THE ERGONOMIC WRITER
If you saw the PBS television special on Mark Twain a few months back, you were probably as surprised as I was to learn that Twain suffered from CTD. You might be even more surprised to learn that you may suffer from it and not even know it.
Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs), as related to writers, is one name given to the aches and pains-even disabilities-created by repetitive motions and awkward positions while working on a keyboard. Of course, Mark Twain didn't have the joys of computer word processing, but the pain in his right shoulder, arm, and hand that prevented him from writing for periods of time was a cumulative trauma disorder.
Ergonomics is the field of study-and industry-that deals with CTDs. Derived from ergo, a Greek word for "work" and nomos meaning "laws," ergonomics encompasses the relationship between the workplace, equipment, tools, the environment and the human physical, biomechanical, and psychological capabilities.
If you have a temperamental body like I do, you may have bouts of neck and shoulder pain, achy wrists or cold numb fingers, and a stiff or screaming lower back. You may also have thought that these problems just go with the territory of being a writer and then dealt with them as best you could. That was my approach until some the pains wouldn't go away and chiropractic, massage, and eventually physical therapy brought relief but didn't lead me to The Solution.
I gained a first clue from a workshop on ergonomics offered by the National Writers Union. Afterwards, I changed my monitor height, got a desk with a drop-down keyboard tray, replaced a sorry-looking chair with a comfy executive one, and purchased a split keyboard. I thought I had taken care of everything, but I was only on the right track with a long way to go. In fact, my CTDs, over time, got worse.
Last year, at one of the "home shows," I met a specialist in ergonomics. I couldn't bring myself to call Myrlin Deveraux, the owner of ERGOdynamics, until February. I suspected my wallet would feel lighter after he came out to do an analysis of my work site, something he does free of charge for individuals and businesses throughout western Oregon.
If the rest of this column sounds like a commercial for his company, I can't help it. Myrlin has knowledge we writers need. For instance, the writer's workstation includes chairs, desks or tables, computers with monitors and keyboards, papers and books, lighting, and other desktop items. How we use and interact with these items affects our health, and our health affects our productivity.
Myrlin's company manufacturers ergonomically designed chairs including ones that can be customized to your body. To minimize CTDs, your chair should have the right seat height, seat pitch, back height, back pitch, arm supports, and height support. Check your chair against these specifications:
- Seat height is best when your thigh has a slight downward angle from hip to knee.
- Seat pitch should evenly support the back of your legs from buttocks to back of thigh.
- Back height should support your lumbar curve but not be too low or it can cause the rotation of your pelvis.
- Back pitch should support the largest part of your back while working.
- Arm supports need to support your shoulder comfortably, allow free movement of your hands, and keep your arms close to your torso.
Some of Myrlin's customers, he said, like an inflatable, and therefore adjustable, lumbar support, adjustable armrests, and touch-sensitive padding. Some like an adjustable leg support-with brake-and others like the inflatable neck pillow. I opted for-yup, my wallet is lighter-the touch-sensitive padding and a built-in lumbar support that fits his measurements of my back.
My monitor now sits on a four-inch stand, which I purchased for my old monitor after I went to the National Writers Union workshop-and forgot to use when I changed computers. ERGOdynamics tells customers to adjust the monitor height so that their eyebrows are on a level plane with the top of the monitor.
Myrlin approved of my fixed-split keyboard but showed me how I should be working on the desktop instead of the drop-down tray, which may be just right for people shorter than my six feet.
Split keyboards, fixed and adjustable, are only one option among alternative keyboards, although they are the most popular. Microsoft gets the credit for introducing their "natural" keyboard and most office supply stores carry them. Basically, the keyboard is designed to fit the natural curvature of the hands and how fingers operate keys. Give yourself a few days to a week to get used to this "curvy" keyboard, although if you are a hunt-and-peck typist, you may like the traditional keyboard.
One of the disadvantages to Microsoft's split keyboard is the distance to the mouse, and for best ergonomic design, your mouse should be as close to your keyboard as possible, and on the same plane. A company named Lexmark features an adjustable-split keyboard, the Select-Ease, with a separate numeric keypad, which makes all kind of sense for word- versus number-smiths.
My friend, Skye Blaine, is a seasoned, ergonomically savvy writer who uses one an ergonomic chair with a "rotating arm support." She also uses a split keyboard, a "Maxim," made by Kinesis. Not only does it have a separate keypad, but Skye describes how in one swift motion she can flatten and rotate it together so that someone else can use it with ease. Although not popular or affordable as yet, dozens of alternative keyboards exist with such radical ideas as vertical (in a handshake position), chording (simultaneous key presses!), and the Dvorak Key Layout (distributes typing evenly among fingers of both hands).
Desk or table height, Myrlin explained, should be adjusted to the person and not visa versa. That's why his company manufactures electric adjustable desk that can move up and down from 27 to 44 inches. I especially covet his natural wood desks with cutouts that allow you to scooch right into your work area.
"Allowable range of motion" was a phrase Myrlin used repeatedly, and I began to see how I had been extending beyond that allowable range, with my mouse especially. In fact, by the end of our consultation, I could match one for one each of my Cumulative Trauma Disorders with an ergonomic mistake. After the first three days of sitting in my magic-Myrlin chair with a workstation that meets 80 percent of his recommendations, my neck, shoulder, and back pain have diminished by as much.
Does this mean I have lost all any excuses for not writing as prolifically as Samuel Clemens writes? Nah!
For more information on ergonomics, surf the Net. To reach Myrlin Deveraux with ERGOdynamics, call 1-800-444-1416 or visit his website: www.ergodynamics.net. To learn more about Kinesis keyboards, visit www.kinesis-ergo.com.
©2001 Elizabeth Lyon