Doctor, It Hurts When I Move My Hand Like This...
I’ve endured a pain in my left hand for the past week. It’s not a severe pain; after close examination mommy concluded that it only rises to the level of “suck it up.” It’s a dull pain, seemingly centered deep in the hand, and is triggered by movement.
I don’t know what caused the pain, but it feels like I overstretched something. I thought that I had slept on it wrong in spite of my extensive sleeping experience. In a previous, fully rested life I might’ve noticed something like a sleeping position that props my hand in a fully stretched position for hours at a time. Now it’s possible that my brain is so sleep deprived that it’s willing to sacrifice a couple tendons instead of disrupting the sleep cycle long enough to make me roll over.
The “slept wrong” theory fell apart when the pain never lessened. I’d fall asleep with my hand hurting but propped in a non-stressful position, and I’d wake with my hand in the same non-stressful position with the same pain in it. Either my body is maliciously straining my hand all night and putting it back into position before I notice, or I’m doing something during the day to overstretch it. Or there could be something seriously wrong, but I’d rather not thing about that.
I think I found the source of the pain this evening. While I was swinging the kids, I noticed that my hand hurt with every push. Every swing felt like something was being overstretched, pulled farther than it was meant to be pulled. With three kids to swing who haven’t learned to pump, that’s a lot of pushing on my part. With their tendency to scream when their velocity slows, I might miss an ache in my hand as I try to keep them moving and happy.
I’ve adjusted my swing technique to save wear on my hand. I’m using both hands to avoid putting the entire strain on my left hand. I’m bending my back into an unnatural shape in order to push with my hand at a natural angle. I’m trying to force them to learn to pump because the sooner they swing themselves the sooner I can give my hand a permanent rest. I’d like to swing the kids less, but I’d also like to sleep a solid eight hours every night, so I’m used to not doing what I’d like.
I don’t know what caused the pain, but it feels like I overstretched something. I thought that I had slept on it wrong in spite of my extensive sleeping experience. In a previous, fully rested life I might’ve noticed something like a sleeping position that props my hand in a fully stretched position for hours at a time. Now it’s possible that my brain is so sleep deprived that it’s willing to sacrifice a couple tendons instead of disrupting the sleep cycle long enough to make me roll over.
The “slept wrong” theory fell apart when the pain never lessened. I’d fall asleep with my hand hurting but propped in a non-stressful position, and I’d wake with my hand in the same non-stressful position with the same pain in it. Either my body is maliciously straining my hand all night and putting it back into position before I notice, or I’m doing something during the day to overstretch it. Or there could be something seriously wrong, but I’d rather not thing about that.
I think I found the source of the pain this evening. While I was swinging the kids, I noticed that my hand hurt with every push. Every swing felt like something was being overstretched, pulled farther than it was meant to be pulled. With three kids to swing who haven’t learned to pump, that’s a lot of pushing on my part. With their tendency to scream when their velocity slows, I might miss an ache in my hand as I try to keep them moving and happy.
I’ve adjusted my swing technique to save wear on my hand. I’m using both hands to avoid putting the entire strain on my left hand. I’m bending my back into an unnatural shape in order to push with my hand at a natural angle. I’m trying to force them to learn to pump because the sooner they swing themselves the sooner I can give my hand a permanent rest. I’d like to swing the kids less, but I’d also like to sleep a solid eight hours every night, so I’m used to not doing what I’d like.
posted by Matt at
11:31 PM
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