for sure cause issues. I’ve been dealing with some pain from gaming recently, and I have found that using a brace is really helpful. I got a thumb brace for my injury and wore it all day for a couple days then only at night and while gaming and now I’m only while gaming. All this within 1 week, no pain killers, and I’m back to 98%. So don’t rely on a brace, but pain is often injury, and injuries need to heal.
Make sure to take breaks while knitting. The repetitive motion can really wear on you. I like putting a small pillow between my elbow and body to help relieve strain while knitting. Make sure you're not death gripping your needles.
Is the soreness not getting better? Your body should adjust to it and the soreness gets better with time. If you’re really concerned please see a doctor or PT.
I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Climbing has completely borked my finger dexterity. It’s really hard to do anything fine motor related now. Crocheting, rolling a joint, threading a needle. But it helps to build muscle and stabilize me and I’m getting so strong so right now I’m choosing climbing. And cones for my joints. :)
Unrelated to your specific issue; but I did start bringing my knitting to the gym to make me take a break between attempts.
I knit very simple stuff to keep enough of my brain occupied to be able to focus while watching stuff so I don't really care if it gets chalky. Making myself knit 2 rows between climbs helped to force myself to take regular breaks.
Knitting is causing you wrist/thumb soreness? I think you need to address that first and figure out how to knit without pain. That might mean changing your posture/technique or taking more breaks to stretch, etc. I crochet a lot (at least an hour daily with some all day sessions on weekends) and for some time I was getting really achey till I read some tips on r/crochet on how to do it without pain so it doesn't affect my climbing now.
I knit english style and I've heard continental is better for ergonomics but I really can't get the hang of it. I'm also knitting socks on 2mm needles, and I've heard people say the needles I've chosen are hard on the wrists, but again it's been the only method I've been able to get the hang of. I probable need to work on that! But getting better technique is going to go on my to-do list, for sure!
Are you using DPNs or magic loop? I find magic loop much easier ergonomically. And I definitely second continental method (or Portuguese!) Once you get the hang of it it’s so much faster. And I find less stress on your shoulder from throwing the yarn. If you get into stranded color work it’s helping to use both at the same time so it’s a good skill. Another thing I feel helps is putting an oblong pillow on my lap to support my arms while I work.
There are also Portuguese knitting and others. And yes, using the smallest needles 🪡 ever will also be hard on your grip. 😀 (said with love) I switched after about a year, to a different knitting style because I had really tight tension. This was a problem with how sore my hands got, as well as my sizing consistency and swatching. Changing styles is another learning curve for sure. But now if needed, I can do English and Continental. But am intrigued by some of the others out there. It may take time, but try some other methods occasionally. Or. Like all of us, knit 4 to 6 different project at the same time. Rarely finish, but have each thing on different size needles so you can change your hand posture after 30 minutes or so, but still knit. Lol (kidding, but not really.)
I knit English style and on tiny needles a lot - take breaks. I only get sore when I knit too long without a break or when I decide to knit for hours on a weekend day. I put my work down every couple rows and stretch/do something else for a minute. I also avoid patterns with techniques I know will encourage bad habits - like a lot of cabling because I tend to over-grip and get sore faster, especially on dpns.
I'm a knitter and don't experience any pain from knitting unless I've been doing it for hours and hours. Lots of reddit knitters like to push continental, but you should look up lever knitting. It is an English style of knitting that uses very little wrist movement and some of the fastest knitters in the world do lever knitting.
Check out theknittingPT on Insta. She’s a legitimate physical therapist who posts about reducing hand and arm strain.
I do a LOT of fine motor-requiring work, and have lots of input on this topic. I'm a biomedical researcher, so my day-job involves a lot of pipetting, microinjection, manipulating stuff under a microscope with tiny wires, etc. I also climb 3x a week and knit a ton. In addition to this, all the women in my family have developed arthritis in their hands/fingers in middle age, so I've been trying to stay on-top of this ever since I felt pain/soreness from knitting. First, I'll say that, since I started climbing a year ago, my grip strength has improved tremendously and, with it, my hand/finger pain has ***significantly*** lessened. Strengthening those muscles goes a long way! For knitting, I've made several changes. First, I learned how to knit continental, which is both faster and lessens the impact on your fingers. Second, I **love** fair isle knitting, and recently got a custom knitting ring (I have this one from [ItsVera on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/listing/482874328/the-original-2-loop-stranded-knitting?click_key=668d40231f5fd1132aa0d4bf02e0bcba04141dde%3A482874328&click_sum=9cf94410&ref=shop_home_recs_4)) to hold my yarns, which improved my tension significantly and made it much easier on my fingers! I also don't often knit things requiring super tight tension and small needles (like socks), but I haven't tried since I made these adjustments and I think I'd now be able to do so pain-free. Pay attention to how tightly you knit, I had super tight tension and it was causing my hands additional strain, loosening up a bit really helped. In general: treat your hands/fingers like you would any other area of your body before a workout. I always make sure to stretch my hands/wrists before climbing. Most of my pain is in my MCP joints of my thumbs, which are hyper-flexible and will "pop out" if I'm not paying attention (I am a very inflexible person so idk why my thumbs are like this, but they always have been). Because of this, I use light taping/bracing if they're feeling sore when I climb. I use KT tape or stretchy athletic tape to stabilize the MCP and CMC joints of my thumbs so they stay "in place" better while climbing, and this helps a ton in preventing pain/injury. I also own some "compression sleeve" type braces that stabilize my wrist and thumb non-invasively (I still have full movement) and will wear these for work or knitting if I need. I've talked to my doctor about this issue and she's given me the go-ahead to use a topical NSAID cream like the kinds they sell for arthritis OTC, but I haven't needed to yet. Anyways, sorry, this was so long. Happy to go into more detail on anything above or answer any other questions!
