geekhack
geekhack Community => Ergonomics => Topic started by: Kavik on Wed, 24 February 2021, 11:18:18
-
It seems that a lifetime of manipulating things that are in front of me has finally resulted in some rotator cuff problems, using a mouse and keyboard is probably mostly to blame.
When using a standard keyboard with good shoulder posture (shoulders back with scapulae retracted and back flat, elbows at sides), the angle of the my wrists makes my forearms fatigued. I have one Alice layout keyboard that slightly alleviates this, but since it's just the layout that's split and not the two sides of the keyboard (i.e., it's still one contiguous piece), it still causes my shoulders to internally rotate a bit or my wrists/forearms to compensate for the lack of shoulder internal rotation.
The options I'm considering are below with thoughts just based on photos. Any feedback would be helpful.
1. Keymouse Chair Track - Paired with the right chair, this may be a good solution. I prefer a thumb trackball when not playing games, so this looks like a good option, but it's out of stock now and it's absolutely insanely expensive for a 3D printed item ($700+). The non-chair version may be preferable though.
2. Mistel BAROCCO MD770 - Reasonable price, familiar layout, ability to convert to normal straight keyboard, some tenting.
3. Ergodox EZ/Moonlander - Price is between the other two, decent tenting, doesn't look stable on the desk though. I didn't know about the Moonlander version until I looked at the website today, so I'm not sure how much that changes.
I think I'm leaning towards the Mistel since it's the most familiar layout and most accessible (cheap[er] and on Amazon). I'm afraid of having to learn some goofy layout, and that hindering the goal of just helping my shoulders.
-
i haven't used any of the ones you mentioned (but)
- i wasn't impressed with the keymouse, awful chunky for what they are, programability?.
- mistel - not really programmable as far as i know, a big split "compact" 75%
- ergodox - any variant... people seem to be either totally love or totally hate depending on their preferences (very little middle ground), i can agree with points on both sides of the arguments.
also look at kinesis & matias both have more traditional split keyboards
if you don't mind building... the options are endless
keeb.io (inexpensive staggered & columnar split boards)
lily 58
ergodash
ergodone
and many, many, more....
i prefer a true split rather than a one piece board, hand separation helps a lot (strange at first, you'll get used to it, helps break bad typing habits (using wrong fingers towards center of board)
i have a simple keeb.io viterbi which is slightly bigger (5x7s) than most split ortho boards (5x6 or smaller). but this lets you get a layout that's as close to qwerty with normal punctuation AND keeps the full number row (14 keys) and in typical 60% fashion, they double as F-Keys when you hold a Fn key. it's super easy to also embed a numberpad in these type of ortho boards.
- make sure you're not reaching too far forward
- bring your mouse or trackball closer to the edge of your desk (and you)
- corner desks have always given me problems
- make sure you're not accidentally holding your shoulders up. if you are, you probably need to adjust the height of things
-
all about tenting for the wrist.
For the shoulders, to be at rest, this requires height manipulation of your desk or armrest or chair height.
-
You might consider resting your forearms on the chair armrests. A lot of people recommend against it but I have had great success doing so. I super-padded my armrests to minimize any localized pressure. The armrest height is also critical as well as the keyboard height. When everything is fitted to your needs, it will remove any stress on the shoulder area. Did the doctor determine if it's a tendon or labium tear, or just inflammation?
-
I would recommend going with a split ergo so you have more control over the distance between the halves and can add tenting. If you want a number row, I'd go with the Lily58. If not, a Corne. Both are hot swappable which is a must for me.
Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
-
A boring option, but I have not seen Kinesis mentioned yet. They make otherwise standard-lookng splits with tenting mechanisms, F keys, and macros.
-
Thank you for the suggestions. I forgot that Kinesis makes a split 75%, and the price isn't too bad. The tenting does look better than the Mistel.
I do have a corner desk setup. It's two square sections and pie slice section in the middle (with a flat end, so the internal edge of the corner is like the top of a hexagon). It's hard to get my chair rolled up under it because the feet on the square sections get in the way when the monitor is on the pie section. I switched my desk setup yesterday so that the monitor is on one of the square sections instead, but it hasn't really helped.
-
You might consider resting your forearms on the chair armrests. A lot of people recommend against it but I have had great success doing so. I super-padded my armrests to minimize any localized pressure. The armrest height is also critical as well as the keyboard height. When everything is fitted to your needs, it will remove any stress on the shoulder area. Did the doctor determine if it's a tendon or labium tear, or just inflammation?
No, the doctor didn't get that specific. He just sent me off to physical therapy after an examination and will order an MRI if PT doesn't work.
-
i took the arms off my chair ages ago because i couldn't get the positioning right, the arms were getting in the way of getting a relaxed setup.