Occupational Safety & Health

Keyboard Comfort

 

Taking the time to arrange your workstation can improve your comfort and health significantly. Position the keyboard directly in front of you to avoid twisting your neck or torso. Remember to keep a neutral posture by relaxing your shoulders and positioning your bent elbows close to your body.

Place your mouse or trackball on the same surface as your keyboard (Figure 1). This way you can avoid over reaching for the mouse and reduce shoulder discomfort (Figure 2).

 

Figure 1 Correct	Figure 2 Avoid

 

Keyboard Height

Adjust the keyboard height so that your forearms are approximately parallel to the floor and your elbows are at the same height as your keyboard. If you’re working at a fixed desk height, then raise your chair and place feet on a footrest to achieve this posture.

 

Keyboard Angle

To keep your wrists straight and flat, fold down the legs on the bottom of the keyboard or adjust your keyboard platform (if you have one) so that it is parallel to the floor.

 

Anchoring Your Wrists?

When typing, do not anchor your wrists on a hard work surface or even on a wristrest. Planting your wrists on your desk or wristrest while typing may be harmful because it can cause you to bend your wrists back, create unwanted pressure to the undersides of your wrists, and encourage repetitive and awkward wrist positions.

Keyboard wristrests are designed to support your wrists when taking a break from keystrokes. The wrists should not rest on the wristrest while keyboarding. Instead, practice keeping the wrists free to move.

 

Finger Stretches

You can perform this simple stretch at your workstation to help relax your fingers and relieve stress.

 

Start by making a fist with both hands. Then, slowly spread your fingers out as far as you can. Repeat this exercise a few times every day.