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JohnPeters Posted: Jul 25, 2009 08:31 AM	Spraying and possible wrist/hand injury Mason and All, I have been spraying on and off for the last 2.5 years. As of lately I have been spraying a lot; I have been waking up in the morning with numb / tingling hands. The numbness lasts a few hours. I am right handed when I spray; the brunt of the hose weight is on my left hand and I spray with my right. My left hand is actually more numb/tingly than my right. These questions could be applicable to all trades people, but with spraying foam I figured to contact this group as there is unique hand movements that occur that other trades people or doctors may not be up to speed on. Does anyone know what this tingling is? On-set of carpal tunnel? On-set of arthritis? Is there a different way that I could be spraying to reduce the amount of strain on my hands and wrists? I know that some people rap the hose around their shoulders so that the brunt of the hose weight is on the body... I am trying to extend my spray life. I don't want to push its end with a stupid injury that I could be avoiding. thanks all, jp
mason Posted: Jul 25, 2009 01:48 PM	You can get repetitive motion injuries from spraying foam. Some ideas that may help: 1. Try spraying with the other hand, it is hard at first but you get used to it. 2. Drap the hose over your shoulders and let the gun fit naturally in your hand. Just like you are shaking hands. This prevents your hand from getting in an un-natural position. 3. Try keeping you index finger from triggering the gun instead use the middle finger for most of the work. 4. Use a wrist strap to reinforce your wrist while spraying. 5. Get your doctor to look at your hand to determine if their are any untreated injuries, nerve damage, etc.
Posted: Jul 27, 2009 07:50 AM	carpal tunnel syndrome = entrapment of the median nerve at the wrist,,,the transverse carpal ligment puts pressure on to the underlying median nerve,,,symptoms usually are numbness & tingleing of the fingers,,median nerve specific distribution,,,that is,,thumb, index and radial aspect of the long finger (radial = thumb 1/2 of finger...many experience nite wakening from the tingleing,,,and say they must "shake their wrist and hand around" to get the tingleing to stop. in chronic conditions you may have some "aching" of the forearm musculature,,typically at rest,,, so a good medical history is in order to really weed this out,,which is why the drs try to get a detailed history, there is good info in the details.... typically you have to rule out the condition comeing from the neck, the shoulder, the elbow,,or as frequently is with us workin stiffs,,a combination of these places,,but nerves are like wireing and there is a specific distribution to where they provide sensory input and to where the provide motor stimulation... so it is difficult to answer "is this carpal tunnel" based on the info you provided,,, and this is a great topic for ergonomics 101 and how to do repetitive motion work while reducing the possibility of repetitive motion injuries,,, i have a casual interest in this area,ergonomics,, and it is drilled into my foam crew,,,even the guys just preppin and cleanin up... need to go earn my daily bread,,,let me know if you would like more info on "spraying smart" as this hillbilly foamer sees it,, maybe we should start a new thread somewhere and see where this goes
Posted: Jul 30, 2009 03:14 AM	guess not,, a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse,,,
JohnPeters Posted: Jul 30, 2009 08:07 AM	Thanks for the feedback guys. I picked up a couple of wrist braces and have been wearing them overnight - they appear to be helping. Drapping the spray hose over my shoulders is tough to get used to. Having the heated hose resting against your shoulders in a 140 degree attic is horrible. A helpful method of copping with hand and wrist issues has been recognition of the tightness of my grip and movements of my wrists. I have been trying to relax my grip and transfer movements of my wrists to my shoulders or elbows. Every little bit helps. Ergonomics related to spray technique is a very interesting topic. One that I have not heard all that much about. Honestly, I was hesitant to post about this topic for fear of being labeled a wuss. I think its a valid discussion that should be had. Your employees (or you) are your most valuable asset. You want them healthy and to last as long as possible. jp
Posted: Aug 01, 2009 05:18 PM	Hi John Before I started spraying foam, I was a tuna technician that graded yellowfin, bluefin and bigeyes coming off of the boats in the Gulf of Mexico, Carribean, South America and Europe. One of the problems that I always had is from holding a 10" knife and making up to 2000 tail cuts a day. The problem with this is that after about 5-10 years, I developed the same problem. My hands never hurt, but I suffered with full numbness. Even though I could still do my job, it would get so excessive that if I cut myself, I would never feel the pain. I think that the more pressure you use when triggering a gun or knife in my case, the more the numbness will come into play. I learned to hold enough pressure on the knife without squeezing to hard and it became a lot easier to live with. Good luck and I feel your pain. Steve P.S. I'm not a wuus either!
jimcoler I have over 10 years of experience specifying and installing open and closed cell spray foam. I've sold my business but I'm still selling for the new owners and consulting on large and custom specific jobs. I've expanded my knowledge into t Posted: Aug 02, 2009 01:12 PM	No Wusses here! Repetivive motion injuries are a serious issue. I've found the weight of the gun on the bone and web between my thumb and pointer finger causes my hand to cramp up over longer spray periods. As some have mentioned, I change my grip when I can and use different fingers to pull the trigger. This seems to help. Frankly, the guns are not ergonomically designed. Like much of Graco stuff, it looks pretty but is not always the best for optimal function or service of the equipment. I did painting in the summers to work my way through college and found that adding an additions 1.5" cardboard or foam block to the handle of the paintbrush, it would help eliminate the painters cramp in your hand from holding a brush long times. I agree there is a lot of opprotunity here and our guys are our most valuable asset! Jim Coler
Posted: Aug 03, 2009 12:18 AM	You may just need your neck and shoulders loosened up. the numbness and tingling at night can come from that area. all the nerves traveling thru that area can become strained from the awkward spraying positions.

