[nabs-l] Cane grip and hand, wrist, forearm pain

[Angela fowler]

Jim, have you ever heard of a rainshine cane? They're straight canes made of
solid fiber glass, not quite as heavy as the aluminum and rugged as hell.
I've had mine for over two years, and I too am an aggressive walker.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jim Reed
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 12:17 PM
To: NABS mail list
Subject: [nabs-l] Cane grip and hand, wrist, forearm pain

Hey all,
The pain in my hand/wrist is not going away, and Now it seems to be
spreading to my forearm, and even my bicep. Last night, I was ready to call
it quits after just three blocks. The hand/wrist pain is not so bad that I
can't or won't use my cane, but it certainly makes it uncomfortable to do
so. A majority of the pain I experience is in my hand, mostly in the meaty
section just below the thumb, and just above the wrist. My cane has one side
of the handle that is flattened, and I've tried three different grips, and
nothing works to alleviate the pain. Grip 1: make a fist with the cane
inside the fist, with the thumb along the flat side,  on top of the cane.
Grip 2: Index finger pointed out, resting along the flat part of the cane
and is on the top of the cane. Grip 3: make fist with cane in the middle of
the fist, with thumb along the flat part of the handle, on top of the cane,
while my pointer finger is extended and running along the side of the cane

Additionally, I've been working on trying to keep my cane hand extending out
in front of me, in the middle of my body, and I feel that that may be
contributing to the forearm/bicep pain. Also, I find my cane hand drifting
towards the side of my body (where it would normally be if I wasn't using a
cane). One problem I have had with keeping my cane in front of me is that
when the cane gets stuck in a crack or something in the sidewalk, I end up
taking a poke to the gut. I don't really mind the poke to the gut, what
worries me is that I will break the cane; with the speed that comes with
being 6 foot four and having long legs, and with mass, energy, and momentum 
that comes with being 340 pounds, I have put some pretty severe bends into
my cane via a gut poke, and I am afraid that once I move away from a strong
aluminum cane, I will snap or otherwise destroy every cane I touch.
Literally, my cane bent like I was in the process of doing a pole vault.
After  the bend, my cane had enough stored energy that the tip of it jumped
3 feet in the air without me doing anything. The unstopable force meets the
immovable object. I pity that cane. 

I walked to my campus for the first time last night, and it went flawlessly.
Prior to having this cane, I never even would have considered walking to
class after dark. The route was just too dark, for too long. 

Any suggestions on the grip and location of the cane would be appreciated

Jim

"From compromise and things half done,
Keep me with stern and stubborn pride,
And when at last the fight is won,
... Keep me still unsatisfied." --Louis Untermeyer


      
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