How do I choose a computer Keyboard?

You’ve totted up the hours you spend perched in front of your desk and realised you needed an ergonomic chair installed and adjusted to your needs, you’ve had your desk set to the right height and you think that’s enough to sort out your posture.  But somehow you’ve neglected to think about one of the most vital parts of your desk layout – your keyboard. You use your keyboard all day long and without it, you wouldn’t get much work done!

With such a wide variety of different designs, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. First, think about how your current keyboard affects the following:

• Available desk space
• Your posture
• Potential wrist, neck and shoulder problems
• Commonly used shortcuts and extra functions for your job role
• Height and angle adjustability
• Comfort
• Number pads (detached or attached)
• Wired or wireless device
• Bluetooth or USB

With all these decisions to be made, it can be hard to select the right device. That’s why Posture People have put together this handy guide to help you through the decision making process.

Any new keyboard will take a bit of getting used to before you’re completely comfortable with it. But as a long term investment into your wellbeing and productivity, an ergonomic device could be just the ticket.

Short on desk space?

If you’re short on desk space, choose a compact solution with ‘chocolate’ or ‘scissor’ type keys. These keyboards make touch typing second nature and keep your arms close to your body which is a natural rest position. If you have a job role which focuses on numbers, make sure that you have a separate number pad to prevent repetitively reaching across your keyboard.

Shoulder pain

If you suffer from arm, wrist, shoulder or neck pain, you may need a keyboard that puts less stress on your body. Although they look a bit strange, split keyboards keep your forearms and hands in a remarkably comfortable position. For a less pronounced natural angle, a split keyboard mimics the curved placement of your fingertips with an added palm rest for support. If you predominantly type in your job role then a split keyboard would be beneficial.

Our Director Jo is a big fan of the Sculpt keyboard and uses it every day.

RSI

There are solutions available if you frequently experience RSI. Use a keyboard that allows both of your hands equal and comfortable access to the entire keyboard. Aligning your body and arms with the keyboard and screen as well as reducing the amount of stretching for the mouse can be crucial in preventing RSI in the wrist, neck and shoulders.

The Contour Balance keyboard used in conjunction with a Rollermouse reduces repetitive actions and allows you to use your fingertips to complete all the actions you need in one mouse click click including copying, pasting, double-clicking, back, forward and scroll.

Touch typists

And finally, ideal for the touch typist, the Saturnus S-Board mini keyboard 840 is slim, stylish and lightweight and features cutting-edge scissor-switch technology which means shorter key travel distance and makes the keys slimmer than other keyboards. The keys are therefore super responsive to touch and maintain a low noise level, making typing an absolute pleasure.

If you’re still undecided or need more advice on which keyboard might be right for you, one of our ergonomic experts will be able to advise.  Call us on 0330 332 0880 and we’ll be happy to answer your queries.