Treatment: Day 2

7:30am: Woke up with a little tenderness in the wrist area, but nothing abnormal. Neck muscles have been stiff due to leaning over, but only related to the problem to a point. Didn't experience any numbness during the night which is a plus.

8:30am: Hot shower does wonders for sore muscles. I think the sore muscles are from me trying to readjust my knitting process to compensate for the wrist pain.

9:00am: Knit 1 1/2 rows on the train. Kept on wrist brace as extra support. Seemed to do pretty ok. Mornings usually aren't the problem though. I don't start to push myself til later on when I get home from work.

12:00pm: Little discomfort writing and using the mouse. Trying to work without the brace today.

3:30pm: Tendons in hands seem a little tight from using the mouse drawing in Illustrator. Didn't get to knit at lunch today, so no extra strain involved.

7:00pm: Started treatment. It's a little easier to take the cold ice dip today and left in a little longer than yesterday.

9:00pm: Treatment done. Knit between dunks in the ice bath and feel ok. Started to get a little tired after awhile, but mobility and range of motion seems to be improving.

And for anyone interested in how I got here, here's a little background:

About a month ago, home sick from work, I was trying to catch up on some deadline knitting. Basically, being stuck in bed for 2 days let me knit a little too much and the pain started in. I tried to knit for 2 more days, but it was painful. I bought a brace, but it only helped for another day. I then rested for 7 days. No knitting (drove me crazy) and as little computer work as possible.

After 7 days, I picked the needles back up, but started slowly. Pain started to return. I then heard about ice dipping. Basically, you fill up the kitchen sink with cold water and stick some ice or frozen water bottles in. You then dip your arm in about 10-15 times over a 2 hour period for 5-10 seconds each. I did this for 7 days and got quite a bit of relief because it took most of the inflammation away.

I say most of the inflammation because I had to keep knitting throughout the treatment due to crazy deadline I need to meet. If I had rested another 7 days while doing the ice dips, I'd probably be fine right now.

So now, in addition to the ice dips, the DVD has taught me a few exercises to lengthen the tendons and strengthen some muscles. This seems to be the key to keep the symptoms from reoccurring. Getting rid of the inflammation is only one piece of the puzzle. Getting your muscular and nervous system back in the groove is the key.