rsi, carpal tunnel, arthirtis

floatncoffee

are these common problems with cafe employees????

my wife works the morning shift (3 hours) 5 days a week, has been for a year and now complains of very sore hands.... whether its wrist or thumbs, fingers etc... it seems to move around

has anyone else suffered (suffer) this and what did you use to do before making coffee? ie receptionist

im working on moding our machine to foot operated steam wand.. to try combat this as the knob is very straining

cheers
Ryan

askthecoffeeguy

I developed a ganglia on my left wrist the size of a golf ball from regularly making 800 coffees per day, and I fixed this by investing in a 'Tens' device, which is a little hand held device which looks like a tv remote, which connects to a couple of electrodes which you attach to your wrist (or whever but NEVER OVER OR NEAR THE HEART) These provide an electrical impulse that replicates massage / acupuncture / cupping etc - all traditional Chinese medicine techniques, and I had (combined with actual acupuncture) instant and lasting success I also modified my coffee making technique considerably: You can use your foream to turn the steam wand on and off And I modified my tamp and dose by using the forks of the grinder to collapse my dose, and by only tamping once with no 'tapping' of the portafilter with the tamper - significantly reducing both my effort and the strain on my limbs and no probs since Yoga and massage are also very good for coffee makers and this is where partners and loved ones can help out! Hope this helps - Pat

floatncoffee

cheers pat yes it helps alot... i never thought of acupunture...... ive just modified the steam knob tonight by bolting a larger disc on the knob increasing the diameter and covered the outside with foam for grip and comfort.. now only takes very little strength and movement (with hand or forearm or nose for that matter lol) to turn on the steam..... works great! ryan

askthecoffeeguy

hey - this sounds like a great innovation!

Anuta

What great timing! I'm going to the psysio in a couple of hours with all the same problems. But this is what I've learned thus far. My problem was my back due to the built up of acid in the spine and muscles due to my standing in one place for 8-10 hrs in a row. In really, the busy periods only really last about 4 hrs at any one time but that's enough to cause problems. So to help that, I actually need to be moving as much as I can, to get my muscles moving in every way possible. So now I have my radio on dancing around while working, which has actually really helped. The worst thing we can do is just do one job for many hours in a row standing totally still. Movement in any way is a must!

askthecoffeeguy

that's why I have those thick 2in rtubber mats behind the counter to absorb the impact of being stationary for such long periods of time - I also swim and cycle 40kms every day!!!!

floatncoffee

. So now I have my radio on dancing around while working, which has actually really helped.

you might start a new craz.... "ESPRESSOCISE" LOL let us know how you go with the physio.. ive had my little "steam wheel" on for two days now and my wife no longer suffers any pain in that wrist, only just a little at the end of the day...... gunna work on ways of moddifing grouping and tampering without the impact next i had pool noodles on the group handles which obsorbed LOT of impact on the wrist ..... but looked alittle dodgy lol so i took it off. lol "ergonomic coffee making" ryan

Unknown

Sometimes it's a good idea to go and sit down with a coffee while watching other baristas working.

lk1

I know this is a late reply sorry. My chiropractor "adjusts" my elbows, and the pain is gone. It's worth checking out if you are in a lot of pain.

over_extracted

Tamping and dosing can have such a bad health effect ,but texturing milk can make it even worse. Most of us have big hands , and espresso machine manufactures keep on making their steam activation knobs so small you always need to use the tip of your fingers to activate it. For e.g take an San Marino machine.... Good work horse hardly ever lets you down...but those steam valve knobs are the worst .. small , smooth and hard to get a greep of. Also I have noticed CMA astoria and the like having the same system. TO ALL ESPRESSO COFFEE MACHINE DESIGNERS OUT THERE, PLEASE PLEASE..US BARISTI HAVE (hey :D) BIG HANDS :P AND WE CANNOT KEEP ON USING THESE LITTLE TINI TINY STEAM VALVE KNOBS. If you people don't change these systems there are going to be a hell of a lot of Retired Baristi with athritis. As a cure on most occations when my hands are sore

askthecoffeeguy

Hey OE - thanks for y our insight As I've mentioned previously I've adjusted my tamp and dose technique so that I collapse the grind on the forks of the grinder, and only tamp once, with no polish or tapping of the portafilter This has cut down on a lot of extra time and effort not to mention saving my wrists and elbows when making coffee! I can also highly recommend Blundstones boots for footwear  (for added ankle support) and those blue gel heel inserts for added cushioning And good solid rubber mats behind the coffee machine and in every other work area as well Cheers, Pat  

over_extracted

Hi You are so right Askthecoffeeguy. I still have a old pair of Red back boots My friend brought me here from Oz. I would love a new pair but they virtually dont exist here. A pair of Blunnies will set you back 150- 200 pounds  :o here and they are not even the soft gel sole type. Any donations of a new pair would be most welcome on my feet. See ya OE

floatncoffee

Here's my little simple steam knob modification... it works a treat... it only takes very little effort to turn on and off... its a PVC endcap for a drainpipe.. simply bolted on (via m4 bolts and nyloc nuts) to the existing knob Ryan

Koffee_Kosmo

What

psaigh

elektra and nuova simenelli are both lever action, as well as some cheap faema's, with some work you might be able to retrofit, or even better, use an air-pump foot peddle switch (as seen on many a sewing machine).

askthecoffeeguy

I'm told by the guys at Mecca that the foot pedal is not much good once volume increases to more than 400 cups per day - my preference is for a small lever switch that can be easily activated, even so I think grind and dose technique is easily as important as getting the milk right when it comes to reducing rsi

psaigh

Those spoilt boys and there mistral I can also see other OCH&S issues with the foot pedal in terms of accidently treading on it and shooting your fellow barista with a nice gush of hot steam unexpectidly, but I still it'd be cool to have.

askthecoffeeguy

or as happened to me the other day: as I heated the milk my over-zealous barista decided to make some tea at the same time and poured boiling water from the machine all over my hand!  Thankfully I'm pretty immune to temperature so my fingers came up red, but not blistered!