Earlier this year---woops, last year, now---I bought a new computer. The computer is fine, a vast improvement over my last one in speed and power. But the keyboard is not.

It's much harder to type on this than it was before. After a few hundred words, my hands and wrists get tired and sore. I can keep going on it by forcing myself---but it can't be good for me. Also the buttons seem small for my big hands and I'm always going back and correcting mistakes.

Now, as a postal worker, I'm familiar with repetitive motion syndromes and such, even suffering from it enough once to see a doctor about it. (Swollen tendons, he told me, which more or less went away by themselves after that particular portion of the job vanished.) At work, I go to great lengths now to avoid this sort of thing, even opening up a towel machine in the bathroom to roll the towels off the spindle, rather than using the lever that causes my shoulder to ache when I try to manipulate it. It's almost an art in itself.

But it's something to keep in mind here, at home, while writing. It's either figure out how to do so without hurting myself, or be reduced to dictating my stories---and I can't give dictation.

My keyboard, and my previous keyboard, were very much in the line of "Well, this is the one that came with my computer---are there any others?" But I know there are "ergonomic keyboards" and such available for sale. I've looked at them, but am hesitant to buy one. (I usually am with any appliance---it took me four years to settle down enough to buy a second TV for my bedroom.)

Anybody have any experiences with one? Good, bad, indifferent? Experiences to share? Some way of coping I haven't heard of or thought of?

I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Nothing worse than having to literally suffer through your art. Sometimes it's hard enough to write without physical pain attached to the process.

One suggestion I have for you may or may not be what you are looking for--speech recognition. The software has become much better than in the past and relatively inexpensive (under $100.00 for a basic package). Now this isn't for everybody, but I do know a couple of people who have used it successfully to write rough drafts, and editing would still need to be done by hand, but I think it might be a good option for you.

If you have a newer machine, you shouldn't have a problem finding a software package that will run on it fairly well. I would suggest 'Dragon Naturally Speaking' if you want to give it a try, but there are a lot of different software options out there now. Some of them even have free trials for a month or so so you could give it a go without costing anything.

By the way, I found this doesn't work well for me, but then again I don't have the necessary situation to force me to make it work.

My ergo keyboard is the basic Microsoft one you find at any computer store. I think it's about $40. It took me about 1/2 an hour to get used to it - it's a little odd at first - but that passes quickly.

For me using a mouse is very bad, so I've learned a lot of keyboard shortcuts. I also use vr software when things are very difficult. There's also a lot you can do with chair height, keyboard height, posture, etc. It may require a lot of experimenting.

Another useful thing is to stretch before you begin typing, and take a break every hour or so and stretch again. Massage, particularly the deeper structural modalities, is very useful.

About $100 will get you any keyboard there and some are much much much cheaper. Most are $40-80.

My personal favorite are the Microsoft Natural keyboards. My wrists are shot from sword fighting, so comfort in a keyboard is important. Find one you like and buy two.

An ergonomic keyboard will help, but the most important things is how you're positioned while typing. Ideally, you want your elbows at your sides (as opposed to away from your body like you're doing the chicken dance) and bent to about 90 degrees. The ergonomic keyboards help to keep your forearms in a neutral position, rather than squished together in front of your body like regular keyboards or laptops do. Also, you want the top of your computer screen level with your eyes. I could go on and on about other factors, but you only asked about the keyboard, so I'll refrain...although, if you want more info, I'd be more than happy to elaborate.

Beyond all that, if you notice that the pain starts after, let's say, you've typed for 30 minutes, then STOP at 25 minutes, before the pain begins, and do some stretches. The doctor may have shown you some, but if he/she didn't, you can find a few basic ones in a stretching book.

(1) Oddly enough, I did poke at keyboards at Office Max and Best Buy today. I was a little put off by nearly all the "ergonomic" models being "wireless"...I'd rather just have it hooked by a cord to my computer in the traditional manner, but that's just me. They seemed to feel fine...but none were actually hooked up to anything so it's difficult to judge.

(2) I hardly ever sit at the computer and type for more than a half hour straight, and even then, I might get up in the middle of it. (I'm often online for more than that...but I'm not typing continuously.)

(3) I hadn't thought about the mouse...but about a year after getting my first computer I did move it from my right hand to my left hand because of an achy right hand. No troubles on the left so far, at least as far as hands go.

(4) I hadn't considered height-of-chair at all...I am a little above it right now. But I think my chair is down about as far as it will go. I'll ponder raising the computer---it's on a cheap table and not a proper desk---or getting a lower chair.

I was not a touch typist but the ergo keyboards with the split letter force you to use proper typing form and I benefited greatly from it.

That said, they do take some getting used to, especially if you hunt and peck. The payoff is worth it though...your biggest problem will be that at work you still have a standard keyboard and at home you will have an ergo one.

I have a similar problem though it is better than it was. Blood flow is a problem and stress and bad posture make it worse. Essentially the hands should be below the elbows for good blood flow which will ease the ache. Low screens tend to cause bad posture which reduces blood flow through the shoulders. Stretching occasionally does help as does walking around loosening up the arms.

There's a REASON pianists have developed proper hand position, and it's because of repetetive motion injuries that have plagued them for centuries--ruined a few illustrious careers as well. The above advice is absolutely correct on posture and arm position, but there's MORE!!!

The wrists should always be flat, the hands extending in a straight line from the arm. The wrists should not be dropped below this straight line, nor raised above it. The majority of the motion should be in the fingers, and any wrist motion should be side to side, not up and down. (There are certain specific exceptions to this in Piano, but they don't apply to punching a computer keyboard.)

My current keyboard has a hand rest in front of it the helps greatly to keep my wrists straight, while allowing me to rest my hands on it. The balls of my palms rest on the hand rest while my fingers fly over the keys.