Today my hands and wrists hurt today. I spent a great deal of time sanding on some sculpted wings I have been working on and they started to hurt. So I put on my wrist braces and wore them to work. It's terribly inconvenient though because I can't fully close my hand when I'm wearing them so it's difficult to put papers together while wearing them. It also makes it much harder to throw papers because of the fact that my wrist is immobilized and so I have to make much bigger, sloppier motions using different parts of my arm.
I just wish there was a space in between pain and function. I hate having to choose between being efficient and being free of pain. It always seems like it's one or the other. Never both.
According to the doctor it is likely rheumatoid arthritis rather than Osteoarthritis. He says that the good news is that it's so slight according to the x-rays that it can only be diagnosed as "MAY have MILD rheumatoid arthritis in her hands"
Well May and Mild might be encouraging words to the doctor, but I can tell you when my hands get to hurting there is no May or Mild about it.
Wishing everyone all the best,
Nichi Moondancer.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Arm Braces
Well I am supposed to use arm braces to help with my arthritis. They are supposed to help me to keep my hands and wrists in a good position and take pressure off of them or something. They are really itchy though. I know I'm supposed to wear them all the time but I find that I only ending up using them every other day. And not even for the whole day.
I've also noticed that when I wear them my upper arm and shoulders really start to ache. I guess that is because I was always using my lower arm, wrist, and hands to do most of the work. With my wrist basically immobilized, my upper has to do all the work now. I'm kinda hoping it will get rid my "granny arm dippers". You know that flabby section on the bottom of the upper arm that never seems to go away, no matter how much weight you loose?
I absolutely can not draw well when wearing the braces though. They take away all the small muscle movements that allow me to draw well. I guess that's fine for schematics of customs and stuff, but it will never do for drawing actual pictures. I've heard that fingerless gloves could help, but I haven't actually gone out to buy any yet. I should probably get on the ball with that. Those are probably more of a seasonal product.
I kinda wonder if anyone else tries to draw with arm braces on. Is there anyone else out there who has to wear them all the time? How long did it take to learn to work around them? Oh so many unanswered questions.
~Ever yours,
Nichi Moondancer.
I've also noticed that when I wear them my upper arm and shoulders really start to ache. I guess that is because I was always using my lower arm, wrist, and hands to do most of the work. With my wrist basically immobilized, my upper has to do all the work now. I'm kinda hoping it will get rid my "granny arm dippers". You know that flabby section on the bottom of the upper arm that never seems to go away, no matter how much weight you loose?
I absolutely can not draw well when wearing the braces though. They take away all the small muscle movements that allow me to draw well. I guess that's fine for schematics of customs and stuff, but it will never do for drawing actual pictures. I've heard that fingerless gloves could help, but I haven't actually gone out to buy any yet. I should probably get on the ball with that. Those are probably more of a seasonal product.
I kinda wonder if anyone else tries to draw with arm braces on. Is there anyone else out there who has to wear them all the time? How long did it take to learn to work around them? Oh so many unanswered questions.
~Ever yours,
Nichi Moondancer.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Entry #1 An introduction.
So welcome to my blog. If we are all very lucky I'll keep up on this and you'll never have to wonder where I am or why I haven't updated. So you must all be wondering about who I am and what's with my blog title.
Well for all intents and purposes you can call me Nichi, or the G1 Moondancer Pony, as that is my favorite Hasbro My Little Pony. I'm in my 30's and I enjoy doing art, especially pony art and making custom my little ponies.
I've been doing horses since I could hold a pencil but drawing MLP's has only been the last 5 years or so. I've only been customizing about a year, but have really taken a lot of enjoyment from it. Recently however my hands have started to hurt really bad, especially when re-hairing and I've come to realize I have the beginnings of arthritis in my hands and now I have had to adapt my methods to accommodate the pain and stiffness.
Over the years I have watched my Grandma, an artist in her own right and an excellent seamstress and cook, be slowly robbed of the ability to do the things she has always loved and been so good at as a result of arthritis in her hands and slowly but persistently moving into other places making it hard to stand for long periods of time and walk around as much as she should. Because of this combined with my own condition, I've become aware of the challenges of being able to create and enjoy things when you have to worry about your body working against you.
So I decided to create my blog, The Arthritic Artist, where I will probably talk about balancing pain and creation, making accommodations so I can still do the art I love- such as learning to wear wrist braises while working- , frustrations and triumphs, as well as sharing my art with you.
I hope you enjoyed my first post. I look forward to getting to know you along the way.
~Ever Yours,
Nichi Moondancer.
Well for all intents and purposes you can call me Nichi, or the G1 Moondancer Pony, as that is my favorite Hasbro My Little Pony. I'm in my 30's and I enjoy doing art, especially pony art and making custom my little ponies.
I've been doing horses since I could hold a pencil but drawing MLP's has only been the last 5 years or so. I've only been customizing about a year, but have really taken a lot of enjoyment from it. Recently however my hands have started to hurt really bad, especially when re-hairing and I've come to realize I have the beginnings of arthritis in my hands and now I have had to adapt my methods to accommodate the pain and stiffness.
Over the years I have watched my Grandma, an artist in her own right and an excellent seamstress and cook, be slowly robbed of the ability to do the things she has always loved and been so good at as a result of arthritis in her hands and slowly but persistently moving into other places making it hard to stand for long periods of time and walk around as much as she should. Because of this combined with my own condition, I've become aware of the challenges of being able to create and enjoy things when you have to worry about your body working against you.
So I decided to create my blog, The Arthritic Artist, where I will probably talk about balancing pain and creation, making accommodations so I can still do the art I love- such as learning to wear wrist braises while working- , frustrations and triumphs, as well as sharing my art with you.
I hope you enjoyed my first post. I look forward to getting to know you along the way.
~Ever Yours,
Nichi Moondancer.
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