Bakers and pastry chefs get hand and wrist pain from four jobs:
- kneading,
- shaping,
- piping and
- lifting trays
Kneading pushes body weight through a BENT-BACK WRIST. Piping squeezes through the thumb base for hours. Hot, heavy trays lifted palm-down load the outer elbow.
The usual results are thumb base pain, De Quervain’s, trigger finger, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, and pain across the back of the wrist. Bench height, bag size and how you hold a tray change most of it.
What each part of the shift does
- Kneading by hand. The heel of the palm drives into the dough with the wrist bent fully back, much like the bottom of a push-up, hundreds of times per batch
- Dividing and shaping. Fast, repeated grip and pinch, cupping rounds and rolling baguettes under the palms
- Piping. A full bag of stiff buttercream or choux paste squeezed through the thumb and palm, often for an hour or more of decorating
- Trays and sacks. Loaded sheet trays out of deck ovens at arm’s length, and 25-kilo flour sacks
- Fine work. Palette knives, tempering on marble, sugarwork and lamination with a rolling pin
- Heat and water. Steam, hot trays and constant handwashing. Cracked skin makes you grip harder
A full piping bag of stiff buttercream is a grip-strength test you repeat all afternoon.
What turns up
- Aching at the base of the thumb after piping or shaping: thumb base overload, and in some people early CMC arthritis
- Thumb-side wrist pain lifting trays with the thumb up: De Quervain’s
- A finger that catches or locks: trigger finger, from hours of forceful squeezing
- Night numbness in the thumb, index and middle fingers: carpal tunnel syndrome
- Outer elbow pain lifting trays and whisking: tennis elbow
- Pain across the back of the wrist when kneading or pushing: loaded wrist extension, the same pattern as yoga wrist pain. A lump there may be a ganglion
- Burns from steam and trays: hand burns. Burns across finger creases can tighten as they heal
The changes that make the most difference
- Use the mixer for bulk dough. Save hand kneading for small batches and finishing
- Knead on a lower bench, around wrist height with your arms hanging. You push down with body weight instead of forcing the wrist back
- Knead with a flatter hand or with your knuckles for part of the batch, so the wrist doesn’t sit at full bend
- Fill piping bags half full and refill more often. Twist the top closed and press with the heel of the palm, not the thumb
- Piping guns or cookie presses for high-volume repeat work
- Lift trays palm up, close to your body, two hands. Palm-down lifting at arm’s length loads the outer elbow most
- Trolleys and racks at waist height, and two people or a sack truck for flour
- Long-cuff oven gloves, and moisturizer at the end of every shift
A realistic timeline
- Weeks 1 to 2: change bench height, bag size and tray grip. Night splint for thumb base, De Quervain’s or carpal tunnel symptoms
- Weeks 2 to 6: add thumb stability work, De Quervain’s exercises or elbow tendon loading. Most early cases ease over this window
- Week 6: no change means an assessment. An injection often settles trigger finger and De Quervain’s
Get it assessed if
- Numbness that wakes you or no longer comes and goes
- A finger that locks or won’t fully straighten
- Pain present before your shift starts
- A burn that blisters across a finger crease
- Six weeks of changes with no improvement
For knife work, cuts and the wider kitchen, see chefs and kitchen work.
For the splints involved, see the short thumb CMC splint.
Let the mixer knead, fill the bag halfway, and carry the tray palm up.
Every article on this site is written using the Closing Window Method: name the window your condition runs on, find where you are in it, and act while it’s still open.