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geekhack Community => Ergonomics => Topic started by: meirish on Fri, 14 March 2014, 22:13:16

Title: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: meirish on Fri, 14 March 2014, 22:13:16
I recently was able to borrow a Kinesis Advantage from a co-worker, but after 20-30 minutes of typing I find that I'm getting some pain in my right wrist.

The keyboard I've been using for the last few years after initially having some pain in the same wrist is the Microsoft ergo keyboard. I've noticed that it's a bit tented whereas the Kinesis encourages a flat wrist position.

Could this difference be causing my wrist pain to return? 
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
I'm thinking of getting something like the ergodox or Acidfire's keyboard when it's finished, but wanted to learn a bit more about all of this before I go spending that kind of money. Any stories or tips you could share would be great.

cheers.
Title: Re: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: jacobolus on Sat, 15 March 2014, 00:09:34
What kind of chair, desk, display, etc. setup do you have? Also, how are you holding your wrists as you type? I.e. How close to a neutral position are your wrists, on both the MS keyboard and the Kinesis? Do you rest your palms/wrists/forearms on something, or hold them in the air? You may need to adjust your chair and/or desk differently for one keyboard than another.

When you type, how hard do you press the keys (do you bottom out)?

I don't use a sculpted keyboard, but I’ve found on a standard keyboard that I start getting slight wrist discomfort if I am typing too hard and either I’m not holding my wrists high enough above the keyboard, or the keyboard is too high relative to my body.
Title: Re: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: meirish on Sat, 15 March 2014, 00:24:59
I have a standing desk and most of the day I stand. It seems like I am bottoming out a bit, which is much more noticeable on the Kinesis, I'll try not to type to hard.

On the MS keyboard I rest my wrists on the rest because it is higher than the keys, but this isn't true of the Kinesis. I've been trying the Kinesis again tonight while holding my wrists above the keyboard (allowing them to sit not the rests seems to cause a slight kink in my wrists), and that seems to be helping.

thanks for chiming in.
Title: Re: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: jacobolus on Sat, 15 March 2014, 00:46:26
Well again, I don’t use a Kinesis; I’m not exactly sure the ideal way to hold the wrists when typing on it.

If you’re at a standing desk, there might be some impact if you (1) slightly change the height of the desk, or (2) tilt the keyboard slightly upward in the front.

I find that with a standard keyboard, the optimal height and tilt of the keyboard (relative to my body) changes a bit if I change the type of chair I’m sitting on, or stand up.

Basically, I’d try to figure out whatever position puts your wrist in the most neutral position it can get to.
Title: Re: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: davkol on Sat, 15 March 2014, 05:47:47
Kinesis Advantage does have tented key wells. The angle is rather small (15° IIRC) though.

However, the keyboard is pretty high and appears to be designed for resting ones palms, while typing. Try to float your hands while typing and put the keyboard on your lap, when sitting in reclined position, and it will probably feel much better. This means you may need a negative-slope adjustable keyboard tray for your standing setup, if you don't have one yet.
Title: Re: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: daerid on Sun, 16 March 2014, 11:35:46
Odd, I started developing stiffness on my right wrist, removing the tenting made it go away.
Title: Re: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: indigoglyph on Mon, 28 April 2014, 06:00:44
I've tried a few different ergonomic keyboards (never a Kinesis or Maltron, but recently a TECK), but the problem with all of them - for me - is the lack of tenting. It definitely causes me problems, especially when touch-typing.

I have an old, and much-loved Cherry MX5000, which does both variable tenting and split-angle, and my wrist/arm/shoulder problems are much reduced by using it. I actually force the tenting higher, by propping its inner legs on a book, and it works even better.

Of course, if it wasn't staggered, and maybe also had scooped keywells ... I can but dream. AcidFire's Axios project on CrowdSupply is a move in the right direction, imho.
Title: Re: Lack of tenting causing wrist pain?
Post by: Zekromtor on Tue, 20 May 2014, 22:01:06
I split my kinesis in two, and initially I added a lot of tenting. Even after adding rests for the side of the hand to keep them from slipping down, the heavy tenting didn't ultimately work well for me. Turns out I like it much closer to the original positioning than I thought I would. I'm not adding any real tenting to it now, but I like the halves split a bit further than by default.