Home » RSI magazine » Ask the Experts » Best machine height

Best machine height

Q: After stringing about three racquets, my back starts to bother me. Is there an ergonomically best height to set the table of my machine to avoid (or at least mitigate) this situation?

A: As far as we know, there haven’t been any studies on setting stringing machine height for best ergonomics. There also seems to be a fair amount of personalization regarding machine height, as we’ve seen tall stringers with short machines and short stringers with tall machines, apparently with no problem. You might try setting the height of the stringbed to about the level of your forearms, when you are standing up straight with your arms at your sides with the elbows bent 90 degrees. Because you normally work with one hand above and one hand below the stringbed, this splits the difference so you shouldn’t have to bend to reach below the stringbed nor stretch to reach above it. You might also try monitoring your internal stress level while stringing. If your overall demeanor is calm and relaxed, you won’t have other tensions migrating to your back.

From the June 2007 issue
Permalink