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"Kinesis contoured keyboards are nice except they don’t have forearm support because they’re above the table. ... If these keyboards could be recessed in the de

"Kinesis contoured keyboards are nice except they don’t have forearm support because they’re above the table. ... If these keyboards could be recessed in the desk rather than rested upon the desk, they could be neat." 1000x this. I recently got a Kinesis and this indeed is my single big problem with it. Any Kinesis owners here that can recommend a practical setup that allows to rest forearms and which is applicable to office inventory I don't own (read: non-destructive)?

jacobolus 11y ago
People usually need to rest their palms/wrists/forearms/elbows because they are either (a) reaching their arms out forward or (b) holding their arms up with their elbows sticking out to the side. The strain on the back/shoulders/upper arms from holding the arms up for an extended period of time then forces the use of some kind of support for relief. The typical reason for either of these is too high a desk relative to the height of the chair, and a keyboard which is too far in front of the body. If you hold your keyboard close in to your torso such that your back is straight, your shoulders are relaxed, and your upper arms hang loosely at your sides, then this is not really a problem. If you watch e.g. professional pianists or court reporters, or look at videos of secretaries from the 60s, you’ll see no palmrests/armrests in sight. However, you must also make sure to keep your wrists in a nearly straight, neutral position. One intervention that might help is raising your chair relative to your desk. Alternately, if you have a low chair / high desk and neither is adjustable, tilting the keyboard up at the far end (e.g. by piling a book or two underneath that side) can help considerably.
- Rockslide 11y ago
  I appreciate your suggestions and will give them a try. One potential problem I see is that while my desk and chair are height-adjustable, unfortunately the armrests of my chair are not. That could get in the way of "hanging my arms loosely at my sides".

jacobolus 11y ago

People usually need to rest their palms/wrists/forearms/elbows because they are either (a) reaching their arms out forward or (b) holding their arms up with their elbows sticking out to the side. The strain on the back/shoulders/upper arms from holding the arms up for an extended period of time then forces the use of some kind of support for relief. The typical reason for either of these is too high a desk relative to the height of the chair, and a keyboard which is too far in front of the body. If you hold your keyboard close in to your torso such that your back is straight, your shoulders are relaxed, and your upper arms hang loosely at your sides, then this is not really a problem. If you watch e.g. professional pianists or court reporters, or look at videos of secretaries from the 60s, you’ll see no palmrests/armrests in sight. However, you must also make sure to keep your wrists in a nearly straight, neutral position. One intervention that might help is raising your chair relative to your desk. Alternately, if you have a low chair / high desk and neither is adjustable, tilting the keyboard up at the far end (e.g. by piling a book or two underneath that side) can help considerably.

Rockslide 11y ago
I appreciate your suggestions and will give them a try. One potential problem I see is that while my desk and chair are height-adjustable, unfortunately the armrests of my chair are not. That could get in the way of "hanging my arms loosely at my sides".