The Ergonomic Desktop?

N

NyteBlade

Weaksauce
Joined
May 25, 2007
Messages
121
Hey,
Hopefully this is the right place to put this.

For the last few weeks my wrist had been aching rather baddly. After a trip to the doctor, it turns out I had some tendonitis in my wrist. For anyone else, it's take some pills or give it some rest. For a geek, it can be a major downer.

I'm sure some of you have been there before. Even if you haven't though, I'm wondering what kind of ergonomic setup alterations people have been made? What's helped? I think a major investment in ergonomics would be good so I hopefully don't have to deal with this again :)

Thanks for your help!
 
I don't know much about ergonomic stuff.. but I know a lot about health problems, injuries and medications. While it does really suck to be a geek and have problems with your wrist, anti-inflammatories may actually help you out a lot, not just in the short-term future but the long-term. So if your doctor gave you any, make sure you take them ;) I hope your wrist feels better though.
 
Syribo said:
I don't know much about ergonomic stuff.. but I know a lot about health problems, injuries and medications. While it does really suck to be a geek and have problems with your wrist, anti-inflammatories may actually help you out a lot, not just in the short-term future but the long-term. So if your doctor gave you any, make sure you take them ;) I hope your wrist feels better though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. He gave me about a months worth of Naproxen and told me to take the whole bottle even after it feels better, so I'm pretty set there :D He said it shouldn't be a problem long-term, but being a computer science student, I'm rather paranoid, considering I'm going to need my wrist to be healthy well into the future and it wouldn't be good at all if it's a recurring thing.

I went out to the store today and bought a few different kinds of wrist rest for my mouse. One with the mousepad, one without (I've never been fond of mousepads with optical mice.). Not having a rest never bothered me before, but until I recover, it feels a lot better having my wrist against something cushy then the hard desk.
;)
 
What's your desk setup like? How big is your desk? Are your elbows/forearms supported?
 
enginurd said:
What's your desk setup like? How big is your desk? Are your elbows/forearms supported?
Click to expand...

Right now I'm actually in the process of killing this desk (bought it for like $50 way back when :) ) and converting to a nice, big Ikea Gallant desk. I'll have to post a picture of the new desk when I get it setup so it'll be better to make suggestions for improvement.
 
A lot of it has to do with your desk setup, IMO. If you have supports for your elbows (like using the inside corner of an L-shaped desk) and your desk isn't that deep, an ergonomic kb would work great. If you have a deep desk, where you can sit further back from the kb, then you wouldn't need an ergo kb. I use ergo kb's at home, where my desk isn't that deep and my kb is close to me, so my arms are wider apart. I use standard kb's at work, where my desk is deep and I can push the KB farther away from me.
 
I have carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and arthritis, the triple whammy as I call it. :(

Don't pound the keyboard. Use as light a touch as is necessary to depress the keys.

Slow down. Unless your job is data entry where you're judged by keystrokes per minute, there's rarely a need to be a speed demon. Most of my typing is composing and if I slow down and think about what I'm writing, I make fewer mistakes and can correct them as I go, so typing slower can actually be more efficient overall.

Become less dependent on using a mouse. You can do a lot with keyboard shortcuts and using the page up/down and arrow keys.

Consider a trackball instead of a mouse. I've been using a Kensington Expert Mouse and if I have to use a regular mouse, I'll start feeling the pain in short order.

Take quick breaks to stretch.

Good luck to ya. :)
 
Great advice from Lethal. My mom switched from a mouse to a trackball years ago and her CTS never really gave her problems ever since. She uses the MS Trackball explorer (big ball), but its been since discontinued. IIRC, Logitech has a similar model, unless they discontinued it as well.
 
I have carpal tunnel as well. I find that using the gel wrist wrests for the keyboard and mouse make a huge difference and I have far less pain or issues with numbness.

At night I wear a wrist support that helps support my wrist to keep it straight. This has made the single biggest difference for me. I used to wake up at night due to the pain and numbness in my hand (and all up my arm) but since wearing the brace this hasn't happened. It also helps to greatly reduce any symptoms during the day. I'm not sure if it would be helpful for your tendonitis but for ~$24 it might be worth looking into.