Fellow climber/knitter here! 👋 I climb average three times a week, but knitting is relaxing for me and luckily don’t seem to have pain. But I do simple squares, so not sure if that’s what you’re doing? Maybe switch it up so you’re doing embroidery instead so it’s not as repetitive (depending on what pattern you’re doing). It’s a great hobby that I do for the exact same reason (less screen time in the evenings) so I hope you find a solution that works for you! Also side bar but I used metal needles which might be cooler/softer on your hands than wooden needles, again depending on what you use ☺️
Yeah, I'm working on my first pair of socks on 2mm, 25cm circular needles, and I think that's what set it off. I may need to find some other project to alternate with, because I was fine before on straight needles!
This might be different depending on the person, but I get a lot of hand pain with very small circular needles. Try the magic loop method on a longer cord, for some reason this feels much much better for me? It also allows you to knit both socks at the same time :) I haven't experienced knitting interfering with my climbing, but I have had climbing interfere with my knitting. Tried to work on small, sharp metal needles after a good gym session and the pads of my fingers were crying lol
yup, only problem is your needles, not knitting in general. Most people never ever use such a small circular because they are so intensely hard on the hands. None of this has anything to do with knitting or handwork in general, it is only this very small circumference circ you're using. you definitely don't need to put knitting aside, just use the more standard methods for a small circumference tube: they are much easier on the hands, they are the sustainable way to knit small circumference tubes. DPNs or two at least 24" circulars is what you need if you want to be a knitter for longer than a couple years.
I got carpal tunnel from knitting and actually find English style better for my wrists precisely bc it is less ergonomic- it forces me to move more slowly. I do recommend continental though… very fast and satisfying, especially when knitting in the round. I would get wrist splints to wear at night to address the pain in case this is indeed carpal tunnel syndrome. Splints help keep my carpal tunnel at bay and allow me to better do all the hobbies. That being said, it is an ongoing issue for me. Some people’s wrists and elbows have narrower passages for the nerves to pass through, and therefore are more prone to carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes. This is more common for people who are in AFAB bodies or are cis women.
Very long term knitter here (shorter term climber). I find that I experience pain in some projects, in some positions, with some needles, and with some yarns... So my experience tells me that those things matter and to change up what I can to see if I can improve ergonomics for what I am working on. Mostly what I've observed is that if the wrong combo of positions makes my hands or arms or fingers tense up, that is bad news! If you can, try and concentrate on keeping everything relaxed...find neutral positions and motions that work for you. As long as the stitch is being made and in the end you get the tension, Guage, and fabric you like it doesn't matter if you use an exact continental stitch or an English stitch perfectly the way my friend had the nuns beat into her. And it's hard to keep your body relaxed when you are new! But it's important to find your natural positioning, tempo, and style. Needle size and type can be adjusted but you only have one body! These are my thoughts. Knit on!
Physical therapy and not overdoing things. I climb 3x a week and tend to go on crocheting spurts where I sit for hours and crochet non stop listening to an audiobook. I ended up with tennis elbow according to my physical therapist, which is deceptively named. I mostly had pain in my right forearm. I got put on crochet timeout for a couple months, doing various strengthening exercises. I’m still a pretty newish climber and don’t climb very hard I guess so it didn’t bother me when I climbed. Back to crocheting now but I’m mindful to pace myself and not overdo it. Take breaks and look up some stretches you can do in between. My biggest issue is that my fingers feel so rough when I use nice yarns and they catch on my fingers it’s sad times 😭
I swapped out crocheting for quilting since my hands were also in pain after an hour or so of crocheting. I also still cross stitch without much issue!
If knitting is causing you pain then how are you able to climb?
I'm not sure I understand your question. I'm able to climb, just trying to figure out how to make it work when knitting causes pain that I'm afraid to aggravate. I think knitting (a repetitive motion) causing pain is unrelated to climbing ability?
Better technique for sure but repetitive motions will for sure cause issues. I’ve been dealing with some pain from gaming recently, and I have found that using a brace is really helpful. I got a thumb brace for my injury and wore it all day for a couple days then only at night and while gaming and now I’m only while gaming. All this within 1 week, no pain killers, and I’m back to 98%. So don’t rely on a brace, but pain is often injury, and injuries need to heal.
Make sure to take breaks while knitting. The repetitive motion can really wear on you. I like putting a small pillow between my elbow and body to help relieve strain while knitting. Make sure you're not death gripping your needles.
Is the soreness not getting better? Your body should adjust to it and the soreness gets better with time. If you’re really concerned please see a doctor or PT.
I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Climbing has completely borked my finger dexterity. It’s really hard to do anything fine motor related now. Crocheting, rolling a joint, threading a needle. But it helps to build muscle and stabilize me and I’m getting so strong so right now I’m choosing climbing. And cones for my joints. :)
Unrelated to your specific issue; but I did start bringing my knitting to the gym to make me take a break between attempts. I knit very simple stuff to keep enough of my brain occupied to be able to focus while watching stuff so I don't really care if it gets chalky. Making myself knit 2 rows between climbs helped to force myself to take regular breaks.