Quilter's Aches and Pains

[Beverly C.]

I am following a program where you eliminate seven specific ordinary foods from your diet for 21 days, then re-introduce them one at a time to see which of those (if any) are causing body/joint inflammation. I decided I could do anything pretty much for that short length of time. I'm about half way in to the 21 days. I no longer have any joint pain whatsoever. I won't know for a bit which food it is that has caused the inflammation, but I won't be eating it any more when I do find out! It's been quite interesting realizing how much better I've felt as I started this. What I have also learned is that you'd be surprised at what is added to foods just by carefully reading the ingredient labels.

[Judith A.]

Hi Geneva,
What webinar was it? Some webinars (like the Bernina ones) can be watched online later.

When I had to wear a boot on my left foot after breaking my left foot, it caused a lot of problems in my right hip. I am trying to postpone hip replacement. You are smart to try to minimize further problems by using the foot petal with your left foot.

A heavy steam iron caused shoulder and neck pain for me - especially when ironing a lot of yardage.
I got a steam generator. The water is in the generator, not the iron. The iron itself is much lighter than a regular iron. It eliminated the right shoulder and neck pain.
Another thing that helped was to lower the ironing board surface so my arm/wrist holding the iron was parallel to the ironing board - the same ergonomic way they recommend for using computer. Having the ironing board surface that low felt a odd at first, but it helped right away.

Speaking of computers, I had painful repetitive stress injury in my wrist and hand on my job. The Dept of Rehabilitation sent in a consultant, who told them to get me a track-ball instead of a mouse. It made a world of difference. After I got that trackball, I could type without pain.

Judith

[Sharon E.]

Beverly, what program are you following. Food certainly does play a part. As a matter of fact I am starting physical therapy tomorrow for neck and back pain, and maybe loose a few pounds. It's for 2 months and hopefully I won't have a heart attack, hehe.

Sharon in CO

[Sharon E.]

Geneva--I love my light-weight travel iron (which is the only one I use for quilting). I have to use a spray bottle for starch of moisture but let me tell you--the light weight makes all the difference.

[Beverly C.]

Sharon, in December I saw this lady on our local PBS station and she made sense to me. I checked out her book from the library and read it from cover to cover. The book is "The Virgin Diet" by J. J. Virgin, CNS, CHFS. I have lost weight following this, which is good, but my whole purpose of doing it is pain management. And it has absolutely stopped joint pain for me. Stage1 is the elimination of the certain foods from your diet, stage 2 is the re-introduction of them one at a time to see what is the culprit, and stage 3 is managing your results from now on. All doable and not requiring eating weird stuff, just ordinary food. She has a protein drink available for those that want it, but I have not used that. I hope your physical therapy helps you too.

[Beverly C.]

Beverley, eating real food is always much healthier than factory made junk. I subscribe to the idea, that if you cannot pronounce the ingredients on the list, it probably isn't going to be any good for you.

[Catherine S.]

Thanks for the info Beverly. I love food, but I dislike the pain more. I will look for the book and see if I think I can do it. I tried going gluten free, but couldn't stick with that. My niece had a food sensitivity test done and she has many foods to avoid. She can really tell a difference when she eats the bad for her stuff. Her's is a digestive problem, not joint pain, but I guess it is the same idea.

[Geneva C.]

Ritzy, I never use steam or water in my iron, so it only weighs about 5 pounds! I like using a spray bottle like you. Then I decide where and how much water is used. Besides, every time I tried to put water in an iron, it went potty where I didn't need it!

The webinar I watched was Quilting Ergonomics by Michael Engman. I'm supposed to be able to access the power point now, but I haven't had time to figure it out. I was taking care of my mom yesterday. And I always come home so tired afterwards!

Regular exercise is what works for me. And the key is regular!

I'm afraid to try one of those diets that tells you what you are allergic to. I'm allergic to so many things, I'd probably come out with being able to eat lettuce and water. Though I like and eat/drink plenty of it! But I sure enjoy cheese, wine, shrimp, etc, etc!

Back to quilting and stretching!

Geneva