thum hurting

[minowevie]

Hi guys. I have been carving for about a year now. mostly chip carving. and some relief. the problem I am having is my thum. don't know how to spill it right. but it hurts like crazy. I thought I should have a callous but it is a different kind of hurt. it seems to be very stiff. and wont bend much. after I rest for a day or 2 from chip carving. it will have a slip joint thing going on. popping back and forth, it is also bent back. which i kinda like for chip carving but getting deformed. I just hate it because I am really enjoying carving. carving with gouges don't seem to hurt as much. am I doing something rough? or is this normal? I sure hope this is something that might go away. but after a year. I would think my mussels would be stronger buy now. and advice is soooo welcome.
Evie

[Merle Rice]

Hi Evie, When I Chipped carved my Thumb got sore also from pushing down to hard, felt like a bruse. I got in the habbit of wrapping my thumb with Carving Tape and found that it helped. Give it a try. Merle

[jimmy joe]

Hi Evie , nice to see you back . Sorry to hear about your aches . Other than pain relievers I can only advise some of the stretching done by those with Carpel tunnel or tendinitis . Hope you get to feeling better . Jim

[minowevie]

thanks guys, you know, I think I will try the tape thing, that sounds like it might work. it is not carpel tunnel. I don't think, it is just in the thumb. it hurts mostly in the inside of the thumb. I can still pull with the thumb, in carving, but it just hurts in doing every thing else. the knuckle in the very end of the thumb, just behind the thumb nail, is what pops. like a tendon or something. welllll this wont stop me, I will use it till it breaks or something. HEHE. hope not, but I was just wondering if this was normal. it is just a bummer, to finally do the things I wont to do. at my age, and my body falls apart. Evie

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Hi Evie, nice to see you posting again. I have a problem with my wrist, I wear a wrist guard but it only helps so much. Hope your thumb gets better !

Dave

[minowevie]

thanks Dave, I will try anything. I do were a wrist gard on my left hand, so maybe it would help on the right hand as well. thanks. Evie

[Mark Dellinger]

Evie,
Good to see you again. I was out for a month or so with similar problem. Mine started in the wrist and index finger. Now it is only in the thumb. The tip of my thumb goes numb now when I carve or do very much work. It is very stiff. The doctor thought it might be trigger finger in my thumb. I'm just trying to deal with it. Good luck and as said earlier good to see you again.

Safe Carving and God Bless,

Mark

[bigEd_H]

Hi Evie, good to see you posting. I think Merle's advice is probably the best. Wrap your thumb with some carver's tape and maybe rest it for a few minutes when it really gets hurting.

Don't stay away so long next time.