-Jade
 
I have to reincarnate this thread a bit. Here's the much anticipated pictures of the new setup. I guess my major concern is how bent my elbows and wrists are on a normal basis when using the keyboard.I hate keyboard drawers, but I'm not too sure what the options are. I'm more concerned about my wrists than my elbows right now though, because they're what hurt! :rolleyes: Might just have to wear two wrist braces at all times to force straightness. That and I'm not 100% on how to sit. Need to hire an ergonomic advisor or something.

After about 3 more months of doctors visits, they think it might be CT, but they aren't sure, so I got a cortisone shot yesterday...here's to maybe being able to compute without pain.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. More pics can be provided if necessary.

IMG_0219.jpg

ergo.jpg


EDIT: I'm also assuming I shouldn't make much of an attempt to use the elbow rests when typing. Seems like that just encourages more wrist and elbow bendiness.
 
NyteBlade said:
I have to reincarnate this thread a bit. Here's the much anticipated pictures of the new setup. I guess my major concern is how bent my elbows and wrists are on a normal basis when using the keyboard.I hate keyboard drawers, but I'm not too sure what the options are. I'm more concerned about my wrists than my elbows right now though, because they're what hurt! :rolleyes: Might just have to wear two wrist braces at all times to force straightness. That and I'm not 100% on how to sit. Need to hire an ergonomic advisor or something.
Click to expand...
It's hard to tell from the angle in that pic, but it looks like your arm is pointed upwards from the elbow. It should be straight. If you are dead set against a keyboard tray, then your best option is a chair that adjusts high enough to keep your arms straight. And don't let any part of your forearm rest on the edge of the desk.

You might want to check up on B6 supplements for CTS. Some say it acts as a natural diuretic to reduce fluid buildup in the CT, thus relieving the pressure. Supposedly it can take 6-12 weeks to kick in, but I felt improvement after only two weeks. B6 is water soluable, so any excess will just come out in your urine.

Here's some OSHA guidelines.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/checklist.html
 
I'm using a Microsoft Trackball Explorer. I find it to be far more comfortable. I found myself getting writ aches every once in a while after playing on the PC for extended periods of time when using a regular mouse.

As other posters have mentioned; Microsoft is no longer making this wonderful piece of hardware and I can't quite understand it because it seems like one of the more ergonomic solutions. I swear, the thing fits like a glove!

The Logitech Cordless TrackMan Optical is probably the closest in design but perhaps you can find another trackball that would meet your needs. Kensington is very popular in the trackball market.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/trackballs/devices/189&cl=ca,en

It's not the be all and end all solution but I honestly find the trackball to be the better option for general computing. I find myself using a mouse occasionally for some tasks, like FPS gaming etc. but overall the trackball is far more comfortable for every day computing.
 
Lethal said:
It's hard to tell from the angle in that pic, but it looks like your arm is pointed upwards from the elbow. It should be straight. If you are dead set against a keyboard tray, then your best option is a chair that adjusts high enough to keep your arms straight. And don't let any part of your forearm rest on the edge of the desk.

You might want to check up on B6 supplements for CTS. Some say it acts as a natural diuretic to reduce fluid buildup in the CT, thus relieving the pressure. Supposedly it can take 6-12 weeks to kick in, but I felt improvement after only two weeks. B6 is water soluable, so any excess will just come out in your urine.

Here's some OSHA guidelines.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/checklist.html
Click to expand...

I've heard the B6 thing too. Sounds pretty plausible. I might have to give that a try if the cortisone fails. I had pretty crappy ergonomics for about my entire computer life up to about 3 months ago without any problems, so I'm still wondering whether I should attempt to ergonomify everything or just wait out the wrist problems and hope it goes away, especially since if it really is CT, release surgery might save me millions of dollars in ergonomic equipment :) Here's hoping that cortisone is as god-like as they make it out to be though.

