One thing that recently became very important to me was something to rest my wrists on as I type or use my mouse. Using Apple's keyboard and mouse my hands were always comfortable enough but switching to a big plastic PC keyboard and mouse there is actually over an inch difference in height to consider and my forearms started hurting.
I think for me it was exacerbated by my desk height, I'm short so it's lowest setting is about two inches higher than I need and switching to a PC keyboard added another inch and a bit.
If you have unergonomic furniture but you can’t change it (e.g. getting a taller chair, or putting some kind of booster seat on top of your existing chair (a company called HumanTool makes one I like), switching to a lower or adjustable-height desk, or installing an under-desk keyboard tray) or switch to a different keyboard, then the most important thing is to position/orient the keyboard so that your wrists are not bent while you are typing. Having bent wrists (either extended or flexed) is the most effective way to give yourself RSI.
To keep your wrists straight, pull the keyboard fairly close to the edge of the desk, then tilt the keyboard so that the top surface is parallel to your forearms, when you have your arms in a relaxed position with your upper arms close to your torso and your shoulders back.
For a high desk/low chair, you need to tilt the keyboard up at the back end. The taller the desk relative to your torso, the more aggressive the tilt needs to be.
Comments
One thing that recently became very important to me was something to rest my wrists on as I type or use my mouse. Using Apple's keyboard and mouse my hands were always comfortable enough but switching to a big plastic PC keyboard and mouse there is actually over an inch difference in height to consider and my forearms started hurting.
I weirdly found the opposite: hovering was far better for me. I always found that resting the wrists encouraged bad typing habits and angles.
I think for me it was exacerbated by my desk height, I'm short so it's lowest setting is about two inches higher than I need and switching to a PC keyboard added another inch and a bit.
If you have unergonomic furniture but you can’t change it (e.g. getting a taller chair, or putting some kind of booster seat on top of your existing chair (a company called HumanTool makes one I like), switching to a lower or adjustable-height desk, or installing an under-desk keyboard tray) or switch to a different keyboard, then the most important thing is to position/orient the keyboard so that your wrists are not bent while you are typing. Having bent wrists (either extended or flexed) is the most effective way to give yourself RSI.
To keep your wrists straight, pull the keyboard fairly close to the edge of the desk, then tilt the keyboard so that the top surface is parallel to your forearms, when you have your arms in a relaxed position with your upper arms close to your torso and your shoulders back.
For a high desk/low chair, you need to tilt the keyboard up at the back end. The taller the desk relative to your torso, the more aggressive the tilt needs to be.
Thanks!