| While typing or using a pointing device, keep your forearms, wrists, and hands in their neutral comfort zone. You are the best judge of what feels comfortable to you. One way to find your comfort zone is to completely relax your arms, wrists, and hands at your sides and notice how they are positioned. When you lift them up to type, hold them at or near these same relative positions (their neutral comfort zone), avoiding bending your wrists markedly up, down, in or out to the sides, especially frequently or for long periods of time (refer to the Keyboard and Pointing Device section). These recommendations apply wherever you are - in the office, at home, traveling - whether you are standing or sitting. |
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Maintain a comfortable, neutral wrist position.
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Wrong!
Do not rest your palms or bend your wrists markedly down while typing.
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Maintain a comfortable, neutral wrist position.
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Wrong!
Do not bend your wrists markedly inward.
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Do not anchor your wrists
| When typing, do not anchor or rest your wrists on your work surface, your thighs, or a palm rest (sometimes called a wrist rest). Resting your palms while typing may be harmful because it can cause you to bend and hold your wrists and fingers back. It can also apply pressure to the underside of your wrists. A palm rest is designed to provide support during pauses, when you are not typing (such as when you are reading from the screen). |
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Split keyboards
If you find it difficult to type with a comfortable, neutral wrist position, you may want to try a split keyboard. Be aware, however, that improper setup or posture while using a split keyboard can increase marked bending in your wrists. So if you try using a split keyboard, set it up properly so your forearms, wrists, and hands are in a comfortable, neutral position.
Handhelds
The information in this section regarding comfortable, neutral forearm, wrist, and hand positions applies to users of handhelds as well, whether you are typing with a stylus or thumb keyboard. |
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Be sure not to rest your wrists on sharp edges.
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