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Look After Your Hands

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Look After Your Hands

My experience used as a warning to all artists.

A few years back I was decorating and my hand started to be a problem. Well I thought I just need to work hard and finish the job. How wrong could I be, at night my hand would go numb. I was also working in medical research and did not want to complain as I was on a short-term contract. Eventually I decided to go to the doctors this was after many months. Then still not wanting to complain too much and hoping it would go away my doctor thought it was not too bad. More months went past and it was soon a couple of years.

It got to the stage two of my fingers were continually numb so I eventually went again to another doctor who suggested an injection but she could not do this and suggested another. Finally after waiting weeks to see the other doctor he finally sent me to see a hand surgeon, who suggested an operation. I had the operation but still my hand was a problem and I thought I had to give it time to heal and it did slowly get better but one year later I still had a problem. And was sent back to see the surgeon but I had always thought there was a problem near my elbow as well and it turned out it was my pronator teres muscle as well. After twelve physiotherapy sessions and deep massage and a slight improvement, I finally still have numb tips to two fingers and my hand goes stiff and I don't think this will ever change : (

I have told this story as I draw with this hand (or try to) and should have listened to my body. So to end this blog be warned if you are an artist look after your hands! Also if you work on the computer, screen breaks are a must!