Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Wrist Problems

This is not my hand. I get pretty tough on my clay. Plus, I have a lot of more it!

A very unfortunate thing has happened to my wrist to prevent me from working on my clay too much. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I'm hoping my doctor can help to figure out a solution.  

Working with polymer clay is taxing on the hands and every time I work with clay too much, I can really feel it afterword.  But this time, it's more serious.  Last Friday, I was washing floors (on my hands and knees- the only way floors really get clean) when all of a sudden, I couldn't put any weight on my right hand.  A sharp pain in my hand prevented me from cleaning any more floors (this time, it's not a lie, hubby!).   The weird thing is that I can't even tell what it was that caused it.  It had been a few days since I had done any heavy clay work.  But, come to think of it, I did lift weights that morning with semi-heavy statues...maybe I should explain...

I was working out (the only time I get to work out is while on vacation- how sad is that?!) to this annoying workout video that my sister had gotten rid of because it was too annoying for her.  I think it was Dennis Austin.  Anyway, my mom was short on hand weights, but not on religious statues.  I grabbed two that felt about 3-5 pounds.  I should have known I would get punished for using holy statues as hand weights, and making a joke about my holy workout on top of it!.  I don't remember feeling any sharp pains while working out, so it might not have been it.  But I did spend a considerable amount of time in downward facing dog during the P90x cardio workout the day before.  That's a lot of weight on the wrists too. 

I'm forced to take it easy on my wrists, which means minimal clay work. They do feel somewhat better when I'm not putting a lot of weight of them.   I'm not sure I will be done with my beads by next week, which means no shop opening.   Hopefully with lighter use, my wrists will heal completely and I can resume clay smashing and down word facing dogs, but no more holy weight lifting for this girl!

8 comments:

Allison said...

Glad you can keep your humor even with this tough situation. My mom had hand problems once from knitting so much.

I hope you can find a solution to this.

Blessings

melody said...

I'm sorry that you're in pain! I am also having a wrist issue and have been struggling with it on and off for a few years. I thought for a long time that I had sprained a wrist but it turned out to be ganglion cysts... which the doctor said are common in moms. Perhaps that is your issue as well? I pray you are able to return to your beautiful bead making soon!

Katie said...

Oh, no! I hope your wrist gets better soon!

noreen said...

Hi Sarah, I'm sorry to hear that your experiencing wrist pain! are your wrists swollen a bit? I'm no doctor but I'm thinking it may be Carpal Tunnel. I was originally diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel but tests indicated something else.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis (different than Carpal Tunnel) and at times it centers in my wrists and I get the same kind of pain when I do an activity repeatedly using a specific joint. My immune system will attack that joint and it becomes very painful (sometimes I can't even move it) and swollen.

Good luck at the doctor's office!

Sarah Harkins said...

Thank you all for your support and input. I originally thought it might be carpal tunnel too, but my wrists are not swollen. It seems to be getting better, so hopefully it's something that will just go away.

The Rosary Works said...

So sorry to hear about your wrist. If its RSS (Repetitive Stress Syndrome) it may mean 2 weeks of rest for your hands and wrists. However, there is a silver lining here...for the next 2 weeks you won't be able to scrub the floors! Oh...what a shame...Not! LOL

I am a little disappointed about the store, I was hoping to buy one of your Lamb of God pendants. I can wait. :)

Lacy @ Catholic Icing said...

Hope you feel better soon, Sarah! I get yucky pains in my arm when I paint too much, and used to get them back in the day with ceramics as well. I remember one time in college having to finish my portfolio by the end of the semester with my left hand because I couldn't hold my pencil anymore. (Needless to say, my grade was less than desirable). Anyway, I got a support thing to wear on my hand and wrist that helped a lot, so I'm sure there's hope for you! :-)

Sarah Harkins said...

Linda @ Laude Arts: I think you were right about the RSS- my wrist started feeling a lot better after I let it rest. Now I have my doctor's appt. tomorrow and my wrist is better- that's always the way it goes!