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Most of us learned to type on a standard, flat keyboard.
The keys are all in nice, neat rows. Unfortunately, that means
we have to twist and turn our hands to line them up with the
keys in order to use the keyboard. Learning to use this kind
of keyboard is very much like learning to smoke. It was uncomfortable
the first time you tried it, but you gradually became used
to it over time (and it is still bad for you even once you
get used to it).
If you hold your wrists straight, then move your hand so
that the little finger moves out and (pretend) back toward
the elbows. This is called ‘ulnar deviation’ (you
don't have to remember the terms to understand what's happening).
Holding your wrist in any position other than straight causes
what physiologists call ‘static muscle loading’,
or what you and I might call ‘constant tension’.
Side effects of this include increased muscular energy expenditure,
reduced muscular waste removal, and eventual discomfort or
injury.
Eliminating deviation of the wrist is the inspiration for
lots of attempts to design ‘ergonomic’ keyboards.
As we saw in our previous illustration (click
here if you didn’t see it yet) this can result
in simply transferring the problem to another area. There
is only one ‘ergonomic’ design that is also ‘orthopedically
neutral’ and eliminates the ulnar deviation by design.
(Hint: think SafeTypeTM)
Use the ‘Back’ button on your browser to go back,
or click
here to see the next example.
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