Are Computers Hazardous to your Health?

Nov 21, 2001 11:45 AM

Keyboards and Other Equipment

Q: What about the keyboard?

A: The keyboard should be detachable from the monitor and placed low enough so your arms are relaxed and sloping down toward the floor. Your wrists should be straight, rather than bent up or down while typing. (Your knuckles, wrist and forearm should form a straight line.)

This is very important in preventing repetitive strain injury. Here are some other tips:

• If the desk surface is too high to put the keyboard on, order an adjustable keyboard tray that can be attached to the underside of the desk top and lowered or raised as needed. (Sometimes an existing desk drawer can substitute for the tray — but not if you have to reach over the vertical front of the drawer.) Try to get a tray that is wide enough to hold a mouse as well as the keyboard.

• If your keyboard tray allows you to adjust the angle, position it so the keyboard’s space bar is slightly higher than the number row — this puts your hands in a natural, comfortable position. This will counteract the improper design of most keyboards, which either are built higher at the number row or have feet that flip down at that end. (If you don’t have a tilting tray, try placing a one-inch loose-leaf binder under the keyboard with the wide edge facing you.)

• You also may find it helpful to place the keyboard on a foam pad to soften the impact of your fingers on the keys. If you are ordering a new keyboard, select one that doesn’t require excessive pressure to depress the keys.

• Sit close enough to the keyboard so that you don’t have to stretch your arms to reach it.

Q: Should I get a wrist rest?

A: The jury is out on this issue. Some consultants recommend placing a wrist rest in front of the keyboard, but other experts on repetitive strain injury advise against using them while you are typing because they force your wrists to bend up and your fingers to do more stretching to reach the keys. They are probably safe to rest your wrists on when not typing. However, it is probably safer — and cheaper — to rest your hands in your lap during pauses in typing.

Q: What about the new divided or angled keyboards? Can they help prevent RSI?

A: Manufacturers have developed a number of new keyboard styles that are supposed to reduce the strain on fingers and wrists. The role of such keyboards in preventing repetitive strain injuries has not yet been scientifically documented, but some users find them helpful.

Before ordering an alternative design keyboard, it is important to learn as much as you can about appropriate hand/wrist positions for typing so you can determine which model will best help you maintain those positions. Excellent photographs of appropriate positions can be found in the Pascarelli and Quilter book and a computer program called Key Moves that teaches you to type in a manner that avoids injury. (More information on Key Moves is provided below in the discussion of typing techniques.)

Q: Looking back and forth between my document and the screen seems to strain my eyes and neck. What can I do?

A: A copy stand should be positioned as close to the screen as possible and at the same height. You can order a copy holder for less than $5 which attaches directly to the monitor. Get one for each side of the screen so you can change the position of the copy periodically. On Secretary’s Days in 1998 and in 1999, the UFT sent copy holders to each school secretary, but the union does not keep them in stock.

Q: I notice that my neck sometimes hurts after I talk on the phone. Should I be concerned?

A: Cradling the telephone receiver between your ear and shoulder can cause serious injury. Order a lightweight telephone headset or speaker phone so you won’t have to tilt your head.