I’m new to braiding and I’m curious what other braiders self care routine is when it comes to your hands and wrists. After a long night of braiding my hands are swollen and sore and my wrists scream for several days after. I use Tylenol and advil of course. I use ice too. I tried wrapping my wrists with athletic tape and it did seem to help but my skin is sensitive to adhesive so I ended up very itchy. What other things can you recommend to help manage the pain and soreness?
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Now that topical diclofenac for people is OTC, give that a try.
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there is Hypoallergenic tape for sensitive skin, my niece is an athletic trainer
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I actually already take the pill form of diclofinac for my back
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Maybe get some advice from a PT for stretches you can do between horses. And take a half hour break halfway through the night to ice.
You can get a wrist brace at the drug store or on Amazon. It really supports your wrist and leaves your fingers free. I wore one after a tendon injury to my right wrist, and it helped so much. I was a teacher, so writing on the board was painful without the brace.
Something like this.
This is more like what I had.
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I’m mostly here to see if anyone has any grand ideas. But in the mean time, I will ask if your form is correct? I often have people ask how my hands are, and generally my hands don’t really hurt to any appreciable extent. The finger form that Ruth Ann uses takes advantage of the torque you have available in your fingers and reduces strain on your joints. Lately my fingers will be a little stiff after a long night/morning. But manes wear and tear on my hands very little.
Tails kill my thumbs and wrists. I’ve been shown a finger form that takes the tension off of your thumbs by pinning your cross overs with the knuckles of your index finger, but I cannot get that form to work for me. And because of that, I think I tend to torque more with my wrists.
For those with back problems, I find stretches to open your hips to be beneficial. I have SI issues and things such as working on splits, and pigeon pose to be hugely helpful for my back. Though if anyone has any shoe recommendations for flat feet (which don’t help my back at all), I’m all ears!
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Which tape did you use? A lot of tape has strong adhesives and latex to boot. I use KT Pro (not regular KT) and haven’t had a strong reaction, I just make sure to wear it until the adhesive goes instead of ripping it off (also good to shave the area you’re applying it too if you have any pronounced hair).
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Have you tried doing any strength training for your hands and fingers between shows? There are lots of small muscles in your hands, the stronger they are the less stress you’ll put on your joints.
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One piece of advice I got from a very good braider was to make sure you’re moving your ladder often enough. If you’re reaching, twisting, turning, that makes everything harder on your body.
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Much of my pain from braiding came from holding the braids too tightly. Once I learned to relax my hands that pain went away.
Braid wet hair. Not dripping wet, but pretty saturated. Wet hair is a bit sticky, and less springy than dry hair. I prefer wet hair to using the Quicbraid type sprays.
For the wrist pain I will hazard a guess that you are at the wrong height for the horses you’re braiding. Being able to adjust the height of your step makes a huge difference. For me I want to allow my arms to hang from relaxed shoulders, and just bend my elbows to bring my hands up to around level with my elbows (give or take a couple of inches). I start tail braids standing on my step then step off and push it aside with my foot midbraid.
All of the above will help to reduce back pain as well. Clutching the braids tight creates tension through your arms, shoulders and neck. Being at the wrong height, or wrong distance from the horse will affect your posture, and because it’s a fairly static position, will make your body sore.
For your feet ensure your step keeps your entire foot (both!) supported. Wear comfortable footwear, and consider cushioned insoles. Again, reaching, leaning, etc that affects your posture will also alter the pressure on various areas of your feet.
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I have an office job and feel like that’s contributed to some carpal tunnel like symptoms when I braid a lot. My routine is to stretch my hands before and after. Holding my hands in a prayer type position and pushing my fingers to the left than right. Also, bending my fingers like a claw, and then pushing the knuckles back. Not sure if that makes sense, but I broke my finger a few years ago, and as luck would have it, the hand therapist was a horse person and understood the stress of braiding.
I’ll take ibuprofen prior to braiding larger numbers and for a day or two after if I haven’t braided in a while.
Lastly, I’ll sleep in wrist braces the nights I braid and for a day or two after so I don’t bend my wrists in my sleep. That seems to help immensely with any tingling and discomfort.
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@BroncoMo, I have flat feet plus a bunion and neuroma in one foot, so I’m a pro in this area! I find Keens are the best shoes for me, plus I add SuperFeet insoles (the berry one) as recommended by my podiatrist. I also go up a shoe size so I can put the insoles on top of the ones that come in the shoes. You’ll have to experiment with that part.
I CANNOT wear paddock boots anymore, so I use these as barn boots. I change out of my tall boots and into these as soon as I’m off the horse.
https://www.muckbootcompany.com/muck-apex-mid-zip-womens-8-inch-waterproof-5mm-ne/AXWZ000.html
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Yess!! I have super flat feet and developing a bunion from poorly fitting Army boots. I find that orthotics with high arch support help quite a bit. I can stretch out my SI but that only lasts so long when you spend 14 hours on a ladder. I’ll look in to the insoles and boots you posted above. Thanks!!
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