Ergonomics

Lizano

Anybody here suffer from any pains due to sitting in wrong positions and/or non-ergonomic hardware ?

I recently started having wrist pains and am now looking for recommendations, just wanted to see if any of you use ergonomic keyboard and mouse that you would recommend. There are just so many options out there.

swild

I see a massage therapist about once a month for back pain, can't seem to find a chair that works for me.

I am very picky about my hardware and ergonomics. I use a Logitech G9x mouse and Logitech K340 keyboard. I like the keyboard only because it is as small as you can get and still be full sized. Also being wireless means I can move it out of the way for more desktop space.

I went through several mice before finding the right one. This one is small, weight-tunable, speed-tunable, free-spinning mouse wheel, good grippy texture, the right number of buttons, and not wireless. I have bought and returned probably a dozen mice from Newegg until I felt right.

At home, I have an old, sturdy, wired IBM keyboard. Best keyboard known to man. IBM just knows how it goes.

Chair height and monitor height can affect a lot as well. You need to have everything setup where you can relax with good posture. I would have a stand-up desk if I didn't have a knee injury. I love that design.

Also, I will never be able to go without this:
Ergotron LX Dual Side-by-Side Arm - mounting kit - 45-245-026 - Monitor, Display & TV Mounts/Stands/Carts/Feet - CDW.com

it_consultant

Lizano wrote: »

Anybody here suffer from any pains due to sitting in wrong positions and/or non-ergonomic hardware ?

I recently started having wrist pains and am now looking for recommendations, just wanted to see if any of you use ergonomic keyboard and mouse that you would recommend. There are just so many options out there.

I have friends that swear by the evoluent vertical mouse for wrist pain. For body pain I have found that the easiest way to avoid having issues is to exercise 3-4 times a week with stretching, resistance training, and at least 30 minutes of cardio. Among all the different chairs and things you could get, resistance training gives you the most bang for your buck AND reduces the risk of joint damage, heart disease, diabetes, etc.

Devilsbane

My left knee has been bugging me for about 4 months now. At first I blamed it on my running so I stopped but it hasn't gone away. Recently with my extended time off over the holidays I found that it stopped hurting. Sure enough, after being back at work for a couple days it starts hurting again. Not sure what I should do about it but it is clearly something here at work. I recently changed chairs with no luck.

Heero

swild wrote: »

I see a massage therapist about once a month for back pain, can't seem to find a chair that works for me.

I am very picky about my hardware and ergonomics. I use a Logitech G9x mouse and Logitech K340 keyboard. I like the keyboard only because it is as small as you can get and still be full sized. Also being wireless means I can move it out of the way for more desktop space.

I went through several mice before finding the right one. This one is small, weight-tunable, speed-tunable, free-spinning mouse wheel, good grippy texture, the right number of buttons, and not wireless. I have bought and returned probably a dozen mice from Newegg until I felt right.

At home, I have an old, sturdy, wired IBM keyboard. Best keyboard known to man. IBM just knows how it goes.

Chair height and monitor height can affect a lot as well. You need to have everything setup where you can relax with good posture. I would have a stand-up desk if I didn't have a knee injury. I love that design.

Also, I will never be able to go without this:
Ergotron LX Dual Side-by-Side Arm - mounting kit - 45-245-026 - Monitor, Display & TV Mounts/Stands/Carts/Feet - CDW.com

I would argue that there are better keyboards out there than the IBM model M. It is just that the market is so saturated with shitty keyboards that use rubber domes for the switches that you hardly see a good quality keyboard. If anyone is looking for that same type of mechanical action that you get when typing on the IBM model M, look into mechanical keyboards like the Das Keyboard Professional model.

drkat

I've been diagnosed with Cubital Tunnel last year from working in RSI type of position. I have it in both arms which I'm on the roster for surgery for. It aint no fun...

I use a regular mouse and keyboard I've used the split design which I like but they're too wide and put strain on your arm for mousing.

I would suggest a keyboard tray to adjust and what not - I've found that helps a bit.

arwes

I used this keyboard tray at my last job. Worked great for 12 hour shifts!

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Knob-Adjust-Keyboard-Standard-AKT60LE/dp/B001B0DCOO

Got that installed on a few desks here now, but this place is a hodge podge of hand me down crap furniture from 70's & 80's. I'm supposed to be getting a new office, and I'm going to get one of those installed on my desk. When it's glued back together that is. Yeah, it was in someone else's office so my boss moved it to the new office with a furniture dolly and cheap particle board construction + awkward angles = screws ripping out chunks of particle board and a desk collapsing to the floor.

