Tunnel vision and the weird injury

Today I had a doctor's appointment and while I was there I asked about my right hand. My fingers have being going numb off and on for several weeks and the shooting pain from my wrist to my thumb has been less than pleasant. It wasn't why I was actually at the doctor's office but the pain has been downright irritating lately and I needed to find out what was going on.

I had myself convinced I had carpal tunnel because of all the time I spend behind a computer keyboard and using a mouse. I was more than ready for some professional advice about exercises and/or other non-invasive things I could do to alleviate the now constant pain.

After the doctor examined my hand and had me do a few simple exercises, she thought I had the signs of some minor carpal tunnel issues but that wasn't the real problem.

No, the diagnosis instead was arthritis.

Arthritis?! Yeesh, am I that old now?

The doctor's determination was based on several factors, including one I had not really noticed until she pointed it out. The palm area around my thumb joint was actually quite swollen and bruised. I'm a little embarrassed to admit I hadn't noticed this obvious (now) issue because I had myself convinced the evidence of my pain would not be visible with carpal tunnel. I had never bothered to look for visible signs of injury on my hand.

I was tunneled alright, but in the completely wrong direction.

The doctor asked me what I'd been doing lately to see if we could narrow down why the arthritis was flaring up (I learned from my doctor that the thumb is typically the first area to show signs of arthritis in the body).

After listing off a couple of things, including the iron grip I typically have on my cross country ski poles while on the trail, the culprit was none other than something totally unexpected (at least to me).

Crocheting.

So let me be the one to tell you that possible injury can lurk from any corner, at any time. Danger is everywhere, including sitting on your couch with a crochet hook and yarn to help your kids make an afghan with their 4-H club.

I'm now on an ibuprofen and ice regiment for the next two weeks before I start a few simple exercises to strengthen the muscles and joints in my hand.

But something tells me the bruise on my knee from cross country skiing last week will likely be the injury I whine more about even though it doesn't hurt nearly as much as my hand right now (and appears almost gone in comparison to how it looked last week).

I mean really, how can you not laugh at my declaration of pain when I am forced to admit it's a CROCHET injury?

Sometimes life is downright weird.