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Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

symboliclogic.io

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Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#121

Post by and0 »

trashcat wrote: post #93
jagger27 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why the new hot thing in mechanical keyboards is gasket mounting and PCB relief cuts. There is some progress happening here. A good desk mat helps too.

I'm glad that this is the way customs are headed. I love my Think6.5 V2. Gasket mounting has been game changing for me.

After Googling for an embarassingly long time I think I'm figuring out what gasket mounting is.. how does that meaningfully changed how the keyboard feels? Just makes the whole typing surface a little flexible / bouncy?

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#122

Post by nvmletsdoit »

I noticed when I started to exercise more seriously few years ago, all the pain from working 8h+ in front of a PC magically disappeared. But I think the key isn't just do the exercises for a good posture. Just commit to something a little more ( gym, tai chi, whatever you want ) and your body automagically will handle better the "bad habits".

TLDR: I noticed a lot of difference between just doing postural work and a fully committed "sport".

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#123

Post by ebiester »

cecilpl2 wrote: post #119

Honestly, switching to a more natural layout like Dvorak is probably one of the best things you can do for wrist pain. I don't think there have been any studies on it yet, but anecdotally it's great. Many people report likewise. It's not easy to switch but imo it's well worth the time to optimize one of the primary interfaces with which you will interact with the world for decades to come. It's so bizarre to me that…

Dvorak didn't change anything for me and I went back. The problem for me is angle of wrists, not key travel. (The other problem is one-handed chording and stretching. Ctrl-X,V for example.)

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#124

Post by josephferano »

warp wrote: post #102
jon-wood wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious, is the Moonlander enough of an upgrade over the EZ to be worth dropping that sort of money on a second keyboard? What are the big differences you've actually noticed having made the jump?

I don't have any experience with the Ergodox, and I loved the Moonlander when I first got it. But having used it for about 8 months now I really don't like how they've implemented the tenting -- the thumb cluster ends up too far away, making the inner most thumb keys on both sides unreachable (for me). I'm likely going to replace it with something with better designed thumb clusters when I can (probably a Kyria or ma…

My Kyria hopefully arrives tomorrow.

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#125

Post by markdeloura »

ben7799 wrote: post #68
flylikeabanana wrote: post #13

I find it really odd that the OP is staring down the barrel of an RSI that's going to inexorably lock them (presumably) out of their career and passion, but the learning curve for a proper ergonomic keyboard seemed to high. I was up to an acceptable 40WPM on the Ergodox a week after switching, and his complaints about " the Cherry MX" switches fall a little flat since there's about a dozen different kinds, all with d…

There's absolutely zero clinical/valid evidence that Cherry MX switches do a shred of anything for RSI. It's all hype. There's nothing medical behind any of it. I find the extra key travel of those switches fatigues my fingers/arms far more and makes me feel far more like I'm going to have RSI. I did have full blown RSI, and ditching mechanical keyboards was a key part of getting past it. Now that's just my anecdote,…

This subthread highlights one of the things that seems true about RSI: what works for you may not work for me. I find that having longer key travel works better for me - typing on laptop boards or those shallow Mac keyboards tears up my forearms. I use Cherry switches without the tactile bump and they work great for me.

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#126

Post by tokamak-teapot »

I did exactly this - even down to using Apple Magic keyboards, because I happened to have two of them.

The only difference was that I had the keyboards angled ‘out’ rather than in, propped up at their front and middles, so that my wrists were higher than my fingers and thumbs higher than my other fingers, if that makes sense.

Eventually I moved on from this to a single keyboard specifically designed to support this sort of setup, but two small keyboards was a great start!

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#129

Post by ashton314 »

jagger27 wrote: post #61
ashton314 wrote: post #32

There is a lot of hype on this thread about the Moonlander keyboard. The hype is real. The author has a neat hack, but seriously, just get yourself a split keyboard that supports the QMK firmware, customize the crap out of it, and your hands will thank you forever.

I wish I could buy the Moonlander without switches and keycaps. I already have both.

That would be nice. They explain why they don’t do that here: https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/faq

That being said, their support and product are absolutely excellent—might be worth it anyway

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#130

Post by glouwbug »

It's not about the keyboard. It's about the lack of a strength building regime. Humans are not built to sit behind a desk. A strength training regime like Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 is what the average office worker needs to survive their career RSI free into old age
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