What do you folks do about hand cramps?

[MrTwennysebben]

Just curious about what methods my fellow creators use to relieve hand cramps and soreness, if any. You know how it is: you're a few hours into line work or coloring or what have you and you feel your fingers start to get angry with you and your pen or stylus gets harder to hold. Do you stretch your digits? Hot packs? Icing? Pop a couple acetaminophen? Just take a break? Power through? My father has been an illustrator ever since I was a child and he told me it's just something I'll have to learn to get used to but to be honest I'd rather not.

Anyone care to share their remedies?

[Iris-Grimoire]

Stretches, excercises, and most importantly, stopping if the previous two don't immediately solve the problem. There's really no better solution short of readjusting your workspace to be as comfortable for your arm as possible; unless you want early carpal tunnel. Any pain is a warning, don't ignore it, especially if you're starting to lose your grip.

[Seaby]

I lift a 10lb weight for a bit until the tightness goes away (but I don't usually get cramps).

I've found that if I increase the pressure sensitivity on the stylus I don't need to press so hard. Or if you set a button to [left click] you never need to touch the tablet at all, just hover the pen over the tablet and it fills in the colors all the same.

[LakeLake]

I usually stretch my fingers and wrist out and that tends to deal with discomfort most of the time.
It would be good to be mindful of what exact thing is causing the pain. For me, small short repetitive strokes from when I paint digitally is a surefire way for my wrist to start hurting. I try to avoid that by relying less on my wrist and using my arm/shoulder more to make those marks. Basically try to find an alternative way of movement/grip/posture etc. and see if that keeps the discomfort away. If nothing works, let your wrist take a break for a bit.

[Hodge]

I have a wrist brace for when I don't need to be super accurate with my drawing and can focus on using my arm more. If your stylus is thin, adding a grip thing to make it wider might help. Also, I periodically change the way I hold the stylus if I notice my grip is too rigid and putting pressure on my wrist.

And yeah, sometimes you really should just stop, drink some water, take a break and let your hand rest. I've often found that when I push myself to draw for longer than I should, that the product wasn't really all that good and I have to redo it anyways.

[skicoak]

For me it's the opposite hand that's taking all the damage.

Since I moved to tablet, it's the hand holding the thing steady that gets sore and cramps.

I've tried other methods like placing the tablet on other surfaces (flat & inclined) but they just don't work as well, I still end up steadying it with my left.

[DarkChibiShadow]

The NUMBER ONE thing you should do is CONSULT A DOCTOR.

Doing hand stretches, exercises, lifting weights, icing, or heating, anything like that can do more damage than good if you don't know what the problem is and why it's happening. Many conditions become worse with over stretching and with weight lifting, please, please avoid this stuff unless you know what the problem is.

Simply resting until your hand feels better is really the only advice I think is worth listening to until you know if you have an underlying condition or not.

That said, I do think re-organizing your work place is sound advice. I've found that lowering my chair so that my arms are more at a 90 degree angle with my desk helps a lot, adjusting pen sensitivity helps, and more importantly, try drawing more with your arm/shoulder than with your wrist (this should help make your strokes more confident as well, it's a tip I've gotten from many life drawing teachers) Plus, keep in mind a small tablet will often cause hand/finger pain with lots of use because your arm/hand can't move around as much, but I don't know if that's something you're dealing with.

But again, please don't do anything serious until you SPEAK WITH A DOCTOR FIRST, I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

Good luck!

[MrTwennysebben]

Oh I'm definitely not going to do anything drastic, and luckily I'm dealing with more of an annoying minor ache in the knuckles in my ring and pinky fingers rather than any sort of full-blown arthritis so I agree, I may have to take a look at how I'm set up at my desk. I think my posture could use some work, and I might want to raise my chair a little so my arm is at a better height. But yeah, I work with one of the smaller Wacom tablets so my strokes are all pretty small. The little aches do go away after I rest my hand. I even have some of those compression gloves but I keep misplacing them...

Also I hope this whole thread gets everyone to think about how they're set up at their workspace. Don't want to wreck yourselves!

[Kittyfoofo0]

I get a small bag of epsom salt from the local CVS or Walgreens (pharmacy).
I fill a large bowl with lukewarm (not hot) water.
I scoop a palm full of epsom salt and mix in the water. I soak the affected area of hand for at least fifteen minutes.
I empty the bowl and fill with cool water. I soak for at least three minutes to help reduce any swelling.
I eat a healthy diet, stretch and exercise daily.
Hope this helps. Draw long and prosper!

[konori]

I overworked my wrist some years ago (and still do, sometimes), but one of the ways I lessened the strain on my dominant right hand is that I've started using the mouse with my left hand. In a way, my right hand takes a break when I want to use the computer for non-drawing purposes.

