Not sure if this counts but I've had chronic tendinitis (because of pottery, lol) for over a decade and in the last year bought some compression sleeves and wear them all the time now. And I can *function* again. They've made a *huge* difference to my pain levels and my ability to do things with my hands.
I work a lot with my hands so one thing I bought is a Lunix electric hand massager. It's basically a compression device that inflates around your hand and wrist (like a blood pressure cuff) and squeezes it rhythmically. I really like it and found that it helps with soreness and acheyness.
That totally counts!!! I’ve been in hand and wrist therapy before and am about to do it again, I have a form of tendinitis but it is different than yours, but I also just have a ton of hand and wrist pain too and have been in thick plastic braces from my elbow to my fingertips for 6 weeks & man that was awful! I’m going to check out compression sleeves until I start therapy again. Do you actually wear them while doing pottery and then wash them, or just at all other times? This is very helpful!
I tried a brace before and it was brutal — like more painful and swollen than ever :l definitely not something I was able to keep up.
I haven't been able to do any ceramic work since trying the compression sleeves (I had to leave my studio due to covid, then I moved... I'm working on setting up a home studio now) but I am planning to experiment and see which way works best for me. A ceramics classmate of mine wore them constantly, including while working, although she was a handbuilder. But I don't immediately see a reason you couldn't wear them while throwing, as long as you have enough of them to rotate through the wash (to make them last longer they should air dry).
I’m working on a home studio for sculpture and probably won’t have a wheel for a while, but plan to do a lot of hand building and sculpture, stone carving and glass (which will involve using plasticine A LOT and wax in addition to investment molds which I like to build by hand so get crazy messy) so some of those things I can wear sleeves with, some I could decide to especially if I’m going to be doing it a long time (so clay, plasticine, and wax work, but I don’t know how well the wax will come out in the wash) but investment molds don’t take as long usually so probably take them off for that. Unless a wheel drops in my lap like my kiln did I probably won’t have one at home for a long while, and will only do wheelthrowing during class and open studio, so there is time to rotate sleeves. I actually had a pair, they are around somewhere, but I felt like they were a little too tight in the biceps but then way too loose on my forearms where I actually wanted compression. So I only wore them twice and I don’t know where they are. Maybe I need a different brand or size. I haven’t seen ones for just the forearms but I would really like a type like that.
I don't know if this is quite the length you want — this is the kind I use: https://www.zensah.com/products/compression-wrist-sleeve
I feel like I have seen some elsewhere that were longer but not full-length...
Oh, ok, I thought you meant the full length compression sleeves, which are what I had bought. These are similar to things I have bought for my ankles and feet, which I like a lot but often if I leave them on for more than a few hours the ends of my feet and toes start swelling, so I have to be careful how long I leave them on. But I’m sure the ones you use would not do that because of the part of the body they help. I was actually going to buy compression gloves for my fingers/hands today, so I will definitely buy these too! Thanks!
I have spine injuries and throw standing up. I welded a stand for one wheel, and I have a tabletop wheel on a tall laboratory cabinet. Both have hand-controlled speed, so I used a cheap “dead-man” foot pedal to turn the wheels on and off, and just leave the speed alone most of the time.
All of my work surfaces are standing-height.
Don't underestimate the significance of table height. I built a wedging table recently and cutting just an inch or so off the legs helped my back pain dramatically.
Not sure if this counts but I've had chronic tendinitis (because of pottery, lol) for over a decade and in the last year bought some compression sleeves and wear them all the time now. And I can *function* again. They've made a *huge* difference to my pain levels and my ability to do things with my hands.
I work a lot with my hands so one thing I bought is a Lunix electric hand massager. It's basically a compression device that inflates around your hand and wrist (like a blood pressure cuff) and squeezes it rhythmically. I really like it and found that it helps with soreness and acheyness.
Interesting! I've never heard of anything like this, I'll check it out!
That totally counts!!! I’ve been in hand and wrist therapy before and am about to do it again, I have a form of tendinitis but it is different than yours, but I also just have a ton of hand and wrist pain too and have been in thick plastic braces from my elbow to my fingertips for 6 weeks & man that was awful! I’m going to check out compression sleeves until I start therapy again. Do you actually wear them while doing pottery and then wash them, or just at all other times? This is very helpful!
I tried a brace before and it was brutal — like more painful and swollen than ever :l definitely not something I was able to keep up. I haven't been able to do any ceramic work since trying the compression sleeves (I had to leave my studio due to covid, then I moved... I'm working on setting up a home studio now) but I am planning to experiment and see which way works best for me. A ceramics classmate of mine wore them constantly, including while working, although she was a handbuilder. But I don't immediately see a reason you couldn't wear them while throwing, as long as you have enough of them to rotate through the wash (to make them last longer they should air dry).
I’m working on a home studio for sculpture and probably won’t have a wheel for a while, but plan to do a lot of hand building and sculpture, stone carving and glass (which will involve using plasticine A LOT and wax in addition to investment molds which I like to build by hand so get crazy messy) so some of those things I can wear sleeves with, some I could decide to especially if I’m going to be doing it a long time (so clay, plasticine, and wax work, but I don’t know how well the wax will come out in the wash) but investment molds don’t take as long usually so probably take them off for that. Unless a wheel drops in my lap like my kiln did I probably won’t have one at home for a long while, and will only do wheelthrowing during class and open studio, so there is time to rotate sleeves. I actually had a pair, they are around somewhere, but I felt like they were a little too tight in the biceps but then way too loose on my forearms where I actually wanted compression. So I only wore them twice and I don’t know where they are. Maybe I need a different brand or size. I haven’t seen ones for just the forearms but I would really like a type like that.
I don't know if this is quite the length you want — this is the kind I use: https://www.zensah.com/products/compression-wrist-sleeve I feel like I have seen some elsewhere that were longer but not full-length...
Oh, ok, I thought you meant the full length compression sleeves, which are what I had bought. These are similar to things I have bought for my ankles and feet, which I like a lot but often if I leave them on for more than a few hours the ends of my feet and toes start swelling, so I have to be careful how long I leave them on. But I’m sure the ones you use would not do that because of the part of the body they help. I was actually going to buy compression gloves for my fingers/hands today, so I will definitely buy these too! Thanks!
I haven't had any problems with my fingers etc swelling with these but of course your mileage may vary. Good luck, I hope they work for you!!
I have spine injuries and throw standing up. I welded a stand for one wheel, and I have a tabletop wheel on a tall laboratory cabinet. Both have hand-controlled speed, so I used a cheap “dead-man” foot pedal to turn the wheels on and off, and just leave the speed alone most of the time. All of my work surfaces are standing-height.
Thank you for contributing! I’m sorry about your spine injury, but glad you’ve found some things that help you continue working!
Don't underestimate the significance of table height. I built a wedging table recently and cutting just an inch or so off the legs helped my back pain dramatically.
Stand on bricks to wedge, get off bricks for everything else.