Posture tips for not getting sore while machining?

Kelsey1 · Mar 10, 2019

Whenever I've been working in my university's machine shop, I find that I'm usually hunching over the mills and lathes because I'm pretty tall, and my knees and ankles get pretty sore after only a couple hours of work since I'm not used to a lot of standing.

I'm hoping to work full-time in the shop for a term, but not so much if it means I'll wreck my joints and back. What can I do, both while working and out of the shop, to improve my machining posture and avoid long-term issues?

13engines · Mar 10, 2019

Make sure your always standing on a mat of some kind. Spending your life standing directly on concrete or other rock hard floors is going to wreck you.

Gordon Heaton · Mar 10, 2019

13engines said:
Make sure your always standing on a mat of some kind. Spending your life standing directly on concrete or other rock hard floors is going to wreck you.

I sometimes do a lot of detail ops where I end up leaning over the bed most of the day. The only thing that helps is to rest one foot or the other on the edge of the chip pan and switch out fairly often. Didn't really bother me until recently but the years keep coming. Of course that doesn't work at all for hot or long cuts.

neilho · Mar 11, 2019

What worked for me...

Shoes with cushy soles - Altra or Hoka One One. Frequent calf and quad stretches.

My lower back tightens up when standing at the lathe for an hour or so. An occasional child's pose on a yoga mat helps considerably. One of the many benefits of a home based shop.

Everybody's body is different, though.

BSCustoms · Mar 11, 2019

frequent breaks to walk around and stretch out. But there is a lot to be said for what you do in the off hours that will determine how your body tolerates standing at the machines. We have many employees that can not stand for long at a machine but they are over weight and beat up their bodies for years. I stand on my feet for 12-16 hours a day and am never bothered, I attribute it to being disciplined in my strength and conditioning off ours as well as not carrying unneeded weight on my body. If you sit a lot your body is likely not use to standing. There are plenty of videos for proper workplace ergonomics and activities you can do off hours to help.

machinistrrt · Mar 11, 2019

Get yourself a stool. Sit when you can, even if only for a minute or two; definitely during long cuts. The movement, changing from standing to sitting, helps a lot. If you had to do long periods of sitting, you'd get sore too, only in different places.

Good luck

gustafson · Mar 11, 2019

If your feet hurt it is your shoes

I have been wearing high quality hikers for 30 years. Even good solid ones last less than a year. Forget the brown sneakers from Merrill and such

floor mats are cheap

Most of the time you don't have to bend over, you just want to.

Use the power feeds

I find the military 'at ease' stance the best. Legs apart, hands in a fists pushed into the small of the back to enforce posture. Even for short passes, revert to this stance and your back will thank you

It is the weight of your melon that tweaks your entire back, we were not built to lean over.

Clive603 · Mar 11, 2019

gustafson said:
Most of the time you don't have to bend over, you just want to.

Use the power feeds

I find the military 'at ease' stance the best. Legs apart, hands in a fists pushed into the small of the back to enforce posture. Even for short passes, revert to this stance and your back will thank you

It is the weight of your melon that tweaks your entire back, we were not built to lean over.

One of the side benefits of a DRO system, seriously less bending over. If you are "professional" about things and use good, sharp tooling at appropriate speeds and feeds you won't need to watch the cut.

Clive

Stirling · Mar 11, 2019

I second spreading your legs when you need to lower yourself. Better on the back and knees than throwing your butt way back.

Sit and lean when you can. Change positions often.
Good footwear and mats are a must!!

Avoid leaning gravely on one leg or another. Many hours of this caused me real problems in my 20's from long hours with bad posture.
Be mindful of repeat motions such as frequent lathe chucking, vice lockup, tooling lockup. I ran cnc cycle latje with a manual toolpost and chuck for many years, poor posture while chucking was terrible on the neck and back, repeatedly slamming the tool release handle every 1.5 min was horrible on the wrist.

Being a very small frame I always compensated for lack of strength by hitting harder or lunging movements (heavy tools and big chucks for the oilfeild work). Do yourself a favour and be in good shape. A mild full body workout will keep your whole body strong and you will not need to compensate.

Lastly find an employer that cares about long term health.
There are some terrible environments to work in out there but many good ones too.
Air quality, cleanliness, and a positive attitude makes a big difference!

Pathogen · Mar 11, 2019

It's called ergonomics. You have to make your workspace fit you. If you cannot then you need to stop or be crippled. Do not complain to your doctor as they will do surgery on you to correct your pain. Then it's all over. That's about as simple as it can be said.

Glug · Mar 11, 2019

It is great that you are thinking about this now, rather than waiting a couple decades. There are a lot of great videos on youtube with stretching exercises for specific workplace risks.

Not all of them require you to get down on the ground, which isn't practical in the shop. Some can be done at the machine, others are better done at home.

It is amazing how many of my "middle aged" friends do Yoga and say it has changed their life. People who you'd never expect even make time to go to a class at 5am.

awake · Mar 11, 2019

gustafson said:
It is the weight of your melon that tweaks your entire back, we were not built to lean over.

