Ergonomics Specialist

Todd W · 10-17-2006, 01:53 PM

Has anyone had an ergonomics specialist come to their office/home and setup their work area properly?

I have mine setup as "good" as I can get myself and still suffer from wrist/arm/hand/elbow pains regularly. I do NOT sit here more than 8hrs a day either... so something is not right.

I'm wondering how you found the specialist and trusted them etc?

What i'm looking for is someone who is paid per-hour or visit and can SUGGEST items such as desks, chairs, etc.. I don't want someone who sells the stuff because then they have other reasons ($$) to sell me the stuff.

Suggestions ?

Thanks
-Todd

KLB · 10-17-2006, 05:26 PM

I'm assuming you use a traditional mouse? I used to suffer wrist pain and solved it completely by getting rid of my traditional mouse and switching over to an ergonomic keyboard with a built in touch pad.

Literally the mouse is the single worst ergonomic part of a computer because it causes a lot of excessive and repetitive wrist, forearm movement. Switching to a touch pad allows one to accomplish the exact same function by only moving a finger. One needs to allow two or three weeks to get used to a ergonomic keyboard touchpad combination but I'd never switch back (been using them for around eight years).

The keyboard touch pad combo I use is by Adesso you can find their offerings at: http://www.adesso.com/products.asp?c...=7&subcatid=56

Beyond eliminating the movement required by a mouse an ergonomic keyboard and touchpad combo has some other ergonomic advantages over a traditional keyboard and mouse. These include:

1) The line from the forearm through the wrist and into the hand remains straighter because keys are splayed out. This relives pressure on the carpal tunnels in the wrists.

2) Keyboard can be kept in lap without needing to reach for a mouse. This allows shoulders to be more relaxed and allows one to be further away from the computer monitor (being too close to a CRT screen is bad for the eyes).

3) Shorter distance to the pointing device from keyboard as the touch pad is directly below the space bar. This means much less movement to go back and forth from keyboard to pointing device.

Here are some hints to make a touchpad more effective:

1) As you get used to a touch pad speed it up to the absolute fastest you can handle and set the acceleration at maximum. Once you get used to the higher speeds and higher acceleration it will allow you accurately to move the cursor across an entire 1024x768 or larger screen with only about 1/2 inch of finger movement. Literally most of my own finger movement is within a 3/8" high by 1/2" wide box in the center of my touch pad and my computer is set to 1024 x 768.

2) To increase accuracy, as the cursor gets close to its final destination I stop sliding the finger and instead roll it slightly. After awhile this slide/roll movement becomes completely second nature and you never think about it. I even do tedious Photoshop cursor movements in this fashion.

3) Remember to ONLY move the finger; do not move the entire hand. Allow the hand to rest on the palm rest. The goal is to eliminate wrist/forearm movement AND the finger is more precise when it comes to touch pads than the arm/wrist.

4) Get used to using the touch pad with either hand. Given the touch pad position below the space bar it is very easy to use either hand to control the cursor. By getting used to using either hand you can more evenly distribute the cursor "work" between your hands. This can reduce stress on one hand if it becomes injured.

5) I personally make sure to download and use the drivers supplied by Adesso for the trackpad rather than depending on Microsoft's drivers as the Adesso driver is much better. I have a IBM Thinkpad T42 laptop and I even like the Adesso "Glide" drivers better than IBM's touch pad drivers.

Before hiring an ergonomics specialist I'd recommend seeing if changing to an ergonomic keyboard/touchpad combo resolves your issues as it would be a lot cheaper. It did resolve my wrist issues and it solved wrist issues of other people I recommended this solution to that gave it a try. Just remember if you aren't use to touch pads they take a little getting used to (especially once you push them up to their maximum speed and acceleration).

Todd W · 10-17-2006, 07:11 PM

KLB - Thanks for the info.

My wrist to the mouse is ----- my arm rests on my chair. I have a nice mouse pad and a VERY fast mouse. But yes you are correct my mouse hand/wrist/harm is what is bothering me.

I think 1 of my main problems is that the mouse is about 4" to the right from where it should be so my rist is kind of \ (yes angled left - my armg goes / then my wrist corrects it and goes \) all the time. Problem is the keyboard is to the left andt he mouse is as far left as it can go :-/

Whenever I use the touch pad on my laptop my wrist hurts differntly and worse. And I can NEVER use a touchpad for photoshop, coding, copying/pasting, etc. It just will NEVER replace the mose. A trackball maybe butn ot a touchpad.

Thanks for the reply.
-Todd

Todd W · 10-17-2006, 07:12 PM

I'm going to look for a keyboard that doesn't have the # pad on it (to the right) and that 4" should be enough to align my mouse correctly.

KLB · 10-17-2006, 09:31 PM

Based on my experience I'd wager you'll never solve your problem until you get rid of the mouse. I'll also wager that if after a couple hours of computing you will find that your mouse hand is a few degrees cooler than your other hand.

The problem is that no matter how hard you try, you are constantly flexing and tensing the wrist in ways that puts pressure on your carpel tunnel. The wrist isn't designed for this type of repetitive fine motions nor this type of constant tension. Even if you try to keep your wrist straight and move the mouse from your elbow, your wrist will still flex and the act of trying to keep it from flexing keeps it tense. Moving the position of the mouse will not help (I tried); you need to get rid of it.

