The effect of six keyboard designs on wrist and forearm postures

Alan Barr; David Rempel; Ed Young; David Brafman

The effect of six keyboard designs on wrist and forearm postures

Alan Barr, David Rempel, Ed Young, David Brafman

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that alternative geometry keyboards may prevent or reduce arm pain or disorders and presumably the mechanism is by reducing awkward arm postures. However, the effects of alternative keyboards, especially the new designs, on wrist and arm postures are not well known. In this laboratory study, the wrist and forearm postures of 100 subjects were measured with a motion analysis system while they typed on 6 different keyboard configurations. There were significant differences in wrist extension, ulnar deviation, and forearm pronation between keyboards. When considering all 6 wrist and forearm postures together, the keyboard with an opening angle of 12°, a gable angle of 14°, and a slope of 0° appears to provide the most neutral posture among the keyboards tested in the configuration tested. This study identifies significant wrist and forearm posture differences between 6 keyboard configurations. These findings may assist in ergonomie recommendations regarding computer usage.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 50th Annual Meeting, HFES 2006
Pages	1366-1369
Number of pages	4
State	Published - 2006
Externally published	Yes
Event	50th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2006 - San Francisco, CA, United States Duration: Oct 16 2006 → Oct 20 2006

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
ISSN (Print)	1071-1813

Other

Other	50th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2006
Country/Territory	United States
City	San Francisco, CA
Period	10/16/06 → 10/20/06

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Human Factors and Ergonomics

Cite this

Barr, A, Rempel, D, Young, E & Brafman, D 2006, The effect of six keyboard designs on wrist and forearm postures. in Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 50th Annual Meeting, HFES 2006. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, pp. 1366-1369, 50th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2006, San Francisco, CA, United States, 10/16/06.

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title = "The effect of six keyboard designs on wrist and forearm postures",

abstract = "There is increasing evidence that alternative geometry keyboards may prevent or reduce arm pain or disorders and presumably the mechanism is by reducing awkward arm postures. However, the effects of alternative keyboards, especially the new designs, on wrist and arm postures are not well known. In this laboratory study, the wrist and forearm postures of 100 subjects were measured with a motion analysis system while they typed on 6 different keyboard configurations. There were significant differences in wrist extension, ulnar deviation, and forearm pronation between keyboards. When considering all 6 wrist and forearm postures together, the keyboard with an opening angle of 12°, a gable angle of 14°, and a slope of 0° appears to provide the most neutral posture among the keyboards tested in the configuration tested. This study identifies significant wrist and forearm posture differences between 6 keyboard configurations. These findings may assist in ergonomie recommendations regarding computer usage.",

author = "Alan Barr and David Rempel and Ed Young and David Brafman",

note = "Funding Information: This study was funded in part by gifts from industry. The authors wish to acknowledge Betsy Llosa and Nancy Clabby for their assistance during the study. Copyright: Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.; 50th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2006 ; Conference date: 16-10-2006 Through 20-10-2006",

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AU - Barr, Alan

AU - Rempel, David

AU - Young, Ed

AU - Brafman, David

N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded in part by gifts from industry. The authors wish to acknowledge Betsy Llosa and Nancy Clabby for their assistance during the study. Copyright: Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2006

Y1 - 2006

N2 - There is increasing evidence that alternative geometry keyboards may prevent or reduce arm pain or disorders and presumably the mechanism is by reducing awkward arm postures. However, the effects of alternative keyboards, especially the new designs, on wrist and arm postures are not well known. In this laboratory study, the wrist and forearm postures of 100 subjects were measured with a motion analysis system while they typed on 6 different keyboard configurations. There were significant differences in wrist extension, ulnar deviation, and forearm pronation between keyboards. When considering all 6 wrist and forearm postures together, the keyboard with an opening angle of 12°, a gable angle of 14°, and a slope of 0° appears to provide the most neutral posture among the keyboards tested in the configuration tested. This study identifies significant wrist and forearm posture differences between 6 keyboard configurations. These findings may assist in ergonomie recommendations regarding computer usage.

AB - There is increasing evidence that alternative geometry keyboards may prevent or reduce arm pain or disorders and presumably the mechanism is by reducing awkward arm postures. However, the effects of alternative keyboards, especially the new designs, on wrist and arm postures are not well known. In this laboratory study, the wrist and forearm postures of 100 subjects were measured with a motion analysis system while they typed on 6 different keyboard configurations. There were significant differences in wrist extension, ulnar deviation, and forearm pronation between keyboards. When considering all 6 wrist and forearm postures together, the keyboard with an opening angle of 12°, a gable angle of 14°, and a slope of 0° appears to provide the most neutral posture among the keyboards tested in the configuration tested. This study identifies significant wrist and forearm posture differences between 6 keyboard configurations. These findings may assist in ergonomie recommendations regarding computer usage.

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M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:44349188462

SN - 9780945289296

T3 - Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

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BT - Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 50th Annual Meeting, HFES 2006

T2 - 50th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2006

Y2 - 16 October 2006 through 20 October 2006

ER -

The effect of six keyboard designs on wrist and forearm postures

Abstract

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ASJC Scopus subject areas

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