Lith and repetitive stress injury

[sly]

I spent a couple of long sessions in the darkroom preparing 11x14 lith prints. (3 liths were accepted for a local show later this spring.)

I ended up with a numb, tingling, painful, and useless right arm - all the way from my fingers to my shoulder.:confused: I wasn't sure the lith sessions were responsible (I wanted to blame the computer), but when it started to feel better I went back into the darkroom to print some more. As soon as I started rocking that 11x14 tray I knew for sure it was the weight of the tray, and the lengthy agitation needed for lith printing.

Most of my lithing has been 8x10 - which has not bothered me, but these larger prints and heavier trays, and the fact that usually I've got the print in the developer for 10-15 minutes is too much for me. I'll have to change how I agitate these larger trays, and maybe keep my sessions shorter

Anybody else ever do this to themselves?

 

[Jersey Vic]

Yup. They make tray rockers. I'm considering it. The 16x20s are murder.
In the meantime I've standardized on faster papers and warmer developer

 

[Mark Fisher]

I float my trays in a bath of warm/hot water.....easy, random rocking and warm developer.

 

[Stan160]

While rocking trays by hand, I've often wondered about the possibility of a circulation system for the developer.

Avoiding flow "patterns" would be the biggest challenge I think. An aquarium pump with input and output attached to two lengths of rigid pipe with lots of small holes that sit along opposite sides of the tray may be a starting point. Make the holes face downwards so there aren't any jets pointing directly across the paper surface.

I'm moving house at the end of the month which means losing the current loft darkroom, but the new house has a good size garage/workshop which I'm hoping will also have space to build a darkroom. Maybe some experimentation needed once I've got the garden under control.

Ian

 

[Rick A]

Actually, you can blame your computer, major source of carpel tunnel syndrome. Rocking heavy trays only aggrivates the malady.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I found the problem wasn't in my wrists, but pinched nerves in my shoulder.

Try a stretching exercise: hold your arms out and try to get your shoulder blades to touch. If the tingling and numbness start to fade in ten seconds or so then you are in luck: sitting up straight with your shoulders back when you work will mitigate the problem.

The association with computers is from the bad posture most of us assume as we hunch over the keyboard and stare into the screen. My high school typing teacher would get all upset if a student's posture wasn't correct: feet on the floor, back straight, typewriter at the right height, no hunching.

"Carpal Tunnel" got a lot of press in the 80's because doctors were making a fortune performing surgery to 'cure' it. Many people now have very real wrist problems because of unneeded (and often as not bungled) surgery to a very, very complex part of the anatomy.

 

[Jeff Bannow]

Avoiding flow "patterns" would be the biggest challenge I think. An aquarium pump with input and output attached to two lengths of rigid pipe with lots of small holes that sit along opposite sides of the tray may be a starting point. Make the holes face downwards so there aren't any jets pointing directly across the paper surface.

I would be concerned about oxidation, which can be a real problem with lith.

 

[bdial]

Try wearing gloves and agitate the print, but not the whole tray.
It's still a lot of movement, but you'll be moving much less mass.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I had numbness in my right hand. The problem was not carpel tunnel but a pinched nerve in my neck. A few 20 minute sessions in traction got rid of the problem. There was a definite improvement after just the first treatment. However, self diagnosis can be dangerous. I would get a professional diagnosis.

 

[anon12345]

I don't rock trays. I do use bamboo print tongs that have rubber tips. When tray-developing ordinary prints I gently push the print to the bottom of the tray using the tongs, followed by moving the tip of the tongs back-and-forth through the chemistry in a "S" shape over the print.

 

[holmburgers]

I 2nd the comments about stretching. It's amazing how much finding the 'right' strech for a given problem will help you feel better.

I had problems with my wrist from finger-picking guitar, and a couple stretches, taught to me by a physical therapist, really helped. Particularly one where you put the palm of your hand flat against a wall, about shoulder height, fingers pointing down, and then turn your body away. If you do it right, your shoulder, arm, wrist and fingers will really feel it.

best of luck