Janet Kaiser on sun 14 mar 04
which comes from the tummy...
SPECIFICALLY to help and/or relieve the pressure and hence the
pain when holding an implement between thumb and index
finger:::::::
I found that I could still do most things like paint, carve,
cut, etc. using brushes, knives, chisels, etc. by first making
the handles much fatter and then holding them with fingers and
palms held UPWARDS rather than the usual "writing" position. I
even slice bread holding the loaf to my breast and slicing with a
sawing movement, just like elderly relatives and neighbours would
when I was a child! Yet another example of how long it has taken
me to understand and appreciate their "quaint" behaviour! The
health & safety police would be horrified, but this is something
I only can recommend when fully dressed with a protective apron
at the very least. Do not forget that those ancients who
pioneered this method would have been wearing a bustiere or
corset, a vest, a blouse or dress and a wrap-over apron at the
very least... :O)
Only writing was/is not really easy holding a pen this way, but
of course anyone with a PC no longer absolutely needs to write
more than their signature... Unless they are pro calligraphers.
Brushing teeth another exception, but then I got an electric
toothbrush so that solved that problem. But potters, painters,
welders, just about anyone else can take some consolation...
Truly, just about everything else has been possible for me with
some practice and a little effort. Indeed drawing and painting is
slightly "looser" since changing to this "poking" method! I
cannot explain it any better than that!! Hold your brush as if it
is a dagger and you are going to stab with it thrusting upwards
from your side... Notice that your fingers are curled around the
pen, the thumb is to the right (left if you are a leftie) and the
palm is also facing up? Well, that is how I now draw and do odd
bits and bobs...
My therapist also insisted we should NEVER EVER turn either hand
out wards, away from the thumb or towards the pinkie... Practice
hard and always turn/screw whatever **inwards and towards the
thumb**. So if you are un/screwing the top off a bottle, turning
a tap, winding a clock, turning a key lock/unlock or a door knob
to open/close a door, un/screwing using a screwdriver, etc. etc
**clockwise**, it should be done **LEFT handed** and when
**anti-clockwise** it should be done **RIGHT handed**
Yes, this is a bugger for such situations as a mixer tap with
faucets left and right of a central spout, or when handles/knobs
are on the "wrong" side of a door... For example, it appears and
feels quite awkward using your left hand to open a door when the
handle/knob has to be turned clockwise to open, but the
handle/knob is on the right side of the door.... It would be the
much more natural impulse to use the right hand in that
situation, but there you go... Only "awkward", not "impossible".
Everything is possible with practice and it is amazing what you
can train yourself to do, so it becomes "natural" in time.
Remember the old adage: "A change is as good as a rest"? Well,
the over-use and strain of one body part should be relieved in
some way. Sometimes one "bit" of you is over-developed and
strained at the cost of the opposite "bit". For example, apart
from the overuse of back muscles, bones, tendons, cartiledge,
discs, etc. etc. causing back ache and lower back pain, guess
what else is a MAJOR player??? The stomach and the muscles across
your belly. Truly. A flabby little used belly, often a squashed
and crushed belly in potters and people who sit at work, is
absolutely no support or help keeping the back fit and well. So
the back muscles are doing twice the amount of work... So
logically, those sit-ups which strengthen and tone-up those
flabby unused belly muscles really do your back much more good
than anything else your therapist can prescribe you in the way of
"restorative" or "strengthening" exercise. This will only be
totally effective if you have no extra pounds to carry around...
There is no strength or support in fat, only the absolute
opposite no matter how resigned or unbothered you are by even a
pound or two!! This recent sudden and extreme weight gain of mine
(12 kg) has once again reminded me of the direct cause and
effect... The more fat (=3D weight) the worse the lower back
pain. I had NO PAIN AT ALL before... Swear? You should see the
hue of the air here...!!!
And briefly to close, just let me add that all the good and well
meant advice in the world is no good at all... Quite the
contrary... It can actually be extremely bad and harmful, until
you know precisely what is wrong with YOU YOURSELF. Get a
correct, full and RELIABLE DIAGNOSIS from a reputable and
experienced practitioner!! If in doubt, get a second or third
opinion: Take out a bank loan if necessary, but get the best you
can. Do not depend on here say and what others have experienced
or think could be wrong. It could do more harm than good...
Permanent harm. Damage. A1 Bad News...
Oh, yes. Ignore Mel completely too!! Sincerely! Do not take any
notice of a word he says...=B0!=B0 It is his choice to wait until
he cannot stand the pain any longer. His choice not to try
alternative remedies to surgery. He has a specific diagnosis and
has been given various alternatives, looked at the options, spent
time and effort looking at the problem, has come to his own
conclusion with or without the advice of doctors, therapists,
Minnesotan witch doctors and Minnetonkan voodoo practitioners.
That whole situation is peculiar to Mel who is now at the end of
a long consultation process. Until you have been through that
whole process or one very similar, forget Mel and all the rest of
us too!! You are yourself, quite different to any one of us and
with a whole set of very different options, personal experience,
health professionals, advisors, family situation in a very
different geographic, economic and social environment, with
medical cover (or not)... In other words a unique scenario,
specific to you above and beyond your specific symptoms...
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser
*** IN REPLY TO THE FOLLOWING MAIL:
>actually it's mostly in my thumb joint closest
>to my palm. it is most painful when i hold
>something (like a paintbrush,coin, a trimming
>tool) between my thumb and index finger. i was
>wondering if anyone has had a similar problem
>and/or suggestions for relief.
*** THE MAIL FROM Christy Pines ENDS HERE ***
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