Swollen Hands

[Maaz Hasan]

Hey guys,
So I have been practicing relatively hard sleights for a long time straight. Like, I think the last 2 weeks, I have done more than how much I think I have done for the month prior to that, and I practiced a lot in that month. Furthermore, beyond practicing sleights I am writing (School), typing (texting people, forums, etc.), and performing (a lot more these last few days since school opened). Not to mention the Xbox. I even did some full on no break practices (I had nothing to do in study hall, so I practiced my Odyssey moves for an hour straight before lunch, then started reading the Royal Road, which "just happened" to be in my bag).

Anyways, enough about practice. (I mean, we all magicians, we sittin here, and we talkin' bout practice? Oh and sorry, I had to. Oh and #TrustTheProcess)
I got to school today wearing my ring (the Odyssey one) and noticed that it was super tight on all my fingers. I then realized how swollen my hands were. I also noticed this while performing a trick in school today (not to mention the millions of Odyssey's I performed). But it didn't hit me 'till I realized my hands were so swollen, they were shaking like crazy, puffed up like a... cotton ball(?), and purplish red. And they HURT. A lot. Like, It pains me to push the keys to type hurt (doesn't help that I'm typing so much). I can't seem to keep my hands still either. I didn't realize how shaky they were until I couldn't kill the Grunts in Halo anymore.

Right now, I don't even wanna look at a deck of cards, or a ring, or maybe even a magic book for a bit. I have worked these sleights till I'm sick of them, and now it is physically hurting me. I think I need to just step away from the stuff for a bit.

The question is, how long? How long should I just take a break from practicing my sleights? I still plan on performing, but maybe not as much in the following week. When and how should I get back into it. Also, am I over practicing if my hands are so swollen and are cramping up?


Oh, and should I be taken it slow when I do get back? Like, this isn't an injury or anything, but as a guy who gets injured.... a lot (stupid stuff, unluckiness, and just plain old going ham), I understand that coming back, you can make things swell up super easy.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

P.S. Is it a bad thing if I don't even want to look at anything to do with magic for a couple days? I am just kinda sick of it after all that practicing.

Thanks,
Maaz.

 

[FunkyBottoms]

Future. Career. OVER!!

LOL! j/k Maaz. Are you sure it's not a medication or an allergy of some sort? Sometimes even diet can do that, anything new in the snack machine you've been partial to?

I have to say while that sounds like a lot of handwork written out like that, I'd hazard a guess that most of those tasks listed, you do day in day out and have been for a while.

If it's not a med or allergy, just try to look at list and cut out the ones that aren't normal to your routine and give em a break for a week or so, see how it goes.

If they're no better after that, removal is clearly the only option left. Lefty and Right had a good run though while it lasted though.

P.S. New found loves on Xbox (Halo perhaps?) can do a real number on odd muscles in your hands, lots of fast repetition of things ya don't do every day. I've had it happen to me (OK, OK, I LOVE Payday 2, I admit it, OK?!? Yes, I'm mildly addicted. ) on a binge play, real weird cramping and pain in odd places in my hands I'd really notice once it was time to put in the work for the day.

I'm gonna put a few bucks on Halo, but win or lose, I hope your hands heal soon and as important, that you are able to sort it out and figure out why it's happening. The swelling thing on then whole hand is an odd symptom to chalk up to overwork and seems more like a diet change, medication, allergy kind of thing, maybe aggravated by the extra wear and tear?

Take care Maaz, keep us posted my friend,
FB

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Things that make my hands swell: Heat/humidity, walking long distances or exercising hard in general, salt.

I'm not a doctor, so I can't diagnose or prescribe anything, so I'll just tell you what I do and you can do what you will with the information at your own discretion.

When exercising I tend to go pretty hard core, and my hands do swell a bit. If it gets uncomfortable, I will stand for a while with my hands up, and stretched out as much as I can. Basically just opening my hands really hard so I can feel the the stretch. I then go finger by finger and squeeze with my other hand. Then clench fists as hard as I can for a moment, then shake them out and maybe do it all again. All of this with my hands up in the air, to allow fluids to drain.

For heat and humidity there's nothing I can do, really. Just have to cool off.

Some foods will also cause swelling. Most commonly sodium/salt. I avoid that by just not eating a lot of salty foods when it's warmer.

If it is from the practice, then it should subside fairly soon - maybe a couple days at most in my experience, depending on how tough your hands are.

 

[DisasterTheory]

The first thing I would do is check with a doctor just to be safe. This could be a result of many different things. It could be a result of blood sugar issues, salt intake, heat, etc. The best thing to do is get checked so that you can rule these things out. I wouldn't be worried too much about magic while you deal with this. Illusions don't perform themselves. So health comes first.

Once you've ruled out anything serious, then just give it time for the swelling to go down and get back to what you love.

 

[RealityOne]

@Maaz Hasan - Get checked by a doctor. Swelling to the degree you are talking about is very likely unrelated to using your hands too much.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Thanks guys!
I think I will definately lay off the sleights for a while, and get checked by a doctor if the swelling doesn't stop soon. I don't think it's because of any food allergies or something. I don't think it is from sleights too much though. I'll give you an update in a couple days!

 

[Maaz Hasan]

So the swelling has reduced significantly, but they are still randomly getting shaky, and hurt quite a bit. I think I'll have to get it checked by my doctor later this week if the pain doesn't go away by the start of this week.

 

[Al e Cat Dabra]

Pain and swelling are simply your body's way of telling you that you have pushed it beyond capacity. No, I am not a health care professional, but this is common sense based on the exceptional degree to which you pushed your hands and fingers. I would suggest giving your hands a chance to relax and heal from all the undue stressors put on them. The body has amazing natural healing abilities. And don't feel guilty; we can be dedicated without being obsessive. You may be surprised to find that after taking a couple week so or so off, you are doing the sleights better and more effortlessly before. And you will be fresh and the burn out factor you are understandably experiencing will be gone and you will be fresh and enthusiastic. Work on some self-workers in the meantime if you want something to do - there are some absolutely miraculous ones, and people will give you credit for phenomenal sleight of hand even with those tricks...

 

[Maaz Hasan]

So just as an update: I stopped practicing for 10 days now, and it still hurts a lot in both hands. I got it checked out by a doctor, got some x-rays done, etc. He wants to see me once more (and vice versa, it seems to be getting worse?), but if it nothing serious and just a bit of an annoying thing in my hands that'll move with time, I think I should be fine.

I also didn't wear my Odyssey Ring (either one) since I stopped, or any other accessory, just to make sure it wasn't an allergy or something, and it isn't. So I will be going back to that.

 

[Al e Cat Dabra]

Hope it gets better soon, Maaz. I guess magic can be an addiction (a good one!), but we can "O.D."