Hairdressers and beauty therapists: arms up all day

Casey has a large number of salons and home-based beauty businesses, and this occupation produces one of the clearest cause-and-effect patterns we see. It is also one where people work through symptoms for years, because time off is income lost.

Arms above heart height

Cutting, colouring and styling involve holding the arms elevated for extended periods without support. The rotator cuff and the muscles stabilising the shoulder blade fatigue under sustained low-level load rather than heavy load, which is a different and often more stubborn problem. See shoulder pain.

Necks

Sustained forward-head posture and repeated side-bending to see what you are working on. Neck-driven headaches are very common in this group and frequently attributed to fumes or stress rather than posture.

Wrists, thumbs and grip

Scissors, clippers and repeated fine grip load the forearm tendons and the base of the thumb. Thumb-base pain in hairdressers is common and worth addressing early, because it is much easier to manage before it becomes constant. Our elbow and wrist pain page covers this.

Standing

Static standing on hard floors for eight hours loads the lumbar spine and the feet. Anti-fatigue matting and genuinely supportive footwear make a measurable difference.

Working around a client book

We understand that a fortnight off is not a realistic prescription for a self-employed stylist. Treatment is built around modifying load, changing what we can about setup and technique, and using the gaps in your book rather than requiring rest you cannot take.

How we approach it

The first appointment covers a full history and a movement and orthopaedic assessment, not just the sore area. With occupational and lifestyle-driven pain in particular, the useful part is usually working out which daily loads are maintaining the problem — because treating the tissue weekly while the cause continues unchanged rarely holds. You leave knowing what we found, what is driving it, and roughly how long it should take.

Booking in

RISE Sports & Spinal is at 5/6-8 Langmore Lane, Berwick, serving Berwick, Narre Warren, Cranbourne, Clyde, Pakenham, Officer, Beaconsfield and the wider Casey area. Same-week appointments most weeks, initial consult 60 minutes at $149, HICAPS on site. No referral needed.

Book an initial consultation at RISE Sports & Spinal in Berwick. Clear diagnosis, hands-on treatment, and a plan that actually gets you better.