Sick of the pain and whining about it....(while a bit drunk on 'medicinal' oatmeal stout...softens the muscles)

[Broken Crow]

Title says most of it. Since being injured in 2014, just being vertical has consequences, the worst coming from using my neck, shoulders or spine at all. I'm just venting, but hey...maybe I can be constructive at the same time? I'm on hiatus from brewing my own at this time while I build my version 2 'Accessible Brewing' rig. I've got brain-damage too and can't cognate 3D models at all, but I workararound by thinking in 2D on 2 or three planes and doing my damnest to remember where the adjoining points are and what happens on that plane, I struggle with grade-school level math despite spending a life doing particle and astro-physics math in my head (mostly using binary and hexidecimal cheats, as I learned to do math like a microprocessor on my own in grade 2), but now i can't even remember how to convert °C to °F and when I look it up I lose track of the numbers owing to a now very limited 'working-memory' span...
Anywho... Like I said I'm just venting and relying mostly on your tolerance of me to post this, but "hey!" I think.."let's make this useful to others if I can.."....So:
If you are disabled, have back or brain issues, or just subject to the vengence of time on the body or trying to plan for a long retirement:
What practices have you adopted in any aspect of brewing to accomodate for difficulty?
OR: If you just want to vent yourself out of the sheer mind-numbing and boring consequences of a damaged body that has to struggle with things that you know damn well are simple but you just can't do them,... Feel free and I can commiserate!

 

[AlexKay]

Small batches. Easier on the back, plus drinking less helps me keep the weight down, which will hopefully slow the transition to Type 2 diabetes. I can handle 2.5-gallon batches right now, but I can see the writing on the wall; 10 more years and I'll probably need to give those up in favor of 1 and 0.5.

I'm trying to remember where I saw an over-keezer hoist. That also might be an option.

 

[lumpher]

I have a bad ankle, knee, and right hand from a motorcycle accident 3 years ago. I bought a Mash n Boil so I didn't have to move the dual-burner keggle system around anymore. Sucks to have had to do that, since it's 1/2 way automated now. I always enjoyed the 11-13 gallon brews, and the interaction of it, having to monitor it, watch every step, and it just made me feel good to do the big brews and have to interact so much. Now with the Mash n Boil, I've almost lost interest. Sometimes I feel like I might as well just go buy it...

 

[tracer bullet]

I'm not in nearly as bad shape (53, reasonably healthy) but I can say brewing got far easier doing 2.5 gallon instead of 5 gallon batches, they are far easier to move around from one place to another during the brew day and afterwards. Also having an Anvil Foundry instead of a burner and multiple pots, etc. Oh maybe a third thing, having a 3 page cheat-sheet printed out that I can cross off as the day progresses, it's got major and minor "don't forget" steps including but not limited to stuff like shutting off a fermenter valve before I fill it.

 

[passedpawn]

I've got back issues (from over-exercising, ironically, at least I think so). Moving from large 10-15g batches to a 5g all-in-one has made a world of difference for me. Also, when I was designing my new system and workflow, I made sure I could clean the new one in place, no more hauling heavy SS kegs around. It's been a game changer for me.

No cognitive issues here for me, unless I decide to brew when drinking, which I (almost) never do.

 

[MaxStout]

Trying to think in 3D vs 2D, etc...do you take notes of what you want to do, then when you're brewing? Maybe sketching diagrams and such will help you better visualize what you want to do. I'm talking basic sketching with old-school paper and pencil. Whatever it takes to help put your ideas to something you can run with. Unit conversions, that's shiat for calculators--don't worry about that.

As for lifting and such, there are some things you can do to take a load off your back. Maybe do two back-to-back 2.5 gal brews instead of one 5 gal. Setting aside dedicated work areas with thought to how things will be physically moved from mash to boil to chill to fermenter to packaging. The DIY section might have some threads where you can borrow some ideas and make it work for you.

I'm getting to the point where I can't lift stuff like I used to. I'm always thinking of ways to make each step a little less physical.

I am sorry to hear of your challenges, but I have to admire the hell out of your drive to overcome those hurdles. It's not venting on your part. It's you doing what you can to improvise and adapt.

If there is anything we can do to help you solve a problem to make things better, please post it.

Brewing is for everybody.

 

[Dland]

I use pump to move wort, trying not to carry heavy liquid weights around, especially down stairs.

 

[slomo]

When i wake up in the morning my whole body hurts. I got a new bed and that helped. I started taking warm showers in the morning to warm my muscles up, and that seems to help too. My left heel is starting to hurt. Feels like I am walking on a small stone. I think I have planter something or other. I am also wondering when I am going to get my clawhammer supply system.

 

[CKuhns]

Just old.

Lots of aches and pains. But heck, still above the grass.