I file my "castles" away half way until they don't hurt my thumbs.

That is a good tip, Penuts, but I believe that my Futaba radios have couplings between the sticks and the pots.
That eliminates any vertical pressure from being transmitted to the pots.

I may be wrong, but I believe that each stick mechanism has its own bearings and centering springs and all they do is twisting the knobs of those pots.
At least I never had a problem with the posts of my transmitters.