The research of Bath's Betsan Corkhill, of Stitchlinks, is helping people manage chronic pain at the RUH and the group meets fortnightly.
KNITTING HELPS TO RELIEVE CHRONIC PAIN
18 October 2007
Needles have been helping to reduce pain at Bath's main hospital in more ways than one. Patients being treated at the Royal United Hospital's pain management unit are being encouraged to take up knitting to aid their recovery. It is believed the hobby, along with crochet, can help take people's minds off their pain.
The therapeutic effects of knitting are being embraced by a new group at the hospital, called Stitch, Links and Chatter. The group, which meets twice a month, was set up in the summer by nurse practitioner Carol Davidson. It currently has eight members but there are a further 30 people interested in getting involved.
Mrs Davidson said: "There is substantial anecdotal evidence that the repetitive nature of knitting and the distraction it provides, allows people to be less aware of their pain. It's also a valuable social interaction for our patients, many of whom are isolated because of the chronic nature of their conditions." Some group members are knitting for their friends and family while others are making clothes for babies in the neo-natal intensive care unit.
Sue Pike, who suffers from chronic back pain, attends the sessions and knits for the NICU. She said: "It gives me great pleasure to know that what I knit will help a family with a premature baby. The knitting itself I find very relaxing and, living with severe pain, anything that helps you relax is a bonus."
Betsan Corkhill, a physiotherapist who helped get the group off the ground, has also been gathering evidence on the positive effects of knitting and cross-stitching on her website stitchlink.com. Researchers at Cardiff University are also looking at whether the rhythm involved in knitting can help eliminate negative thought cycles and rumination.
RUH pain unit psychologist Mike Osborn said: "The knitting group is a superb example of an activity that works for loads of different reasons. It's physical, productive, social, almost meditative and helps people to engage in meaningful activity. Chronic pain can take the meaning out of your life and if you can retrieve some of it through knitting or anything like it, that's a great idea." (The Bath Chronicle)
There's an interesting article in the latest issue of Yarn Forward, by Jennifer Hilton, discussing the optimal knitting position! I had a nasty pedal bike fall last winter (I was pushed off the road by a car speeding down Upper Hedgemead Rd, but that's another story - I think people just don't expect to find cyclists in hilly Bath). Afterwards I had loss of sensation in my left hand and a tightening of the tendons in my palm, which made my hand turn inwards and holding things was painful and tricky...when you're a left-handed editor and an avid knitter this is bad news indeed. Anyhoo, it took this knock for me to learn to listen to my body and take care of it in the fine way it deserves. Some Pilates, with the wonderful Mary, daily exercises from a nice physiotherapist and the passing of time seems to have helped and thankfully I'm nearly back to 'normal'. But overzealous knitting and scribbling brings on again and I get 'claw-hand'...so I'm always careful to listen to my noodle arms.
So, I would heed Jennifer Hilton's advice: do you have a preference for one style of knitting? How tightly to you hold your needles? How do you normally sit? (Avoid crossing legs!) Is there enough light to avoid eye-strain? How's your breathing, are you all scrunched? If you're suffering from any discomfort then try doing something related to knitting rather than the click-clackety itself (pattern-planning, ball up your wool or sort out your yarn stash). Listen to your body.
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