Hi,

In a recent post by Angello in the knives thread he mentions looking after the knees and elbows.

I thought this was a topic that should be taken seriously by all of us and thought it warrented a thread of its own.

Apart from not juggling things rediculously heavy and awkward how do you guys care for your joints?

Are there any excerises that you use?

The last thing I want is to do something now that I'm going to regret in 10 - 20 years time. I still want to be able to juggle (I might even get 7 clubs by then too ).

But I also don't want to stop doing what I do either. Like juggling axes.

Any tips would, I'm sure, benefit us all.

Ros

Like any exercise you should do warm-up stretches before you start and a warm down afterwards. Of course most people don't. I'm one of them. However I do start with balls before I do clubs and gradually increase the numbers. The biggest danger is RSI so don't do the same trick endlessly for hours but rather vary your tricks so that you are using different muscles. Heavy weights are not desirable at any point but if you are going to do this start off by wearing wrist weights when juggling and then use the (beard) dx pow3r balls for practice. Try not to use large diameter balls such as splats (if they still exist) as they put more strain on your hands. Juggling heavy weights should be done with the whole body rather than just the arms.

Here ends the lecture

Dr (not) Nigel

Cheers Nig

Agree with Nigel! But I do stretch before, unfortunately not after. I have found that my wrists are in much better condition then last year at this time. (I practise extensivly during sping.)So, stretch you muscles in your forearms, the upper and lower muscles. Its a bit tricky but helps a lot.

Good thing to put some lights on Roslyn! I neglected it for ten years, and I feel it in my wrists! I´m only 27!

/Ark

I have had knee, shoulder, carpel tunnel, and elbow problems, so I warm up before every show, and stretch every morning. I'm 60 years old now, and I don't want to slow down until I'm 75 so I am as careful as an old woman.
HAVE FUN
Al Angello