Since December I’ve been working with a physical therapist to help with some shoulder and neck pain that keeps recurring. After many hours of therapy including dry needling we’ve determined there’s nothing wrong with my back or neck and it must be posture-related. I’ve been constantly tweaking my standing desk setup to make sure I’m maintaining decent posture.
Part of the research took me into proper keyboard setup. I have a keyboard riser to put it at the proper height when standing at my desk. I discovered that the wrist rest is a complete lie and I was using the keyboard improperly. Resting your wrists while typing can compress the nerves in the wrist leading to carpal tunnel syndrome. Some experts say you can rest your palms instead to keep the angle of your wrists more neutral. I’ve found an even better approach – let your hands float over the keys & rest your hands when you’re not typing.
I place my keyboard at the edge of the riser so that there is no space available to rest my hands. When using the treadmill under the desk I found I was putting way too much weight on the rest to maintain balance. By forcing my hands to float above the keyboard I reduced the fatigue greatly and it made me more mindful of my overall posture.
The Wirecutter had a great article in March about ergonomic keyboards and typing ergonomics. While they don’t specifically mention the hand floating technique there are a lot of great tips on keyboards.