My Hands Are Killing Me!
Decorating By blessingsandblossoms Updated 4 Aug 2006 , 1:37pm by brookej01
Hey, ya'll.
I did two cakes last week and my hands hurt even today! What have ya'll found that helps? I had to make my icing stiff but even working with fondant made them sore. Do those Wilton glove thingies work?
Blessings!
You might give them a try but they didn't work for me. It just took time for my hands to get used to them and then I went to my doctor and he gave me those wrist guards for carpel tunnel. They helped alot and now I don't have to wear them.Best of luck to you!
I did 5 hours of color flow on Sunday...my hands were killing me! I was begging my kids to rub them...but no one wanted to help mommy.
I got outan old massager I bought years ago, it's called theMagnasager (got it from an infomershal) and used it on my hand. It's got three magnettic balls that spin around. My hand felt great after about 20 minutes.
So, I'd recommend finding your old back massager that's hiding in the hall closet and use it on your hand.
I've tried the gloves before but it didn't really help me.
Nothing quite like getting a nice massage from someone. 
I went to Walgreens and got mine. They seem to help a lot.
I have that problem every now and then but it's usually my forearms after kneading a big batch of fondant.
I keep a stress ball in my car and I do little hand exercises while sitting in traffic. It's made my hands stronger and they've built up a little endurance!
Oh, Vicky, that's so sad. I feel for you.
Blessingsandblossoms, I taught a friend how to do gumpaste flowers a couple days ago and she told me, "With God as my witness, I shall never pipe roses again!!!!!!!" Well, that was the gist anyway.
I think with the style of cakes now, there's not really a lot of piping on them. Maybe try chocolate transfers--I do some piping, and some brushing-- fondant, and fondant decorations, or gumpaste flowers.
Oh, yeah, with all that fondant kneading, we are all going to have forearms like POPEYE for sure! However, I use choco-pan fondant and it is really soft and easy to work with and roll out.
STRETCH! STRETCH! STRETCH!
Just like an athlete benefits from good stretching, your hands and arms will benefit from some simple stretches before, during and after the piping.
These links show specific stretches for the hands and avoiding carpal tunnel:
http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/zm2666.asp?printing=true
http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/rsi.html
there are links down the center of the page that show different stretches for your hands.
***I am not a doctor, etc, small type stuff. Just a fan of stretching. 
Man, you guys are awesome! I wrote this question late last night and I thought everyone forgot about me cuz they were asleep! Thanks so much for the tips, I'll try them all and take care of myself to better take care of my cakes!
Blessings and Blossoms your way!
Those stretches are awesome, I already feel better!
(But my typing is a little floppy!) 
vicky, some piddly lil cake with a lot of flowers. hee hee. actually is an 8inch 2 layer round iced in light violet and then the lil violets will be the border around the top and bottom adn a few in the center. I'll post a pic when its done...speaking of which I really should be working on it...I have to deliver it this afternoon. Hee hee...i procrastinate b/c my hand still hurts 
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