Even to this day if I have to switch over to a mouse, within a week or so of using a mouse my wrist pain will return. At the same time I'm on my computer 10 - 14 hours a day working or goofing off (about 60 – 80 hours per week) without any wrist or arm pain what so ever by using a touch pad and ergonomic keyboard.

Oh if you are a big framed person (e.g. broad shoulders and chest) an ergonomic keyboard is even more important than for a small framed person as your arms are further apart to begin with and a straight keyboard forces your wrists into more extreme angle. I've known of one case where a guy was so big that he could hardly type and breath until he was given an ergonomic keyboard that allowed his hands to be further apart (sad but true).

My overall ergonomic posture would freak out any health and safety expert, yet I haven't had any "occupational" pain or discomfort in years because of my simply getting rid of the mouse. In fact, right now I'm laid out on my couch in the most god awful position with my keyboard half on my lap and half on the couch. When I do sit at a desk (which is very rare) the first thing I do is remove any arm rests or lower them as far as possible so that I can place my keyboard in my lap and type comfortably (which is usually leaned back in the chair).

If you are willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on an ergonomics specialist, first spend $80 and give a keyboard/touch pad combo a try for a month or so. If you don't like it, I'm sure you could eBay it off and recoup most of your money.

Cutter · 10-17-2006, 11:20 PM

Wow, great info Ken! I don't know why but the thought never even crossed my mind to try a touchpad. $79 is a walk in the park compared to some of the other ergonomic solutions out there.

I've been following OSHA's ergonomic guidelines for about two years, more or less, and things have slowly gotton worse. Of course, i'm am using the computer 80-100+ hours a week. Wearing wrist braces at night helped for about 6 months but lately its gotten worse.

Todd W · 10-17-2006, 11:38 PM

Cutter- I don't know how you are productive with a touch pad? I have one on my laptop and I can not select text to copy/paste worth a damn! I can do it just fine but not NEAR as fast as Ican with my mouse.

When I use the laptop my wrist hurts more and in ad ifferent area from using the touch pad. I may give the touchpad a try but the way you describe it you sound relaxed and like your browsing or doing something else than what I do.

Do you program? Constantly switch back and forth between photoshop, dreamweaver and firefox all day? I can see how a keyboard and touchpad would be fine for browsing the web or writing articles in word but for "working" I just can't see them being productive at all. Switching forums, clicking links, checking stats, etc etc, I just can't imagine a touchpad being all that productive and the whole kb on lap sounds laid back.. you say you lean back etc in your chair it sounds like you are sitting "comfy" and not "safely" myabe just me???

So I guess my question is: What kind of work do you do with your setup?

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong because the laptop touch pad is not on th edge... hrm for $80 it's worth a shot. I want a chair with arm pads too

Todd W · 10-17-2006, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cutter

Wow, great info Ken! I don't know why but the thought never even crossed my mind to try a touchpad. $79 is a walk in the park compared to some of the other ergonomic solutions out there.

I've been following OSHA's ergonomic guidelines for about two years, more or less, and things have slowly gotton worse. Of course, i'm am using the computer 80-100+ hours a week. Wearing wrist braces at night helped for about 6 months but lately its gotten worse.

Just read your blog - congrats on speaking at ASW, wish I could go.

Cutter · 10-18-2006, 03:16 AM

Take out a loan and make it, thats what Shoemoney basically did last year and look where he is now! (although it wasn't affiliate summit, was an seo conference)

Yeah, unfortunately I probably couldn't work as fast with a touchpad... but for basic stuff no complaints. I'm more interested in those hand/arm positions at this point. I know I am at the border of having to have hand surgery. I was thinking, no big deal do it endoscopic. Then I found out small wrists make it a no-no. Saw a few pics of fileted open hands and decided may be its worth backing off even if its going to mean making substantially less money.

I have tried some wacky stuff including mousing with my feet. Yeah, it works. The downsides are slower movement and you mouse smells like your feet.

Todd W · 10-18-2006, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cutter

Take out a loan and make it, thats what Shoemoney basically did last year and look where he is now! (although it wasn't affiliate summit, was an seo conference)

Yeah, unfortunately I probably couldn't work as fast with a touchpad... but for basic stuff no complaints. I'm more interested in those hand/arm positions at this point. I know I am at the border of having to have hand surgery. I was thinking, no big deal do it endoscopic. Then I found out small wrists make it a no-no. Saw a few pics of fileted open hands and decided may be its worth backing off even if its going to mean making substantially less money.

I have tried some wacky stuff including mousing with my feet. Yeah, it works. The downsides are slower movement and you mouse smells like your feet.

Have the $ to go just have other things going on right now.

I'll have to look at that 'small hand' thing. My hands are "medium" according to gloves but they seem on the smaller size and it would SUCK to be out for two months. My mother had the surgory done on BOTH hands at ONCE and she was unable to type w/out poking for a good 4 weeks. Probably 1 week before she could even poke around AT ALL. Not somehting I'm interested in!

-Todd

KLB · 10-18-2006, 12:35 PM

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