Okay, I just have to ask - is "melon" a reference to, er, well, what the eggplant emoji is for? I mean, I knew that I was, uhmm, shall we say gifted in that area, but I didn't realize it was throwing me off balance that much. Well, actually, I did know that it threw me "off balance" in a very different sense when I was young and stupid. But now that I'm old (and still stupid), maybe this is where all my back trouble comes from? Clearly I need to discuss this with my wife ...

Flail · Mar 11, 2019

I put my lathe on a riser. Maybe not an option for you if others use the same machine.

NAST555 · Mar 11, 2019

I have issues with my back, what ohers have said about not standing on concrete is probably the best advice that you can get. I have wooden boards and matts at every machine. I am tall, roughly 6ft 6", so I feel your pain.
I have found that at times what has worked for me is putting my one foot on the other to take pressure off of my back on one side when a machine is taking a cut and I am just standing watching... however I do not really advise others to do this because it could be a tripping hazard, but I have become so used to it that it just feels natural.

DON'T BE A HERO! If something is too heavy to lift comfortably then DON'T LIFT IT ON YOUR OWN. It is one of the reasons that I landed up with my issues and a visit to the doc every day for two weeks to get an injection in my butt.
I like to hang with my arms, straight, on something high. It feels like it stretches everything out after a long day. If things get really bad I land up sleeping on a hard floor for the night and that too seems to help, not very comfy though so look after your back now in the early days!

HuFlungDung · Mar 11, 2019

Good shoes with a good arch support might help. I do not believe in soft soled shoes or gel insoles, rather firm rubber soles and a contoured arch support with just a trace of padding. It seems to me that gel insoles work to transfer pressure to places on your foot that don't like pressure. And soft soles are similar: they wear quickly and they can end up sloping sideways one way or the other, as well as being a chip magnet. Running shoes don't seem good for standing around in either. Too much give in the wrong places, I think.

Not all the workboots I've tried are good designs. They might have steel toes, but that is about all they have going for them. An orthotic insert is worth pursuing if your feet get sore in them.

I have hard rubber mats around and do like to use them as much as possible. Can be a trip hazard and also can be troublesome with chip embedding if they are too soft. Tall guys usually have longer arms to go with them, so I'd think a lot of machines should be operable without risers if set up for a person of average height. Not only do you have to consider the height of the handwheels, but also the height of the spindle centerline, for comfort while working. It is a tradeoff.

Maybe consider improving your vision with appropriate glasses too. If you can't see well enough that you have to stoop for clarity, you might be bending more than normal.

Mram10 · Mar 11, 2019

Diet, exercise and stretching. No kidding. Never had a problem till I had a shoulder/pec fixed, got out of shape and working in the shop was painful. Got back in shape and everything is much better. Nothing changed with shoes or mat.
Gustafson had some good points

BoxcarPete · Mar 11, 2019

HuFlungDung said:
Not all the workboots I've tried are good designs. They might have steel toes, but that is about all they have going for them. An orthotic insert is worth pursuing if your feet get sore in them.

I have hard rubber mats around and do like to use them as much as possible. Can be a trip hazard and also can be troublesome with chip embedding if they are too soft. Tall guys usually have longer arms to go with them, so I'd think a lot of machines should be operable without risers if set up for a person of average height. Not only do you have to consider the height of the handwheels, but also the height of the spindle centerline, for comfort while working. It is a tradeoff.

True enough, but the longer arms start on shoulders that are as much or more elevated from the ground. I was having some leveling and vibration difficulty with my lathe so I put it up on some hockey pucks. I am 6'3" (190 cm for OP/other Canucks), and it made a world of difference on both fronts. I wasn't really doing it for the height, didn't expect much but it seriously helped. Now I kind of want to raise it just a little more so I don't need to stoop at all...

And also +1 on the proper footwear. I started down the beach bum path on summers in college, worked as a sailing instructor. Didn't want to wear anything more substantial than boat shoes after that. When I started at a machine building company, 6-8 hours on the concrete floor daily, it caught up with me quick. Went with some Keens for the wide toe box and solid support and everything cleared up pretty quickly. Now I don't mind shoes or boots so much as long as they aren't pointy.

Kelsey1 · Mar 11, 2019

Thanks everybody, this is all really helpful advice! I'll definitely be looking into shoes with better soles and support, and I'm thinking of getting in the habit of running to strengthen my core and stability muscles.

Bill D · Mar 11, 2019

"Chair yoga". is simple posture exercises that can be done while sitting in a chair watching the machine work. I remember seeing an old model engineer where the writer added a arm rest near his lathe or mill to lean on while standing. Simple wooden board but away from gears and oil spray.
Best advice is to lose excess weight and wear good shoes with floor mats. mats can be heated in winter if needed.
Bill D

eKretz · Mar 12, 2019

Yeah being taller does mean having longer arms, but also longer legs! Hands are further from the ground in every case unless you're a mutant. Speaking from experience, tall folks can NOT run regular height machinery comfortably without some tweaks - either being able to sit, learning to stand like you're doing the splits all day while running the machine, or getting the machines up higher in the air.

Back discomfort due to leaning forward has not so much to do with the weight of your head but the weight of your entire upper body acting on your back like off-center weight acts on a fulcrum. It is absolutely a good idea to do core strengthening exercises if you have back discomfort. Those muscles help support the back and hold against that off-center weight.

Posture tips for not getting sore while machining?

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