How to combat pain when crocheting
Whether you’re new to the craft or been stitching for years, it’s important to know how to combat pain when crocheting. In this article, you will learn how to prevent pain in your wrists when crocheting through to when to seek professional help from the pain .

Types of Pain when Crocheting
There are many different places that crochet and cause pain in your body:
- Fingers
- Hands
- Wrists
- Elbows
- Neck and shoulders
- Upper and lower back
Alongside the many various places you can experience discomfort, there are lots of reasons as to why these areas become sore from crocheting.
This article is going to discuss the most commonly seen aches and pains experienced, from when we first start to crochet through to longer term risks including developing arthritis.
Disclaimer: I am not medically qualified and this is not medical advice, but this article is written to encourage you to care for your hands and body when crafting and I encourage you to seek medical attention for any pain and discomfort you experience
Common Discomfort and Pain for Beginners of the Craft
When people first learn to crochet, it is common for people to hold their yarn and hook very tightly – to save either falling from the hands as they master the first, basic techniques.
Holding the yarn and hook too tightly, combined with hunching over your work to see exactly what you are doing and create pains in the hands, wrists, and shoulders.
When learning to crochet, it is common for people to practice for longer periods of time without breaks too.
It is important that during any crochet session, that a short rest is taken every 20-30 minutes. This will allow your hands and wrists to relax and for the seated position to be adjusted too, reducing the risk of shoulder and back pain.
Tiredness of the muscles and tendons can also be experienced by the newbies, as the way the yarn and hook are held is a new position for the wrist and hands to work – this might not be felt during the crochet session, but the day after. This is another good reason for regular breaks during workshops and sessions.
What Causes Pain from Crocheting?
The pain experienced from crocheting is most likely a result of repetitive motions and strain on the hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders. It’s the repetitive movement when creating stitches that can lead to overuse injurie including tendonitis, or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Poor posture from sitting for long periods and lack of ergonomics can contribute to hand pain. As always, knowledge is power – there are tools and crochet hooks that can be used alongside strategies which when used can prevent and reduce pain caused by crochet.
How to Prevent Pain from Crocheting
Are you Sitting Comfortably?
Above I discussed how beginners to the craft often hunch over their work to get the best possible view of their work. Well, those who have been crafting for a while are much more likely to be sat on a squishy sofa, legs curled up under them, or even cross-legged on a chair, slouching in front of the T.V.!
The Best Seated Position to Crochet
Ideally, we should be maintaining a good posture whenever we crochet by:
- sitting up in a comfy with our back supported
- both feet on the floor in front of us
This will help us to keep our shoulders relaxed and arms free to move with our hands and wrists.
Some people find using a v shaped cushion, with the point arranged to the front, under the arms offers great support and also helps to stop the slumping over, or a continuous bend in our neck, as the pillow raises the arms from our sides, and keeping our project in our eyeline.
The pillow picture below featured on the Dunelm website here – a great price to try this option out to reduce the risk of pain when crocheting – and less pain means more crocheting!

Take a break and Stretch
It’s already been mentioned that taking a break during your crochet session is important – so important that it’s in this article twice!
For every 30 minutes of crochet time, a short rest should be taken. This will allow your hands a wrists to relax.
Instead of having a scroll on your phone (which is another repetitive action that can cause pain), take a moment to stretch out and free up those muscles. Here are some quick movements you can make before you pick up your hook next:
- spread your fingers wide, then bring them back to create a fist
- Rotate your wrists clockwise, 5 times
- Then rotate your wrists anticlockwise 5 times
- Raise your shoulders to the ears, then relax then back down 5 times
- Shake your hands and wrists, like your in a theatre production to boost blood supply – think jazz hands!
- Finally, pop the kettle on and grab a drink and settle down for another 30 minutes.
I found a really great video on YouTube by 2 very popular physical therapists, that showcase 7 exercises to relive pain from Wrists, Hands and Fingers. Click here to watch.
Use an Ergonomic Crochet Hook
The market is full of crochet hooks for us to try out and find the one that works best for us. We all end up with our favourites, and that’s mainly due to how comfortable we find working with them.
There are many different ergonomic shapes out there, and the best one is the one you like – for me I LOVE Furls crochet hooks. They weren’t the first ergonomic hook I tried, but the one I fell in love with.
My preference is their Wooden Streamline Hooks – I have so many, nearly all in sizes 5mm to 6mm, as I use those on larger projects like blankets, where I see hours of crocheting ahead of me.
The ergonomic crochet hook handles are designed to sit in the hand more comfortably, preventing an overly-tight grip, due to the handle of the hook filling the hand.
A popular way to transform the good old, aluminium handles into an ergonomic hook, is to push the hook through a beauty sponge. I tried it an found the sponge too large, but I do have smaller than average hands.
When to Seek Professional Help
Sadly, with all the best intensions, injuries and pain can still occur while we crochet. It’s important to know when an ache is a little more serious and when to reach out for additional support.
Any discomfort or pain that you experience that impacts on your daily lifestyle should be addressed as soon as possible with a healthcare professional.
If you’ve already tried the tips above, adjusted your sitting position, had a break (of more than a day) and you’ve tried a different hook and are still experiencing pain, you should stop crocheting and speak to a doctor – do not push through.
Every day wear and tear on our joints can cause long term damage as it is. Issues like carpel tunnel can sometimes only be resolved by surgery, which sounds extreme but the pain it causes can be too.
Overall, I want you to be able to crochet all the things, all the time, but taking care of your hands and wrists will ensure you can crochet for longer in your lifetime, and keeping the craft pain free is the goal.
Let me know below what steps you take to care for your hands.
I often crochet while sitting at my computer, and my favorite computer games are those which have frequent video cutscenes. I can then multitask while crocheting only during the cutscenes, and using a mix of mouse movements and keyboard commands to play the game in between cutscenes. I also often have multiple crochet projects ongoing, and can switch off between projects with different hook sizes, so my hand isn’t constantly gripping the same hook the exact same way all the time.
I’ve heard others recommend arnica gel for pain relief, but unfortunately can’t use it myself, as it gives me a rash.