Who hasn't heard of carpal tunnel syndrome? It turns out that this is just one of many injuries, albeit a significant one, related to computer work. There has been a lot of talk about reducing injuries and body stresses while working on computers by using one or more pieces of a variety of ergonomically designed furniture and accessories. So, is rushing out and buying a new desk, chair, keyboard, footrest, wrist rest, and more the solution to your backache? Not necessarily!
Old Furniture
In 1983, I bought a home computer—my first computer. Very quickly, I realized I could not work with my keyboard on the top of my standard desk, so I utilized an old typewriter stand for the keyboard. This lowered the keyboard adequately to reduce the finger, wrist and arm strain I had started experiencing. Shortly thereafter, I purchased a computer desk and printer stand as seen in the accompanying picture. This setup puts all work surfaces at keyboard height, which should be between 26" and 28", and in fact mine is 27" high.
The furniture I would like to replace, in the photo from left to right, includes typing stand (holding a scanner), printer stand and matching computer desk. Flanking the computer furniture are built-in bookcases.This old setup served me well until the last two years. Lately, I have been considering new furniture for a variety of reasons. The chair I use was cheap and is broken, I have been experiencing wrist strain, and my monitor is not far enough away from my eyes.
Starting the Search
Although I had looked at some items in stores, it was not until I decided to write an article on acquiring the right furniture to prevent injuries that I searched the Internet. I had previously searched the Internet for lots of reasons, including some rather esoteric topics, and had always found hundreds of sites. Surprisingly, although there are a large number of furniture sales sites on the Web, there are relatively few relating to how specific items of furniture can relate to improving health. In fact, after reading most of the information I could find I decided that the design of furniture and accessories is a secondary consideration.
Develop Good Habits
The primary consideration is one's own habits. It may take some work, but certain habits should be consciously worked on and changed! Years of doing something a certain way—the wrong way—will eventually take its toll on some part of the body's structure. This could show up in your hands/fingers/wrists, your eyes, your neck, your back, your shoulders, your feet/legs/hips or any combination of these body parts.
You should sit up straight, not leaning forward, and not slouching backward. Your feet should be flat on the floor, and your arms should be parallel to the floor. Keep your arms, wrist and hands in a fairly straight line while typing. Your arms and wrists should "float" not rest on the furniture—you should move your hands, not stretch your fingers, to reach the keys; and you should use both hands to make combination keystrokes, for example, Control-P. Instead of stretching fingers on one hand to hit both keys simultaneously, move your hands and use a finger from each hand for each key. In other words, avoid moving or twisting your wrists and fingers in unusual ways. This applies to other parts of the body as well, for example, get up out of the chair and take a step to pick up that hard-to-reach tool lying at the opposite end of your work area.
The monitor should be an adequate distance away from your eyes, neither too close or too far away. How far will depend on a variety of factors, including the size of the screen, for example, a 17" monitor can be further away than a 14" monitor. The height of the monitor is also important to avoid neck and back strain. Part of this will be personal preference, and part will depend on whether you wear bifocals, or have other vision difficulties. The recommended height is with the top of the screen about even with your eyes. I prefer my monitor to be a little lower than that, but I have an associate who prefers her monitor to be at a higher level.
Arm and wrist rests should not be used while you are actually typing. When you stop for a moment, for whatever reason, then rest your arms or wrists but, otherwise, keep your hands, arms and wrist in the "floating" position described above. Related to this is how you use your mouse. The mouse should be as close to the keyboard as is convenient, and you should gently put your hand around the mouse. Do not grab the mouse like it's going to run away. Gently roll the mouse to your selection, and lightly click. As a conclusion to this part, whatever position you adopt as your main working posture, change it slightly periodically or you will get stiff from sitting permanently in the same position.
Isn't the Furniture Important?
All of this is not to say that the furniture you ultimately purchase is not important in preventing injuries. What it does say, though, is that the furniture should suit your personal habits (good habits) and tastes. Look for the furniture or accessories that will be comfortable to you, yet will force you to employ safe work habits. You should consider a chair that has multiple adjustments to allow you to change your posture and still provide necessary support. There are some other safety features of which you should be aware, particularly with regards to mobility.
If you expect to be moving about while seated, the chair should have at least a five-roller stand. Four rollers can be prone to easy tipping. "Why You Need a Good Chair, And How To Pick One" at http://macworld.zdnet.com/pages/articlelinks/picking.a.chair.explained.gif explains just what the title says. There is a picture of the "perfect" chair (although I do not recommend buying it as $799 is a bit steep for a chair) and diagrams explaining what to look for in each part of the chair. It is described as the chair used by all staffers at MacWorld.
If mobility in your computer desk is a requirement, check the design carefully to be sure the system will not become top heavy when loaded with equipment and materials. If it could be top heavy, it could easily tip while you are rolling it from one location to another and fall on you. Other types of enclosed systems include breakfronts and armoires. These can work well in normal family living areas, hiding the computer when you are using the area for family functions and not for computing. Again, study the design to be sure it will not become top heavy when loaded, but also be sure to determine the strength of rollout shelves and drawers. When they are heavily loaded with equipment or files, will the bottom be strong enough not to bow? Of course, a bowed shelf or bottom in a drawer will cause it to stick, and could cause you to pull the unit over onto yourself!