Author

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JohnPeters

Posted: Jul 25, 2009 08:31 AM

Spraying and possible wrist/hand injury

Mason and All,

I have been spraying on and off for the last 2.5 years. As of lately I have been spraying a lot; I have been waking up in the morning with numb / tingling hands. The numbness lasts a few hours. I am right handed when I spray; the brunt of the hose weight is on my left hand and I spray with my right. My left hand is actually more numb/tingly than my right.

These questions could be applicable to all trades people, but with spraying foam I figured to contact this group as there is unique hand movements that occur that other trades people or doctors may not be up to speed on.

Does anyone know what this tingling is? On-set of carpal tunnel? On-set of arthritis?

Is there a different way that I could be spraying to reduce the amount of strain on my hands and wrists? I know that some people rap the hose around their shoulders so that the brunt of the hose weight is on the body...

I am trying to extend my spray life. I don't want to push its end with a stupid injury that I could be avoiding.

thanks all,

jp

mason

Posted: Jul 25, 2009 01:48 PM

You can get repetitive motion injuries from spraying foam. Some ideas that may help:

1. Try spraying with the other hand, it is hard at first but you get used to it.
2. Drap the hose over your shoulders and let the gun fit naturally in your hand. Just like you are shaking hands. This prevents your hand from getting in an un-natural position.
3. Try keeping you index finger from triggering the gun instead use the middle finger for most of the work.
4. Use a wrist strap to reinforce your wrist while spraying.
5. Get your doctor to look at your hand to determine if their are any untreated injuries, nerve damage, etc.

Posted: Jul 27, 2009 07:50 AM

carpal tunnel syndrome = entrapment of the median nerve at the wrist,,,the transverse carpal ligment puts pressure on to the underlying median nerve,,,symptoms usually are numbness & tingleing of the fingers,,median nerve specific distribution,,,that is,,thumb, index and radial aspect of the long finger (radial = thumb 1/2 of finger...many experience nite wakening from the tingleing,,,and say they must "shake their wrist and hand around" to get the tingleing to stop.
in chronic conditions you may have some "aching" of the forearm musculature,,typically at rest,,,

so a good medical history is in order to really weed this out,,which is why the drs try to get a detailed history, there is good info in the details....

typically you have to rule out the condition comeing from the neck, the shoulder, the elbow,,or as frequently is with us workin stiffs,,a combination of these places,,but nerves are like wireing and there is a specific distribution to where they provide sensory input and to where the provide motor stimulation...

so it is difficult to answer "is this carpal tunnel" based on the info you provided,,,

and this is a great topic for ergonomics 101 and how to do repetitive motion work while reducing the possibility of repetitive motion injuries,,,

i have a casual interest in this area,ergonomics,, and it is drilled into my foam crew,,,even the guys just preppin and cleanin up...

need to go earn my daily bread,,,let me know if you would like more info on "spraying smart" as this hillbilly foamer sees it,,
maybe we should start a new thread somewhere and see where this goes

Posted: Jul 30, 2009 03:14 AM

guess not,,

a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse,,,

JohnPeters

Posted: Jul 30, 2009 08:07 AM

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I picked up a couple of wrist braces and have been wearing them overnight - they appear to be helping.

Drapping the spray hose over my shoulders is tough to get used to. Having the heated hose resting against your shoulders in a 140 degree attic is horrible.

A helpful method of copping with hand and wrist issues has been recognition of the tightness of my grip and movements of my wrists. I have been trying to relax my grip and transfer movements of my wrists to my shoulders or elbows. Every little bit helps.

Ergonomics related to spray technique is a very interesting topic. One that I have not heard all that much about.

Honestly, I was hesitant to post about this topic for fear of being labeled a wuss.

I think its a valid discussion that should be had. Your employees (or you) are your most valuable asset. You want them healthy and to last as long as possible.

jp

Posted: Aug 01, 2009 05:18 PM

Hi John

Before I started spraying foam, I was a tuna technician that graded yellowfin, bluefin and bigeyes coming off of the boats in the Gulf of Mexico, Carribean, South America and Europe.

One of the problems that I always had is from holding a 10" knife and making up to 2000 tail cuts a day.

The problem with this is that after about 5-10 years, I developed the same problem. My hands never hurt, but I suffered with full numbness.

Even though I could still do my job, it would get so excessive that if I cut myself, I would never feel the pain.

I think that the more pressure you use when triggering a gun or knife in my case, the more the numbness will come into play.

I learned to hold enough pressure on the knife without squeezing to hard and it became a lot easier to live with.

Good luck and I feel your pain.

Steve

P.S. I'm not a wuus either!

jimcoler

I have over 10 years of experience specifying and installing open and closed cell spray foam. I've sold my business but I'm still selling for the new owners and consulting on large and custom specific jobs.

I've expanded my knowledge into t

Posted: Aug 02, 2009 01:12 PM

No Wusses here! Repetivive motion injuries are a serious issue. I've found the weight of the gun on the bone and web between my thumb and pointer finger causes my hand to cramp up over longer spray periods. As some have mentioned, I change my grip when I can and use different fingers to pull the trigger. This seems to help. Frankly, the guns are not ergonomically designed. Like much of Graco stuff, it looks pretty but is not always the best for optimal function or service of the equipment.

I did painting in the summers to work my way through college and found that adding an additions 1.5" cardboard or foam block to the handle of the paintbrush, it would help eliminate the painters cramp in your hand from holding a brush long times.

I agree there is a lot of opprotunity here and our guys are our most valuable asset!

Jim Coler

Posted: Aug 03, 2009 12:18 AM

You may just need your neck and shoulders loosened up. the numbness and tingling at night can come from that area. all the nerves traveling thru that area can become strained from the awkward spraying positions.

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