NOTE: Body Correct Living no longer offers ergonomic keyboards, however, this page has been kept as a useful reference for customers.

Know the difference between ergonomic keyboards that work and those that just cost more before you buy.

An ergonomic keyboard is one of the products I call the "big three" that have the most impact on the comfort and ergonomics of your personal computer space. Like the other two (the chair and the mouse), you are often forced to choose without having the benefit of directly trying them out since your local Best Buy or other big box retailer simply won't have what you need. Whether your goal is to relieve symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive stress injuries*, or simply type comfortably, this guide will help you understand what features to look for in ergonomic keyboards as well as decode common terminology.

If all you want are a couple quick recommendations for the best ergonomic keyboard, go with either the Safetype Ergonomic Keyboard or Kinesis Freestyle Solo Keyboard with Freestyle Ascent Multi-Tent Accessory. For more details on why, keep reading.

*If you suffer from symptoms of carpal tunnel or RSI, consult your doctor about appropriate treatments.

What should an ergonomic keyboard do for you?

The goal of an ergonomic keyboard is to put you in a neutral typing position. When at rest, the joints of the human body all settle in to a natural default position. This is called a "neutral position." A neutral position places no awkward stress on joints and muscles, and generally feels relaxed and comfortable.

To get an idea of how a neutral position feels, hold your forearm straight up in the air so that a straight line extends from the floor through your elbow and out through your finger tips. Your wrist is now in a neutral position. Now bend your hand backwards at your wrist and notice how tension builds along the front side of your forearm. This tension is the result of deviating from that neutral position.

While typing there are three joints that need to be kept in a neutral position, the wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Where most ergonomic keyboards fail is that they only keep one or two joints neutral, while shifting misalignment to a different joint. The most famous of which is the Microsoft Natural keyboard. It manages to keep the wrists more or less neutral, but it splays the elbows out to the side which puts undue tension on the shoulders.

The correct position that keeps all three joints neutral is actually quite simple. From a standing position with your arms down at your sides, merely bend your arms at the elbows so that your elbows remain directly under your shoulders and both hands are extended in front of you in the thumbs-up "handshake" position.

There are only two "vertical keyboards" that allow for this ideal typing position: the Safetype Ergonomic Keyboard and Kinesis Freestyle Solo Keyboard with Freestyle Ascent Multi-Tent Accessory. There are also a class of vertical mice such as the Evoluent Vertical Mouse that complement these keyboards nicely.

At first, vertical keyboards do look akward and goofy since most people are accustomed to regular flat keyboards. However, this is the way your body was designed. Once people get past the psychological barrier of the unconventional look of vertical keyboards, they love the liberation of releasing all the tension in their wrists and shoulders caused by conventional flat keyboards.

The Safetype and Freestyle Solo also have the benefit of a narrower profile, which allows you to mouse closer to a neutral position rather than having to keep your arm swung out wide.

However, some people will simply never get accustomed to a fully vertical keyboard. Read on for more features to look for in a keyboard that will help to reduce discomfort.

Ergonomic Keyboard Features to Look For

Tenting:

Tenting refers to the upward slope of the two sides of the keyboard so that it forms a tent-like shape in the middle. While not as good as a fully vertical keyboard, this can be a good compromise position. Different tenting angles can also be achieved with the highly adjustable Multi-Tent accessory for the Freestyle Solo. Goldtouch keyboards are also representative of tented keyboards.

Split Key Modules:

These keyboards have separated keying modules for the left and right hands. For example, the plain vanilla Kinesis Freestyle Solo has two completely separate modules connected via an 8" cable.

Contoured Key Wells:

This breed of ergonomic keyboard has a curved key surface that is built to accommodate the fact that human hands have fingers of different lengths. Contoured Key Wells are found on the Kinesis Advantage keyboard and ultra high end Maltron keyboards.

Neutral or Negative Slope:

For the most part, slope only applies to regular flat keyboards. The slope is whether the keyboard surface is angled up, down, or flat. I do not recommend flat keyboards, but if you do get one at the very least make sure it has neutral or negative slope--meaning that the keyboard is either flat or angles downward so that the side closest to your body is higher than the side away from your body.

Remember our wrist bending example earlier and how uncomfortable it was? If you buy a keyboard with positive slope, this is the position you will be typing in. Incredulously, many keyboards are actually designed so that you can prop them up to increase positive slope even further. This is the most prevalent and flagrant design flaw in most standard keyboards.

Low Force Keys:

Ergonomists are divided on whether or not these actually make any difference. However, many accounts from people who suffer from arthritis and repetitive stress injuries have said that low force keys helped reduce their pain. I give low force keys a thumbs up because the keys tend to be less sticky and much, much quieter. Reducing the loud clickity-clack sound on your ears as you type is worth it alone.

Separate Keypad:

Having a keypad separate from the main keyboard is great because it gets the keypad out of the way of the mouse and allows you to bring the mouse in closer for a more neutral mousing position (unless you are left handed in which case the typical right-side keypad is already out of your way). Some keyboards, such as Evoluent keyboards, have a keypad attached to the left side of the keyboard instead of the right side.

This can also be achieved in other ways. The Safetype places the keypad between the left and right keying modules, and the Freestyle Solo has a keypad built in to the right keying module that can be accessed using the Fn key.

Wrist Rests: Yay or Nay?

These are a very popular accessory, but potentially do more harm than good. Resting your wrists on these cuts in to your forearms and becomes quite painful and uncomfortable after a while. Never actively type while wresting your arms on a wrist rest.

For a flat keyboard, which I still don't recommend but I know many people will continue using anyway, palm rests are a much better alternative. Most often these are built into keyboards, but can also be found as separate accessories.

The Bottom Line

Vertical Keyboards are the kings of ergonomic keyboards and the only ones that put you in a fully correct, neutral typing position for maximum comfort and maximum relief from pain and discomfort. While a bit pricey compared to other keyboards, they are a lot less expensive and less hassle than the medical bills from treating your wrists and shoulders after years of damage from typing on conventional flat keyboards.

Until the rest of the keyboard industry catches up, the only two fully vertical ergonomic keyboard solutions currently available are the purpose built Safetype Ergonomic Keyboard and the highly adjustable split Freestyle Solo Keyboard.

Other "ergonomic" keyboards can help reduce comfort, but are only partial solutions.

Brian Brookshire

Owner of Body Correct Living