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10:27 PM, Monday August 10th 2020

Have you tried putting a sock or something that will glide smoothly along the table around your forearm/elbow? You would still be resting your arm on the table but some sort of cloth material would likley decrease any friction that would occur with skin to table contact resulting in a smoother line.

I'm a physical therapist and I've used this technique while working with patients who are unable to lift limbs but I still want to target certain muscle groups. I'd recommend just cutting off the end of a tube sock and wearing it like a sleeve. If your arm has a tendancy to get sweaty, you may need to use another type of wrapping/bandage that won't get "soggy."

Please let me know if this does/doesn't work for you and we can further discuss other options

2:17 AM, Saturday February 20th 2021

That's a great suggestion! I haven't tried that yet. I've had a lot of success working with a PT and an OT who specializes in hand issues, and anything I can try to support myself is definitely appreciated.

I'm only seeing this 6 months later, but if you see this again I'd love to discuss more with you. My PT and OT are both very experienced with the physical issues I have, but I'm interested in your perspective as a physical therapist and an artist.

As for what's worked so far, I've been working on postural strength with my physical therapist, and we do a lot of isometric exercises to strengthen core muscles. When I first posted this in August, I couldn't do diaphragmatic breathing upright. I spent a lot of time in bed where I'd practice deep breathing. The most helpful source at that point was actually YouTube videos on breath support for singers, and I did those lying down. Living bed-bound is pretty boring, and it was a challenge, so I practiced a lot!

Today, I do a 10 minute seated tai chi routine 3x a day. It includes seated horse stance, seated crane arms, seated crane breathing, seated bear roots, seated flying crane, and seated bathing in the light. The biggest challenge with those is coordinating my arms, legs, AND breath, when necessary.

As I'm typing this message, though, I am sitting upright without support. It's still strenuous, but I'm also learning to take breaks when I need to.

My OT suggested a night brace for carpal tunnel (mild carpal tunnel is one of my issues), which helps once I removed the metal bar. It helps unless I wear it too long, or if I'm wearing it when I have nightmares, which causes me to tense my fists.

The biggest differences, other than building strength itself, are 1. A tilted surface, and 2. Wrapping tools in a foam grip and coban. The bigger surface to grip AND the friction together made it much easier to use tools.

I went from being unable to draw more than 15 minutes without excruciating pain to drawing for a few hours last night, and still being able to type and wash laundry today :)

I gave a lot of information, so if you see this and read through it, thank you very much!

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