Since I cannot recommend specific furniture, because so much depends on individual habits and tastes, I will describe what I plan to purchase and why. This will guide the reader in the direction of considering his or her own habits and personal tastes, and help formulate the reason for the style of furniture to purchase.
First, I have to make a confession. I have lots of freedom in deciding the size and type of my furniture. In the photo, above, my "office" is in its third location—one end of my living room. I have also used my den as an office, and a spare bedroom, which is about twice the size of the den. Those two rooms have been used exclusively as an office, whereas only about one-sixth of my living room is devoted to that purpose.
The Desk
My desk will be at least 28" deep, that is, from front to back. The desk in the photo has only a 22" depth of useable work surface. This causes me to sit too close to the monitor for my comfort. The desk will either be six feet, six inches long, or a combination of desk and matching accessory stand will be that length. The desk will have a standard 30" high work surface. My present desk is 27" high and, while adequate for computer work, is too low to handwrite or to perform other "normal" desktop chores. I will not likely get a hutch or a shelf for the desk. I find them unsightly and unnecessary. I have plenty of storage space without resorting to the hutch.
The desk will have an adjustable keyboard tray to assure that I can raise, lower or tilt the keyboard specifically to the height I need for maximum comfort, and will be wide enough to hold an ergonomic one- or two-piece keyboard. With the keyboard stowed under the desktop and a 28" depth to the work surface, I will have 18" of work surface in front of the monitor for handwriting and other desktop work. These combinations of dimensions and keyboard drawer will provide an excellent work surface, sufficient to distribute the computer and peripheral equipment and provide ample, surplus space for spreading work out when and where necessary.
Ergonomic Keyboard
Speaking of an ergonomic keyboard. For maximum long-term comfort and to help reduce the risk of carpal tunnel problems, one should keep one's wrists straight with one's arms to avoid unnecessary strain. This is one of my bad habits: I cannot keep my wrists straight, even with a concerted effort. A curved, or even a two-part, keyboard will allow me to keep my wrists straight, although I will have to spend some serious time adjusting to the nonstandard arrangement (after typing on standard keyboards or typewriters for over 40 years—shhh, don't tell anyone). While on the subject of keyboards, I read somewhere, possibly at one of the sites referenced below, that the keyboard should actually tilt up at the front, not at the back as is the typical design. I always use the little legs at the back of my keyboards to tilt the keyboard to its maximum height but, after reading that, I lowered them while writing this article. My initial observation is that my hands and wrists are feeling less strain with the flatter keyboard.
The Chair
My chair will be upholstered in cloth with soft, yet firm padding, and will have arms. The arms will be fully adjustable, and will either fold out of the way, or will be adjustable down to completely free side movement. I can type with my arms resting on armrests, but for lots of fast typing, I need to be able to get the rests out of the way or they do interfere with my work. I will watch for a fabric that breathes. Plastic and even some fabrics will allow heat and moisture to build up at the seat and back, wherever your body rests against the chair, and can cause problems.
It will have a formed seat pan, and will have a high back that primarily provides lower back support, but will also give support to my upper back. I will try to get a chair that tilts at its base, not just the back. That way, when I tilt back, I will retain the proper posture. If only the seatback tilts, some unnatural strain is placed on the spine and tailbone.
Placement
The placement of the furniture and the equipment on the furniture is important both for efficiency and to avoid injury. While some people do work with their monitor sitting off to one side, that is not a good practice as well as being unnatural. The three key components of working on a computer—chair, keyboard and monitor—should be aligned in a straight line, each at the proper height and each at the proper distance from each other.
My current furniture has open fronts. I may or may not get doors on my new desk. The doors would only be for esthetic reasons, but would have to be easily opened without unnecessary bending or reaching. As in my present setup, frequently used materials would be kept on the shelves within easy reach. Also, my printer and CPU would be within easy reach: The printer so printouts can be easily retrieved and paper stock easily added; the CPU for ease of inserting and removing CD's and floppy diskettes. As now, my scanner will sit a step away from my chair since I only rarely scan anything.
Rests: Foot and Wrist
Should we consider a wrist rest and footrest? As noted above, a wrist rest is only for taking a break from typing. I, for one, will not bother with a wrist rest as there are plenty of other things to do with my hands when I am not typing. As for the footrest, the only reason you should need one is if your feet do not sit flat on the floor when you are sitting in a normal upright position in your chair. If you cannot adjust your chair enough to be properly positioned before both your keyboard and your monitor and still keep your feet flat on the floor, then you should consider a footrest. Be careful though how you use it. Normally, the manufacturer should include instructions, but the key is to place it an adequate distance in front of you so you can sit upright with your feet flat on the foot support. Do not put it so far in front that you slouch in your chair to use it.
Conclusions
So, there you have it! You may prefer, for whatever reason, a slanting desktop or even an adjustable desktop. You may want the type where the monitor can either sink below the desktop when not in use, or is permanently under a glass top. You may prefer your entire desktop to be, like mine, at 30", or you may want the top to be at 26" to 28"; the same as your keyboard. You may want an avant-garde chair or an ergonomic keyboard.
Remember that your posture and work habits are at least as important as the furniture you use while working, if not more so. Your furniture should be compatible with your personal preferences, but also allow you to spare your joints and tendons from unnecessary strain, and even "force" you to use good work habits. If the design you want does not permit you to use good posture and proper equipment placement as outlined here, do not buy it. It's not the furniture that causes computer-related injuries—it's you!