I just got the chair a few days ago...the entire setup is brand new. I might give lowering the desk an 1/2 inch or something. My wrist would be level, but the pad on the mouse kind of props it up, then comes back down so it arches at the wrist a little bit. Lowering the desk would solve that problem I think. The pad thing sure as hell beats resting my wrist on the edge of the desk(s).

Typing is my major concern though. If I type, I can't rest my elbows on the arm rests or I have to lean forward so my back isn't against the rest and plus my elbow and my arm make about a 60 degree angle instead of a 85-90. I've been playing around with getting one of those Microsoft Ergonomic keyboards. The ones that have the big gap in the center, and are slanted on the right or left. I'll also have to try out a trackball and see if there's anyway I can get used to it.
 
I'm having the same issues with my wrist. I've tried about 15 different mouse pads, and about 3 different desks.

Right now i'm using an ikea jerker with my elbows sitting flat on the desk. The problem is mostly in my right wrist. It's not carpal tunnel but actually on the wrist bone. When I move the mouse (either with my elbow or wrist) the bone hurts after about 10 minutes. Wrist rests help a bit, but form a slightly different style of pain in the area.

Sorry Kyle, I bought a Ratpadz and love the movement but it makes my pain worse :(

I purchased a Logitech Trackman wheel, can't use it worth sh$$ for FPS. I had to stop going to LANs because I couldnt compete worth beans with the trackball. Using one at work has helped a bit.

I like your belkin wrist rest setup there, I might have to try that again ( I threw my last one away). So far i've tried memory rest pads where the entire mouse pad was a mouse pad, Gel wrist rests, bean bag wrests, all with different pain.

Does anyone else have this problem with their wrist bone?

Jeff
 
playrh8r said:
I'm having the same issues with my wrist. I've tried about 15 different mouse pads, and about 3 different desks.

Right now i'm using an ikea jerker with my elbows sitting flat on the desk. The problem is mostly in my right wrist. It's not carpal tunnel but actually on the wrist bone. When I move the mouse (either with my elbow or wrist) the bone hurts after about 10 minutes. Wrist rests help a bit, but form a slightly different style of pain in the area.

Sorry Kyle, I bought a Ratpadz and love the movement but it makes my pain worse :(

I purchased a Logitech Trackman wheel, can't use it worth sh$$ for FPS. I had to stop going to LANs because I couldnt compete worth beans with the trackball. Using one at work has helped a bit.

I like your belkin wrist rest setup there, I might have to try that again ( I threw my last one away). So far i've tried memory rest pads where the entire mouse pad was a mouse pad, Gel wrist rests, bean bag wrests, all with different pain.

Does anyone else have this problem with their wrist bone?

Jeff
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Jeff. I do like the Belkin wrist thing. It's some sort of mix between gel and foam. It's not 100% what I'd like (pure gel would be nice), but it does the trick anyway. I've tried 3 different desks so far in the house, and none of have particularly made any difference. The gel mouse/keyboard things are nice too, but they didn't really get rid of the problem.

Like you, I'm just trying to figure out how much is an ergonomic issue, and how much is just wear/tear or some underlying condition (carpal tunnel or something). I would recommend a good hand specialist to take a look at it, but I haven't had much success. They've done x-rays, blood tests, an EMG...and so far all they've found is mild carpal tunnel, but they're still not convinced that it could be the problem - specifically because my wrist/fingers just hurt...I'm holding my breath for this cortisone shot to provide relief too. If it works, it means it really was the CT causing the pain and surgery would fix it right up. If not, I'm not too sure how long it is until the doctor just gives up on me :p

I also tried adjusting the Ikea desk. Big mistake. After nearly being crushed, I adjusted it too low so the drawer unit didn't exactly fit under. I adjusted it to it's original position, or atleast as close as I could get it. Still couldn't get it level. Finally, I figured out the floor was actually slanted about an 1/8th of an inch. :rolleyes: With my luck and my Ikea construction skills, the particleboard is probably going to break in half or explode.
 
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