Also, sometimes I use the tablet and the mouse at the same time, where I'd use the tablet pen to navigate the screen (and practice using my shoulder to move the pen) and I use my left hand to click on the mouse. Of course I have to also make sure I don't strain my left wrist so I have a cushion for my left wrist to rest on whenever I work on the computer.

[rajillustration]

I mean, doctors are the best method since they can give you really specific advice for your body type (I'm a very small woman, so I'm very prone to carpal tunnel) and exercise helps a ton--as well as stretching. But I had to change up my whole set up for drawing, and to do that, I had to consult with a physical therapist that my doctor recommended me since she specialized in severe carpal tunnel. I had it pretty bad, and I'm just thankful I managed it instead of needing to get surgery. Also I had to give up knitting and I had to stop playing video games and piano completely for a while. I can play games and piano again, but the knitting is a big nope.

But really, honestly, when you notice the pain, stop, get up, stretch, walk around, until it fades. Because if you go a little too far one day, you will probably lose the whole next day in recovery. Kinda sucks. Like a lot of my weekends are just...carpal tunnel recovery.

[Kiweevil]

I take a break and usually a shower or a bath. It helps a lot with my back pain from my scoliosis, as well. I always feel like my body's been soft-reset afterwards ^w^

Sometimes even just soaking the area that hurts helps.

[nostalgicroxas]

Physical Therapy, or a massage done by a PT. In their consultation they can also give you stretches to do that will isolate your particular issue: strength, shortening of muscles, ect.

[Yoyo4991]

I discovered most of my wrist problems come from my shoulders and blades. I kinda tense them a lot, but it's probably because I did hurt my wrist years ago, and I may be compensating.
Take rests(you can set alarms or something), move your shoulders, arms and wrists to losen them up. Try not to draw with your hands cold, if the temperature is low, do a warm up(my hands get freezy as hell). Be conscious of your posture, if you notice you are all tense, take a few breathes and relax your grip.
I've been putting my tablet on my lap kinda, since you don't really need to see it haha it looks like it helps (don't bend your wrist tho, it should be making a straight line with your arm). Also, I started working up, and with the days I've noticed I feel better, and my wrists don't kill me anymore if I try to do a push up(I worked on my technique and did a bunch of other exercises to strengthen my arms, don't ever keep going if it's hurting).
As stressed before, don't wait till is too late to go for a check up. Because the moment you can't bear the pain the damage could be irreversible. Go to see an specialist as soon as you can, better safe than sorry.

[Shanny8]

I usually IMMEDIATELY take a break from drawing- not short breaks either...depending on the severity, I take a week, two, or even a month. Currently on a hand/arm hiatus right now.

I'll do small exercises/stretches to alleviate the pain and/or soak in epsom salt and warm water to relax the muscles. Also be mindful of your posture; I've been noticing with me lately, I tend to either lean to the side on my left elbow- which caused issues in my left arm & shoulder(as well as my left hand- non drawing) or my desk sat too low, and I'd be hunched over which contributed to upper neck/back issues.

TAKE BREAKS. I started out bad about taking breaks- I'd go full throttle for 6 to 8 hrs then take a 20-30 min break...now I get up, walk around, and stretch about every 30 min.

[Snowdrop]

Hi @MrTwennysebben !
Ah, cramps and tendonitis of the artist, right ?
Like @DarkChibiShadow mentionned, seeing a doctor is the best option in order to make a diagnosis and know what is the source of your cramps ! Because actually, it could come from many parts of your arm and depending of which one it is, the treatement is different (warm/cold ect...) !

For example, if your wrist/hand hurt because of doing precise lineart while being a little tense or in a hurry for a long period of time, repeating the same small gesture many times, it can be one of your sinew near the top of your forearm. If it is little red and hurts when you touch it, it can be that. Cold and rest are your friends in that case (you can aply a green clay poultice near this area to sooth the pain).

Whatever it is, let your hand and arm rest as much as you can for a while (it's pretty hard when it's your everyday job to just like... stop working... but your health is important too ! ). Having a good posture, warming up and being relaxed while working is efficient too in order to prevent the injury.

I hope you'll find something that suits you so you can keep doing art without pain !
Take care and good recovery !

[byelacey]

As someone currently off any sort of drawing work due to RSI, don't ignore the pain. I worked for two weeks straight to get a bunch of comic stuff done, and ended up hurting myself because I ignored my body.

I haven't touched a stylus with my main drawing hand for just over a week now and I'm only starting to see mild improvement. I could probably work with NSAIDs but I'll be taking more time to make sure I don't hurt myself further.

(This is all personal and may not apply to you--always ask a doctor about this stuff!) My routine has been sleeping with a brace, icing and hot water bottles, stretching 3 times a day, and rest. Tendons take an incredible amount of time to heal. Might take another week. Might take a month! It sucks real bad, not gonna lie, hah.

[kristabellaaune]

I take breaks and wear wrist braces while I write.