Knitting Good For Arthritic Hands

Yes! Knitting is a good natural option for patients with arthritis since it helps to keep the knitter’s fingers active and agile. For so long, it has been proven that keeping your hands active and mobile helps to relieve the pain and stiffness related to arthritis. Does knitting really work wonders on arthritis hands? Read on to find out the health benefits of knitting on arthritis hands and the best knitting needles that work.

If you’ve ever been in a really terrible mood and then felt better just after knitting for some time, then it is understandable that you would want to do more of knitting to relieve those pains and stiffness you feel on your hands. Sometimes, crafting moods can make one feel on top of the world since they actually have health benefits.  

Most times, when I’ve overworked myself in the craft room with tired countenance and bloodshot eyes that have seen too many balls of yarn, my loved ones would complain about it. But to be honest, I feel much better because my mind goes off from any situation. I feel relieved!

Could knitting be really good for my arthritis hands? Experts say yes! Let’s look at some of the health benefits of knitting. So whenever you are feeling nasty, get your needles for some great feelings.

1. Knitting Improves Meditation

Stress relief and meditation are intertwined together; they go hand in hand. When you involve yourself with something meditative, you’ll be more focused on the task at hand without thinking about your issues or problems.

If you want something to put you into the right zone of meditation, then try knitting. Knitting requires focus, which leads to meditation. Repetitive movement of stitching requires your full attention and focus. Before you know it, you would have been completely zoned out without being conscious of time.

Just consider how long it takes to complete a simple knit stitch task alone. Even if you’re a professional knitter, you still need to put your brain to work when knitting. Your brain works in controlling your hands-on how to make the knit stitch. Knitting processes such as inserting the needles through the loop, wrapping of the yarn, pulling the yarn, and dropping the stitch all require a meditative focus.

2. Knitting Helps Alleviate Stress.

When you’re completely focused on knitting, you probably won’t be thinking about any of your problems. You’ll be so busy counting stitches where all your focus is required. All of your everyday problems won’t be able to squeeze into your busy mind. Some people even feel much better about their problems after knitting for some period of time. According to researches from scientists, the most repetitive movement that we do helps to release body serotonin, which is capable of making us feel calmer and better. We all know that feeling calmer reduces the blood pressure to normal.

3. Knitting Helps You To Be Socially Active.

Knitting provides many opportunities for you to socialize with different people. Whether you’re attending a typical knitting group or you’re inviting a few knitting friends of yours over for some tasks, knitting offers you the opportunity to work and connect with different people. Besides, we are all aware of the health benefits of getting involved in social interaction.

4. Knitting Helps To Keep Your Fingers Nimble– Even If You Have Arthritis Hands.

If you’re suffering from arthritis hands, knitting will improve your hands and fingers’ mobility and activeness. As suggested by the Arthritis Foundation, you should approach knitting like it’s a sport. Just as it is done in different sports, you should warm up your hands before starting with the knitting.

 It is advised to stick with knitting, and you’ll feel less pain and experience more long-term benefits when it comes to arthritis. Just be in check for our subsequent articles about some of the greatest stretches to practice before and after you start knitting.

5. It Helps To Overcome Addiction.

Although the truth of the matter is that knitting itself is addictive, but the main point here is exchanging a personal destructive addiction for somewhat modest addiction of knitting. Some people who have been once addicted to smoking testified to how knitting has helped them overcome their addictions.

Most people take knitting as a hobby, and I’m not surprised about that! It is a tame addiction that won’t just go away, and there’s nothing bad about it. However, you should be conscious when knitting begins to result in pains and sometimes cause comfort issues. When you’re knitting with arthritis hands, this pain might become more noticeable and can make knitting totally unbearable.

People suffering from arthritis hands do not have to give up knitting completely. For you to enjoy knitting better with arthritis, there are some adjustments you will need to make. These adjustments will help make knitting more enjoyable and comfortable and keep your hands and fingers in the best condition possible. 

The ideal knitting needles will go a long way toward helping relieve the pains and discomfort felt when knitting with arthritis hands.

The Benefits Of Choosing The Right Knitting Needles

People who have arthritis but still love to knit are not on the wrong side. Knitting can actually help to increase dexterity in your hands and fingers, which helps to alleviate the painful symptoms of arthritis. Just like in some other sports, you need to address knitting by warming your hands and fingers before starting a task.

Also, there are some really nice fingers/hands workouts you can practice beforehand after you finish knitting that will help. Like I said before, going on with knitting even when you have arthritis will result in less pain and offer you some long-term benefits and also result in less pain with carpal tunnel.

 However, you need to choose the right needle to work within others to reduce the pain felt when knitting with arthritis hands. Most warmer and lightweight knitting needles help to lessen the pain and swelling. Furthermore, when you use circular needles, the weight of a heavy task will be evenly distributed. This type of needle helps lessen the pressure on your hands and wrist when knitting.

Which Is The Right Needle?

There are numerous types of needles, and these needles can change the sensation of knitting. Some of the needles make knitting easier with arthritis hands. Here are some of the needles that will help make knitting easier for people with arthritis.

1. Bamboo Needles

This type of needle is well-known among most knitters with arthritis hands. Bamboo needles are extremely lightweight and very warm in the hands. This type of needles is better than the metallic ones because the wool won’t slip away when in use. It is a perfect choice for slow knitters with arthritis hands.

The incredible lightweight design of the bamboo needles helps to alleviate pressure and weight placed on your hands. This feature will drastically reduce any distress felt and also relieve strain. However, there are multiple wooden needle types that you can choose from, such as ebony, birch, and walnut, but bamboo is the most reliable and eco-friendly option.

I loved that bamboo needles are warm in hand compared to cold metal normally used for knitting. The warmth provided by this needle will help to reduce some discomfort and pains.

2. Casein Needles

This is my favorite knitting needles. It comes with numerous benefits, and as a matter of fact, it is one of the best knitting needles on the market. Casein needles are made from milk protein. They are warm, lightweight, comfortable, and smooth.

These needles provide a mix of flexibility and firmness, which is very beneficial to knitters with arthritis. They are quieter and smoother than wood needles, which makes them ideal for knitting at night to avoid disturbing others.

3. Plastic Needles

Plastic needles are smooth and warm, as well. They are also lightweight, which makes them ideal for making knitting less tiring and easy. I love these types of needle because they are available in a variety of designs and colors. This feature makes it easy for you to choose the one that best suits your needs.

4. Circular Needles

These needles are best used when you’re working on a heavier and bigger task with a high number of stitches. They help to distribute the weight of the task evenly to lessen the pressure on your hands and wrists. This feature helps increase your knitting time as your wrists and hand won’t be tense from the weight of the task. They normally come with sharp pointed tips. Circular needles are one of the most popular knitting needles on the market. They are mostly used by commercial knitters that handle large and bulkier projects.

Final Words-Wrapping It Up!

We’ve concluded this article. We hope you can find resources in your quest to know if knitting is good for arthritis hands. Don’t forget to make use of the recommended knitting needles. Report to your doctor if the pains and distress persist when knitting.

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