Hypntick

drkat wrote: »

I've been diagnosed with Cubital Tunnel last year from working in RSI type of position. I have it in both arms which I'm on the roster for surgery for. It aint no fun...

I use a regular mouse and keyboard I've used the split design which I like but they're too wide and put strain on your arm for mousing.

I would suggest a keyboard tray to adjust and what not - I've found that helps a bit.

Ulnar nerve decompression? Be prepared to do a whole lot of nothing for about 6 months. I was out for a year before my Dr. cleared me back to work. Got a lot accomplished around the house though.

docrice

Heero wrote: »

If anyone is looking for that same type of mechanical action that you get when typing on the IBM model M, look into mechanical keyboards like the Das Keyboard Professional model.

I use two Das Keyboard Professionals at work and one Ultimate at home. There are other not-so-mainstream choices regarding keyboards with very specific tactility features, but the Das Keyboards that I use are far away better than the cheap stuff. If you do any decent amount of typing during the day, your hands deserve a good set of keys to tap on. They weren't inexpensive, but they were very worth it for me.

swild

If I ever need to replace this IBM I will be getting the Das Pro. I just wish I could get work to buy me one. If you have never used a mechanical keyboard, you will be shocked at th difference.

drkat

Wow sorry for the late response. Ulnar Nerve decomp ? nah that'd be too easy to just re-route the nerve. They want to shave the epicondyle? where they shave down the bone near the ulnar nerve instead of re-routing.. no fun at all......

I would suggest to the OP to STOP if you are having ANY pain at all and bring it to the attention of your manager - and work with the environmental health department at your company to assess your workstation and equipment. You dont want to end up perm disabled.

Anonymouse

At my last job I sat in front of a server rack running backup scripts for 10 hours a night. They did not care much for ergonomics at all. I didn't either until I lost feeling in both of my hands driving home from work one morning. From that point on I started doing stretches every half hour, walking 3 miles a night spaced out between all my breaks, and trying to change my seating position every hour or so.

Psoasman

I was a massage therapist for 6 years, before getting into IT. I treated hundreds of people with RSI conditions.
Since a lot of our work is repetitive, conditions like Carpal tunnel, golfer's / tennis elbow will result. Stretching is very important for maintaining the health of your hands and wrists. I find when I don't stretch much, my hands will go numb more often - the main reason I got out of massage.

Surgery will be helpful for the extreme cases, but you have to watch the scar tissue build-up afterwards. Main things to help prevent are:

1. Get up and move around. Don't sit there playing games for 8 hours.
2. Stretch every day
3. Exercise
4. Drink your water
5. Get massage / PT if needed.

onesaint

For ergonomics, I'm fortunate enough to have Aeron chairs at work. On the other side, I use a couple of HDDs for wrist pads. I use a wow pen eco for a mouse at work. It's very comfortable. The manufacture has a massive QC problem though and sometimes the mice are easily damaged. At home I recently picked up the new Mac Magic Trackpad which is nice (albeit no good for gaming, not that there's any time).

I was using the MS ergonomic KB at work till it broke. Not a bad KB.

Good luck with your surgery drkat.

Anonymouse

Fun fact for anyone that ever wants to work for Chevron Corporation: When I worked an IT contract there they had a department dedicated solely for ergonomics to set you up in a way to prevent any of those sorts of injuries.

Hypntick

drkat wrote: »

Wow sorry for the late response. Ulnar Nerve decomp ? nah that'd be too easy to just re-route the nerve. They want to shave the epicondyle? where they shave down the bone near the ulnar nerve instead of re-routing.. no fun at all......

I would suggest to the OP to STOP if you are having ANY pain at all and bring it to the attention of your manager - and work with the environmental health department at your company to assess your workstation and equipment. You dont want to end up perm disabled.

Yeah they didn't even move mine, just the decompression. Although I think if it ever gets back again I may have them move it. Would hate it to be in both arms, luckily it's in my non-dominant arm. I did notice a bit of weakness in the arm afterwards, harder to do push-ups etc. even almost 4 years later. Did get a pretty cool scar out of it though, and I do have a pretty wicked picture somewhere of where the blood pooled in my arm and make it look like a tattoo. Good luck with the surgery though, not fun at all.

Cpl.Klinger

I can't get on the standing desk bandwagon, but the only way anyone will take my Logitech trackball and MS Natural Keyboard from me is when they pry it out of my cold, dead hands. These two items totally solved my issues with wrist pain.