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

Wed Jun 24 18:38:25 UTC 2009

    Hey Jim,
Try holding your index finger along the flat side of the cane but allowing 
the side with your index finger to be on the "side" not on the top.  (If you 
are left handed then the flat part would be  on the left side with your 
index finger running down it--and opposite that if you are right handed)

Also to avoid the "gut shots"  allow the top of the cane handle to end in 
the palm of your hand--that way if you do hit a crack your hand will absorb 
the force of impact.

-Stacy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Teal Blooworth" <tealbloodworth at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Cane grip and hand, wrist, forearm pain

> hmm well jim ...sounds like you need a marshmello (sp) tip that way it 
> won't get stuck in the cracks in the sidewalk. This tip rolls oppose to 
> simply making a point at the end of the cane.
>
> If the Kentucky OFB cane hurts your wrist like that maybe an NFB cane 
> would feel better. These already have the rounded tip at the end and they 
> are lighter canes. The change of the tip i think will help with it 
> stavving you in the gut (i used to do it all the time), and it may or may 
> not help with the wrist and arm pain because you can simply "glide". Also 
> a longer cane may be beneficial helping stand straighter and not "work as 
> hard".
>
> Congrats on feeling more comfortable with your cane and venturing out 
> indepentantly. Thats the only way you can really get the confidentce you 
> need for independant travel.
>
> -Teal
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <pajohns1 at vt.edu>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 2:59 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Cane grip and hand, wrist, forearm pain
>
>
>> Jim,
>>
>>        Being 6'5, 280 myself.  Try a 69' or 72' Iowa style with a disc 
>> tip. Also try a pencil grip in addition to the fist grips, and I have no 
>> problems using my stick from the side, and it prevents me from getting 
>> gut pokes.
>>
>> Patrick
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Jim Reed" <jim275_2 at yahoo.com>
>> To: "NABS mail list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 3:16 PM
>> 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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>
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