4 Great Pain-Relieving Stretches for Crocheters

If you have ever crocheted for long periods of time- completing a last-minute gift or just a long session while watching television – you may have experienced some soreness, numbness, tingles, or stiffness in your wrists, neck, shoulders, forearms, and back.

If you’ve experienced any of these sensations, you’re not alone! These are all symptoms of a repetitive strain injury (RSI). In fact, 1.8 million people per year (as reported by OSHA in 2019) have RSI.

A repetitive strain injury is when tissue is damaged by repeated physical actions. These injuries can occur when typing on a keyboard, using certain trade tools, texting (think thumb cramps!), or similar activities.

If ignored and left untreated, a repetitive strain injury can unfortunately worsen. You may have a repetitive strain injury if you feel anything unusual or off with your body after a crochet session!

What If I’m Experiencing Pain?

I have a separate article about experiencing hand pain while crocheting – it discusses a bit about repetitive strain injuries and has a few creative ideas on how to prevent hand pain.

If you’re already experiencing pain, such as tingling, tightness, numbness, and cramping, you may be looking for ways to alleviate it rather than implementing preventative measures.

Naturally, if you are in pain, your primary care physician is the best person to consult. Pain, after all, is an important diagnostic tool, and the only person who can accurately diagnose a condition is a certified doctor. Please keep this in mind when reading!

There are a few things that one can do to help alleviate pain at home, such as wrapping and/or icing the area, taking an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), and resting. You can also make adjustments to your workstation and try adjusting your posture while crocheting.

There are also some hand stretches and exercises that you can do to help alleviate stiffness, pain, and aches! Here, I’ve listed a few that are tried and true for me. I try to do these stretches once every 40 minutes in each crochet session.

Stretch #1 – Shoulders and Shoulder Blades

For this stretch, relax your arms at your sides. Slowly roll your shoulders back, in a circular motion. Roll counterclockwise a few times, then alternate to rolling clockwise.

Be sure to relax your shoulders during this stretch, and avoid holding any tension in your shoulder blades or in your chest.

Finish off this stretch by crossing your right arm across your body. Using your left arm, press the top of your right arm towards you. You should feel a gentle stretch in your shoulder and your shoulder blade. Press for seven to ten seconds, then release.

Pain-Relieving Stretches for Crocheters - Stretch #1 - Shoulders and Shoulder Blades

Cross your left arm across your body, and use your right arm to repeat the process to stretch your left side.

You can also stretch your shoulder blades by raising an arm over and behind your shoulder, then pressing or pulling gently with your opposite arm.

Stretch #2 – Wrist Press and Wrist/ Forearm Flex

Press your palms together, as if in prayer, in front of your body.

Pain-Relieving Stretches for Crocheters - Wrist Press and Wrist (1)

Slowly raise your elbows up while dropping your pressed palms down toward the ground to gently stretch your wrists.

Press toward the ground for a few seconds, then lower your elbows and raise your palms back toward the starting position.

Pain-Relieving Stretches for Crocheters - Wrist Press and Wrist (2)

Repeat this two or three times to help relieve any pressure or cramping in your wrists.

For a different wrist stretch that incorporates your forearms, lace your fingers together facing away from your body.

Pain-Relieving Stretches for Crocheters - Forearm Flex (1)

Press your arms away from you, straightening them and gently pushing your fingers away from your chest. Hold for a few seconds, then release.

Pain-Relieving Stretches for Crocheters - Forearm Flex (2)

Stretch #3 – Spine Twist

This one is simple! Either seated or standing, slowly twist 90 degrees at the waist until you’re facing right. Hold for a few seconds, then slowly twist back to the center.

Repeat the same movement, but this time twist to the left. Return back to center after holding for a few seconds.

Repeat this twist from right to center to left to center a few times. Be sure not to hold tension in your arms while twisting!

Stretch #4 – Neck Twist & Rotation

I personally experience pain in my neck and shoulders when I crochet. I hold my head at a downward angle for long periods of time without moving. This is my favorite stretch to do!

Slowly turn your head from the right to the left side. You should feel a gentle pull on either side of your neck and along your shoulder as you turn. Repeat turning from side to side to help loosen the muscles in your neck!

Last, drop your head down towards your chest. You should feel a little stretch along your spine at the base of your neck. Next, slowly rotate your head in a circular motion. Go both counterclockwise and clockwise in direction.

In Conclusion…

As I mentioned before, if you are experiencing persistent pain, please speak with a healthcare professional.

I do not intend to diagnose or treat any ailment with these stretches – I’m simply sharing the ones that I use on a regular basis to help alleviate the normal aches and pains I experience while crocheting.

Melissa Camp
Melissa Camp

Melissa has been crocheting for close to twenty years and loves making amigurumi and designing patterns. She specializes in making beginner patterns that help reinforce the basics of crocheting. In her free time, she can usually be found out in the garden or playing her ukelele!

10 thoughts on “4 Great Pain-Relieving Stretches for Crocheters”

  1. Very helpful. I’m prone to carpal tunnel so I have a wrist brace I wear when I knit and crochet. I highly recommend wearing something like this to keep from aggravating that nerve. Also I do these exercises.

  2. I have carpal tunnel too so I wear my wrist braces at night while sleeping and a soft neoprene smaller wrist brace while crocheting. I shake my hands out periodically while crocheting and also take ibuprohin and vitamin B 6 at night before going to bed. I have a book called Arthritis: What Exercises Work (breakthrough relief for the rest of your life–even after drugs and surgery have failed) by Dava Sobel and Arthur C. Klein. It has some excellent exercises in it!!! I was having pain in the web between thumb and forefinger. I highly recommend this book!!! I will try these exercises as well. Thank you!!!

  3. Most helpful article -found by chance I must say- Happily I’ve found your web!
    Just last night, after a few hours knitting, I thought I had to do something more than massaging them with an anti-pain cream, so your articles have come to me as fallen from heaven! :) Thank you so much for sharing what you know with us. Ah! You can count me as one of your ‘fans’ from now on

  4. My other half gave me a pair of Copper Fit fingerless compression gloves for my birthday. They have been a lifesaver! I use them while crocheting and knitting, and I sleep in them when I have a lot of work to finish in short amounts of time. I’m on my second set…. They run large. I wear a men’s medium glove, yet the s/m size is a good fit with enough pressure to provide relief. I pushed too hard last holiday season and could hardly move my left hand for a couple months. The compression gloves have saved my ‘hobby’… and therefore, my sanity. I have 21 grandkids…. and saying “no, Gramma can’t right now…” isn’t part of my vocabulary!

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