Ambidextrous Knitting

I have to learn how to knit different ways. East European, English, Portuguese, Combination, Under my arm, with a Knitting Sheath...all of it. Huh, you say? Alright, I'll start from the beginning.

My right hand is giving me problems. Perhaps the beginnings of carpal tunnel caused from too much knitting?? I don't know. All I do know for sure is that it is really putting a cramp in my knitting style. I noticed it about a week ago. Not too bad, but I noticed that when I woke up in the morning, my right hand was numb. I didn't worry too much about it since the sensation went away after a few hours. I was working on my sweater and I will admit that I worked on it obsessively because I really wanted it done. I started worrying more when the numbness interfered with picking up my son. He is almost 2 and likes me to carry him at various times throughout the day, usually when he is tired. I tried to make the sensation go away by taking a break from knitting by doing more housework, moving my hand/wrist in a circle throughout the day, and resting my hand. That helped some, but not enough to stop me from worrying. My FLYS is now selling the square circular needles and I've read that they are better for your hands, yada yada, so I went yesterday to buy a pair (any reason to visit, right?). The owner also let me try on the special gloves that are supposed to help hand and wrist pain as well. They cost about the same, so I figured if the needles didn't do anything, I would buy the gloves. I started knitting with the needles, and they are nice to knit with. One thing I noticed is that they don't put as much pressure on my fingers as the regular circulars do. The flat surface sits more uniformly on my joints. However, I still have some numbness in my hand. More on the square needles later...

Suffice to say, I needed more information. Since I am a knitter, I read through Ravelry through some threads where people discussed similar problems. I had contemplated going to my doctor. I've done so before and have gotten treatment; however, I want to know how to prevent it, not just make the pain go away. Most posts I've read suggested resting the hand, doing "waving" exercises to bring circulation to the affected hand, etc. I've noticed that the symptoms are similar to carpal tunnel, in which numbness is caused by constant repetitive motion. This led me to the conclusion that if I learned how to knit different ways, then the movement in my hand won't be as repetitive. I am also very interested in learning how to knit with a knitting sheath. This used to be the norm, but it seems that it fell out of favor in the last century. Very unfortunate because it sounds like a good way to keep stress out of the hands from constant knitting.

I'm off now to research this almost ancient way of knitting. I just hope that it doesn't mean I have to spend extra money on tools that I would rather spend on yarn...