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Would You Like this Microwavable Pain Relief Ball?

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good medicine microwavable ball

Judith M. is the winner.

I am having such trouble explaining what this is. I don’t think the brand exists anymore, but I want to say it was called a Good Medicine Ball. I reviewed it years ago and never really use it, so I thought it was time to send it on to someone else who might.

What it is is a fabric ball filled with some kind of fine material (it’s not rice or poly beads, I’m not sure what it is but I think it’s scented, too) that you can heat up in the microwave and hold in your hands for relief from the pain of too much knitting or other aches and pains in your hands.

Or if your hands are always cold like mine are, this might be just the thing to warm and soothe them a bit as well.

If you’d like a chance to win this ball, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, June 25. I’d love to know if you have any tips for cutting down on pain from knitting. I just know I need to stretch a lot and take a lot of breaks, but I don’t always follow my own advice!

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. Love the color of this
    medicine ball! Sounds
    like it would be a great
    help.
    Carla from Utah

  2. I would love to have this, I have found that my wrists and fingers hurt during and after I knit. I guess it’s because of cutting hair for 17 yrs ????.

    I love knitting and this would be great to soothe the pain away.

    Thank you for the opportunity to win this.

    Pam Hayes

  3. I usually take project breaks. If I’m knitting, then I work on a crochet project, and visa versa. It seems to help. But I
    mostly power through the pain if it’s not too bad.. 🙂

  4. i have a long sausage shaped one of those called a wheaty bag. its brilliant for helping soothe my fibromyalgia pain! but because its full of wheat and i zap it in the microwave i do tend to whiff like porridge lol!!

  5. I’m so bad about breaks and stretching. Sometimes I just soak my hands in hot water and that helps.

  6. Make sure you put a cup of water with it in the microwave when heating up to prevent the contents burning! I have one with wheat and one with rice.

  7. I would love to have this. I had surgery on my elbow. That would be perfect for the elbow.

  8. I went through physical rehab for 6 weeks after a long intense several months of knitting and crocheting. The repeated small movements had caused pain all the way up to my shoulder. Now I am careful to stretch, stop and do “push ups” against the wall, anything that has larger movements to counteract the smaller movements. This would be great to have to put on the shoulder while doing the smaller movements. :>)

  9. I too am guilty of not taking enough breaks. this would make a nice little reminder to take breaks if it sat next to me while I worked,

  10. hi sarah I made a knitted pair of mitts but eliminated the top so it was open. I knitted pockets on the top side of the hand with little flaps and a button closure. then I sewed 2 pouches to go inside the pockets. I fill them with cherry pits which hold the heat very well plus I threw in some lavender. it works great for me and I hope it works for you.

  11. I usually realize after I am hurting that I need to stretch. I never think to do it before starting a project.

  12. My children are boys. We had thousands of what we call bouncy balls around the house when they were growing up, small very hard round rubber balls. On a table, I roll my hand, particularly the thumb area, over them. Feels great and helps my hand pain alot. This was not my original thought. I found it on a knitter site a while back.

    I would love the pain relief ball for my mother.
    She has debilitating arthritis and we are always looking for new pain relief ideas. Looks hand made?

  15. Oh! It would be wonderful to get some nice relief with a gadget like this after a few hours of intense crocheting or knitting! Please pick me!

  17. Weeding, crafting, quilting takes its toll on our hands. This would be heavenly relief! Thank you for this kind offer.

  18. Ironically, I was just thinking this morning I need 10 heating pads so I can put them on all my joints!

  19. I would love to win this ball. My hands hurt after working with wire for jewelry making. Using pliers and hammers take their toll on my hands, wrists and arms.

  20. I would love to have one of these for my cold and achy hands! They are always cold and ache when I crochet and play with polymer clay.

    Thanks so much for the opportunity to win one!
    Denise Dennison

  21. Several years ago I was crocheting while my grandson was bouncing those small 1 inch bouncy balls. They are made of really hard rubber and bounce pretty high but to the point they bounced into my lap and I started rolling 2 of them around in my hands. To my surprise some of the stiffness and aching went away. So now that is what I use to help with the pain. They are really cheap to buy, only a few bucks for a back of 4.

  22. This sounds wonderful! I have RA but am an avid knitter. My mom taught me when I was 6. I’d love to MAKE one!

  23. When my hands start to ache a bit from knitting I switch to crochet or cross stitch and the different movements seem to help ease any pain.

  24. Love the purple! I squeeze soft, squishy balls at regular intervals. These balls are big, thick balloons filled with dry flour! I also will spread Vicks VapoRub or some sort of Capsacian creme on my hands that gives some refief…

  25. I’ve seen something similar for wrapping around your neck, but it’s too cumbersome for sore hands. What a great idea for stiff fingers. I can even envision tucking it between the sheets to warm my cold feet!

Have you read?

Knit a Classic Aran Cardigan with this Free Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time. 

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring. 

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. 

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row. 

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves. 

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body. 

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy. 

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn. 

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]