Several summers ago Kevin was working on his property and using a jack hammer. The continuous pressure of his hands on the controls and handles soon made its consequence known. The swollen fingers were unable to be bent over to make a fist. The fingers and the hand felt much like when you lay wrong in bed and the circulation is disrupted to a portion of a limb. It’s always been referred to “they felt as if they were asleep.” Normal circulation has been disrupted long enough that it took several months for the fingers, wrists and even the arms to return to a state of normalcy for Kevin.
For myself I could relate to Kevin very easily. If I don’t contentiously use my fingers and hands they become stiff and swollen. Arthritis sneaks in when an injury has happened to a joint. It isn’t noticed at the time of the injury, but over time with the addition of proteins in the blood supply the inflammation does show itself and becomes a permanent state of the joint. By keeping my hands and fingers active it prevents any additional fluids to collect around the joints and thus the swelling is kept at a minimum.
What it boils down to, is that I need to get back to some crocheting or sewing and keep those ten little wonders active enough that they won’t stove up on me. I have left the sewing area cool off for far too long. As one of the commercials stresses “keep moving . . . ” so I shall.