Mastering Workplace Ergonomics (part 3)
Typing ergonomics is the science of preventing common workplace injuries by using proper posture and stretching techniques when at the computer.
If you missed Mastering Workplace Ergonomics (part 1 OR 2), you can go back and review that information to learn how to pick out the most ergonomic chair, desk and have proper monitor placement.
Let’s move on to part 3 of our discovery of what steps you can take to improve your performance and productivity.
Solution #4 - Proper keyboard & mouse
A badly designed keyboard and mouse can cause a repetitive strain injury leading to pain in the wrists and weak grip tingling in the hands. To avoid these problems, ergonomictrends.com suggests these 4 tips:
Keyboard Distance should allow your elbows to be comfortably at your side. Try to center it based on the letters rather than the whole keyboard. The letter B should be in front of your navel (unless your work requires the use of the number pad).
Keyboard Angle should tilt away from you rather than towards you or completely flat (this causes you to type with flexed wrists leading to wrist strain and even carpal tunnel syndrome over time). An ergonomic keyboard or keyboard tray can correct that negative tilt that keeps your hand and wrist in a neutral position when typing.
Keyboard Height should allow your forearms to be roughly parallel to the floor and your wrists straight rather than bent. If your desk is too high to allow this, you can use a keyboard tray to place your keyboard at the right height. Ergonomic Keyboards are specially designed to allow your hands and wrists to assume their most natural positions when working on the keyboard- most of them tilt away from you, with the keys angled inwards to match the natural angle of your wrists at rest.
Computer mice should contour to your hand in the right places to eliminate the unconscious gripping and tension in your fingers that eventually leads to nerve pain and injury. A vertical mouse mimics a handshake when you hold it and is more ergonomic than a horizontal mouse, as there’s no need to twist your wrist when operating it.
Laptop Solutions:
Although laptops are sleek and portable, they also can make good ergonomic design more of a challenge.
For example: Getting your monitor at the right height can make the keyboard too high, while typing with the keyboard at the right height can force you to hunch over an excessively low monitor. Getting a good negative angle on the keyboard can be difficult, too.
A laptop stand is your best bet for reducing strains and tension when typing on a laptop.
If your main concern is to improve the typing angle, a good bed tray or laptop stand is your best bet. You can also use a stand to elevate the laptop and attach an external keyboard in order to optimize the distance between the monitor and typing surface.