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

Wed Jun 24 04:02:02 UTC 2009

If you are very light with the cane and use the palm-up method it should 
not stick in cracks.  Also, have it at belly-button level and out about 
an arm's length.  Carbon fiber tends to be the lightest but not as bendy 
and will break easier.  The fiberglass canes are very bendy but are 
slightly heavier.  With the telescoping canes, you need to pull them all 
the way out but twist each piece tightly after pulling it out; this will 
keep it from collapsing on itself when traveling.

On 6/22/2009 2:34 PM, Jim Reed wrote:
> Joseph,
>
> My wrist, hand, and forearm pain have almost disappeared.
>
> You are right; at the moment I use a 64 inch aluminum ambutech cane with a golf drip and a roller tip. I am six foot four, and you are right, it is too short. I often dont find curbs or obstacles until it is too late, or until I am an inch or so away from disaster. I took a "Superman" style dive off the curb the other day for just that very reason. But there really isnt much I can do about it at the moment (not until I can get to convention and get another, longer cane). Pretty much, I need as long of a cane as possible, and for me, that means either a 70, or a 72 inch cane. I really have no preference for the style of my next cane, except I know I don't want a rigid cane. For me, a rigid cane will become 70 inches of, "where the hell do I put this thing?" Being that I dont/wont use my cane all the time, portability is key. Also, I am not convinced the roller tip is not causing some of my problems; I am not sure what that tip is or isnt feeling. However,
>   I breifly tried a disc-tip, and that tip got stuck in every single tinly crack on the sidewalk. Other than a disc or roller tip, are there any other tip styles avaliable?
>
> If I understand my cane options:
>
> Cane style:
> Rigid canes are strong, light and sensitive, but a pain in the ass to transport
> Telescoping canes are weak, but sensitive (and the one I tried liked to collapse itself)
> folding canes are stronger that telescoping, but not as sensitive as telescoping or rigid
>
> Tips
> rollers are heavyer and less sensitive, but fight off cracks better
> Disc tips are lighter, more sensitive, but get stuck on every crack
>
> Cane material
> Other than weight, I am not familiar with the attributes of the various cane materials
>
> At convention I think I may pick up a 70 inch folding carbon fiber with a roller tip (if possible, I will pick up a extra disc tip).
>
> Thanks,
> 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
>
> --- On Sun, 6/21/09, T. Joseph Carter<carter.tjoseph at gmail.com>  wrote:
>
> From: T. Joseph Carter<carter.tjoseph at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Cane grip and hand, wrist, forearm pain
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Sunday, June 21, 2009, 11:05 PM
>
> Jim,
>
> Sorry for the thread necromancy...
>
> If you're going to Detroit this year, look me up.  I had to develop some custom cane techniques while I was in Colorado, and I till use them sometimes when the weather and terrain call for them.  Start learning to use that cane in both hands, and invest in a good soft ice pack while you're learning.
>
> It sounds like you're using a heavier graphite/aluminum golf grip cane.  I think you mentioned elsewhere that it folds.  I'll bet anything that if you're used to moving around without a cane, at speed, it's too short for you.
>
> Unfortunately, the Independence Market is clearing out what stock it has of 50/50 canes--they had a few design flaws, and the design was never improved.  That means your choices for NFB canes are rigid (which can take creativity to figure out what to do with it when you're not using it), or the telescopic models.  The latter don't take a whole lot of abuse, and I don't recommend them for a heavy-handed cane user.
>
> I use mostly the rigid model, even though you won't find a much lighter hand than I use.
>
> Joseph
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 12:16:38PM -0700, Jim Reed wrote:
>> 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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