Proper Keyboard Ergonomics: A Critical Component in a Proper Workstation Setup
Proper keyboard ergonomics is a critical component to ensuring your workstation is comfortable and efficient. It is also crucial for minimizing your risk of repetitive use injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis.
When most people think about proper ergonomics, they think of ergonomic office products such as chairs and desks. All too often, people don’t realize the importance of an ergonomic keyboard. In this article, I want to discuss the keys you need to know about proper keyboard ergonomics.
Keyboard Ergonomics All Starts With Proper Posture
Proper posture is the foundation for ensuring proper keyboard ergonomics. Here are some things to keep in mind:
1. Seat Positioning - Scoot forward in your seat so that about half your thigh is on the chair and about half your thigh is off the chair. This will ensure you’re not too far away from your keyboard, which causes you to reach.
2. Arms – should be relaxed, falling naturally close to the body. Make sure you don’t have to extend (or reach) your arms forward in order to reach your keyboard. This is especially taxing on the neck, shoulders, and upper back.
3. Elbows – should be bent at about a 90 degree angle. In other words, they should be in the shape of the letter “L”. Make sure you don’t allow your elbows to bend more than 90 degrees, as this puts unnecessary stress on nerves running through your elbows.
4. Wrist Positioning – When you rest your hands on the keyboard, make sure your wrists are not flexed or extended (bent up or down), or bent to either side. In other words, you want to maintain a neutral wrist. Also, make sure you don’t allow your wrists to rest on anything hard, like the edge of your desk. This puts unnecessary pressure on the median nerve and increases your risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Proper Keyboard Placement
In order to make sure you’re following the rules above, the height and angle of the keyboard are extremely important. Here are some helpful tips to ensure optimal keyboard ergonomics.
1. Height – Your keyboard needs to be at a height that allows you to maintain the correct amount of bend in your elbows. Remember, you want about 90 degrees of bend in your elbows as your hands rest comfortably on the keyboard.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make in keyboard ergonomics is they set the keyboard on their desktop. Most of the time, this is too high, forcing the user to bend their elbows past 90 degrees in order to reach the keyboard. Ideally, an ergonomic keyboard should be mounted beneath your desk top in an ergonomic keyboard tray.
Ergonomic keyboard trays are designed to hold your keyboard and mouse beneath the desk top, and they allow you to pull those items closer to you. Some of them even allow you to change the height and angle of your keyboard position. If you don’t have a desk equipped with a pullout keyboard drawer, you can find one at almost any local office supply store for fairly inexpensive, and they are very easy to install. I highly recommend doing this; it is a very important part of proper keyboard ergonomics…and your upper back will thank you for it!
2. Distance – Place your keyboard at a distance where you can reach it comfortably with your arms by your side. If you find yourself having to reach for your keyboard, it is too far away.
3. Placement – Your keyboard should be directly in front of you. Again, you should not have to extend your arms, or bend your wrists up/down, in order to comfortably reach your keyboard.
Alternative Keyboards…Are They Better For Keyboard Ergonomics?
In my experience, most people do fine with a regular keyboard. However, if you are unable to maintain a neutral wrist position after implementing the tips above, you may want to consider a split keyboard.
A split keyboard, sometimes referred to as a rotated keyboard, is one where the keys are split apart and slightly rotated in an effort to help the user to maintain a neutral wrist. I don’t personally use a split keyboard, but I know a lot of people that absolutely love them.
I hope you’ve found this article on proper keyboard ergonomics beneficial; check out our other articles on proper ergonomics to continue to increase your knowledge on setting up a proper workstation!