I grew up running track and cross-country. Before and after every run we would stretch. I’ve been a barista for a about 10 years and repetitive stress injuries are very common among my co-workers while stretching regularly after shifts is not common. Matt Perger even mentioned that his shoulders were all locked up from working and competing on an injury thread in Barista Hustle facebook group(also a great resource).
I find it difficult to stretch after a long shift myself as I’m usually very tired. However, as a very old barista (38) that works at one of the busier cafes in the US, I have wrestled with injuries and overcome all of them over time through stretching and technique. I think it’s time we spend more effort addressing these issues.
What stretches do we do? Well, I have created a Post Barista Shift set of a about 8 different stretches that usually makes me feel like a brand new human by the time I have my next shift. These are all focused on the upper body as the baristas shoulders and wrists tend to get the brunt of the injuries, but there are also 2 main leg stretches that I do to alleviate knee and hip injuries(I also play soccer). Some day I’ll create a Youtube post to show them all and I’ll throw the link below.
For now you can watch Physical Therapist and Cross Fit competitor Kelly Starret here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eveYJP1indI. Note that 2 minutes is minimum is mandatory for each stretch and its important to move slightly within each stretch to find where it hurts and work that part out. You may find you feel even better after 3 or 4 minutes. If your running short on time I’ve found that the 2nd and 3rd stretches from the video provide the best bang for the buck. I’ll do those when I don’t have much time, but I usually do all 20 minutes.
When to stretch? From what I’ve gathered, generally the best time to stretch is immediately after the activity when your body is still warm. Obviously we aren’t warm like a soccer player when we’re done with our shifts, but I think the closer tot he end of the shift we stretch the better. Next I would say try to stretch before bed. My super weak theory is that you’ll get at least 8 hours or so of your body feeling really good and fully recovering from both shift and stretch. I wonder if it might be bad to stretch immediately before a shift as that might inflame some stuff(?) but that is wild speculation. I’ve definitely felt better on a shift when stretching a couple hours before.
Technique? I was lucky enough to take some piano lessons from a professional pianist who changed their technique to the Taubman method to be able to play at all after locking up their wrists. Now they can play all day non-stop without any wrist problems. The biggest take away that I included into my barista technique was what was referred to as the wrist “bridge.” Here is a semi simplified example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp9kJ1pv4tU
I try to keep this “bridge” as I place the portafilter handles into the machine for each shot, as I tamp(difficult), as I grab milk, steam, pour, and serve each drink. I believe this reduces wrist strain throughout a busy shift.
Being a barista is a very physical endeavor especially if your at a very busy cafe. If you enjoy it as much as I do, I encourage you start stretching post shift or before bed just as you would if you were exercising.
There are a couple more stretches for wrists that might be a bit more controversial so please be careful doing these. I suggest you do the shoulder stretches first as its all connected and you want the whole arm to shoulder loose. I try to do them 2 minutes each, but my hands start to go numb so I’ve been playing around with only doing them 1minute each. Also, lacross ball on the palm feels amazing too. heres a link to the wrist stretches but once again please be very very careful here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwQ5E0DeaoQ
PS. I just noticed when looking up the shoulder video that I’ve been doing the first stretch incorrectly for like 2 years!! looking forward to getting even more out of that one.
PPS I am not a doctor or physical therapist in any way. These are simply things that i do so know that you do all these at your own risk, but please lets help fix these barista injuries!
Sans Milk 