Crochet is Good for Your Health . . . . Most of the Time
There are tons of research studies that have said crochet is good for your health. It’s good for us mentally because it’s relaxing and helps with stress. And I believe that 200%. But I want to challenge that and say that it’s good for us most of the time.
Now I know . . . . why in the world would I be thinking that?
Because I believe that for those of us that crochet as a business or do A LOT of crocheting, it brings upon it’s own set of health challenges that we have to deal with. Think about it.
We sit for endless hours without moving.
Which causes us to snack all day, not stretch out bodies, and most of us are definitely not getting enough physical exercise.
In the past 5 years I’ve had problems with my neck and shoulder, as well as an extremely bad case of tennis elbow that I either have to deal with or have surgery to fix.
I don’t usually do resolutions. I stick with goals that I can achieve, and this year one of my goals is to take care of myself both mentally and physically.
Tips to Take Care of Your Body
I’ve created a list of things we can do each day to take care of ourselves so that crochet can continue to serve our mental health as well as physical health.
- Drink water – The general rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in water each day. So, if you weigh 100 lbs you should be drinking 50 oz of water every day. I know what you’re thinking – but I promise once your body gets used to it you won’t be in the bathroom every 5 minutes. If you’re looking for a fun way to remind yourself to drink up, wrap your water bottle in the Mango Water Bottle Cozy.
- Get up and walk – Ideally you should get up every hour and just walk around the block (or you can walk around your house and even up and down the stairs a couple times).
- Neck stretches – We’re always looking down at our project. For me this has created shoulder and neck issues that are keeping my chiropractor in business. HA! But I’m working on stretching my neck at least twice a day and going forward will be incorporating the stretches into my “get up and walk every hour” routine so they get done more often.
- Hand & wrist stretches – Stretch your hands and wrist every few rows. Especially if you’re working on a small or large project. Smaller projects you grip the hook tighter and larger projects are heavy on your wrist.
- Arm stretches – This could probably be incorporated into your hand and wrist stretches. But I put it separate because I have had greater issues with this. I ignored my tennis elbow because it was busy season and I had things to get done. It turned into months of physical therapy that didn’t work and was told if I wanted to do surgery that may help. I opted not to, but still have problems 4 years later if I overdo it (with either heavy projects or crocheting consecutive days in a row). Please listen to your body! If your elbow is starting to ache or bother you rest it!
These seem simple enough, and yet I know I don’t do them nearly as often as I should. So that’s my goal this year is to improve on these small things. That way I can keep my body and my mind healthy.
Who’s with me? Let’s start with drinking some water today.
Love it! I think we all need to be reminded of this.
Yes, we all need reminders sometimes.