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Correct use of the keyboard is most important. If you
are not typing correctly then your incorrect typing
techniques can lead to and worsen RSI. Your wrists
should be straight as shown below:
Various RSI sufferers have switched to the DVORAK
keyboard layout as it relieves the hand action during
typing. It may surprise you to learn that the common
QWERTY keyboard layout was specifically designed to
maximize hand movements and to be most inefficient. The
reason being that older typewriters used to get jammed
by touch-typists. Unfortunately this convention has
continued into the information age.
Fortunately, in the 1920s and 30s two Doctors, Dr.
August Dvorak and Dr. William Dealey, designed an
alternative layout to minimize hand movements and
improve efficiency
Dvorak and Dealey studied letter frequencies and the
physiology of the hand and created the layout to adhere
to these principles:
- It is easier to
type letters alternating between hands.
- For maximum
speed and efficiency, the most common letters and
digraphs should be the easiest to type. This means
that they should be on the home row, which is where
the fingers rest.
- Likewise, the
least common letters should be on the bottom row,
which is the hardest row to reach.
- The right hand
should do more of the typing, because most people
are right-handed.
- It is more
difficult to type digraphs with adjacent fingers
than non-adjacent fingers.
- Stroking should
generally move from the edges of the board to the
middle (as an example, rap your fingers on a table
and see which is easier: going from little finger to
index or vice versa). This motion on a keyboard is
called inboard stroke flow.
Dvorak typists tend to be much faster, both because of
ease of typing (70% of keying is on the home row, vs 32%
on Qwerty) and because of the reduced error rate on
Dvorak due to its ergonomics, but the ease in learning
and typing is its greatest advantage.
According
to RSI sufferers, the DVORAK layout really does provide
benefit as it reduces the overall typing action and
evenly distributes the typing load to both hands.
However, it is not a cure. Switching to DVORAK is
another good way to aid in the recovery of RSI but must
be supplemented with other forms of therapies.
Stop
hand pain, improve seating posture and increase blood
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