Just read a report on barber health risks that shook me up

I was looking up some stuff on my state's work safety site yesterday, and I found a fact sheet for barbers. It said we are THREE TIMES more likely to get carpal tunnel than people in other jobs. Three times! I always knew my wrists hurt after a long day, but I thought it was just part of the job. The sheet said it's from the repeated motions with clippers and scissors, and holding our arms up all day. It really hit me because my uncle, who cut hair for 30 years, had to get surgery on both wrists and it never fully healed. I've been cutting for eight years now and I'm starting to feel that ache more often. I'm going to start doing those wrist stretches they showed and take more short breaks. Has anyone else dealt with this and found a good way to keep your hands healthy?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan_ellis3d agoMost Upvoted

Man, that's scary to read. I saw a video once where a barber talked about switching to lighter clippers and it changed everything for him. He said the weight adds up over thousands of cuts. He also started doing this thing where he'd shake out his hands and stretch his fingers for a minute between every client. Made it seem like those small breaks are way more important than just powering through.

jake9862d agoTop Commenter

Honestly, I feel like people worry too much about this stuff. Every job has its aches and pains, that's just part of working with your hands. My barber has been at it for decades and he never does stretches or takes special breaks, he just works through it. Sometimes I think all these warnings just make people imagine problems they don't really have. If your wrists hurt, maybe you just need to work a little differently, not turn your whole routine upside down.

blair_martin2d ago

That barber you mentioned who just works through it... I wonder if he's actually in pain and just doesn't talk about it. My uncle was a mechanic for forty years and his hands are basically claws now. He always said it was just part of the job, but he can't open a jar or hold a fork without shaking. Makes me think some people get used to a low level of hurt and call it normal.