ergonomic keyboard!

the idea of the project:

The use of ergonomically designed keyboard is recommended both for desktop and mobile computers.

Computer keyboard has a major impact on the arrangement of a body. Invalid body position during the longer work on the computer can lead to permanent damages of users posture and hands and joints injuries.

Medical researches conducted on this matter allowed to establish that while working on a computer, most stressed parts of a human body are elbows joints and wrists, and thus they are most vulnerable to injuries resulting from improper posture when using the keyboard.

All computer keyboard available on the todays market are designed on base of well-known typewriter. This solution is unergonomic and for a long time has not been modified. The shape of standard keyboard forces the user to maintain unnatural position while writing, and not only the hands and arms, but the entire body is stressed because of this unnatural position. This leads to unnecessary tension which concentrates on neck and shoulder muscles, and to contortion wrists, which can result in permanent damages and even dislocations. Of a number of identified illnesses associated with this area the most popular are RSI and KTS.

condition:

RSI / Repetitive Strain Injuries / - is revealed as a lightweight drawing pain in the joints and muscles. After a few months, it transformes into trenchant pain, periodic torpidities which leads to a loss of sensitivity and movement in hands and toes. The reason for this type of illness is the minimal damage of muscle mass, as a result of congestions on which are exposed our hands while working on unergonomically designed keyboard. After this effort, muscle mass isn't often able to regenerate itselfe during the night of rest, which leads to progressive and permanent damages of tissue.

KTS / karpaltunnel-Syndrom, Medianuskompressionssyndrom / - is usually the most common surgery case. This is trauma of the root of hands bone. It arises as a result of damages to the hands tendons. The nerves and tendons are located next to each other in a sort of canal, and right above them there are the muscles, responsible for bending fingers. While working on unergonomically designed keyboard, as a result of unnatural bending of wrists and malposition of hands, frequently occure local pressure of the mass of muscle on the tendons and nerves. Depending on the forces of oppression, this may lead to temporary atonicity of fingers, and even paralysis.

The direct cause of such illnesses is that while typing on unergonomic keyboard, the hands are one-side stressed, and in addition the wrists are firmly twisted out.

The main symptom of this injuries is pain and sensitivity disturbances in the fingers (usually the first three fingers: thumb, forefinger and middle) and the hand. Especially characteristic are night pains which spread out to the whole hand, and even arms / brachialgia paraesthaetica nocturna /. Patients are being awake in the middle of the night because of stabbing pain in hand, and they can't get back to sleep for several hours.

Such situations can repeat several times during the night, preventing restful sleep. This state is folowed by morning paralysis, cricks and stiffening of fingers or even whole hand, so-called writer's cramp. They may also be related to swellings and lack of feeling, due to weak circulation and quench. The corollary of these symptoms is a partial loss of movability of fingers, which leads to deterioration of muscle mass / Thenarmuskel-Atrophia /. In some more advanced cases, pain may even occur in the vicinity of the cervical vertebra.

These symptoms were examined and classified into four phases of the development of diseases by Gerle and Fuchs:

Stage 1: Pain and sensitivity disturbance.

Stage 2: Additional paralyze feelings.

Stage 3: Progressive paralyze feelings and partial loss of the thumbs muscles.

Stage 4: Permanent paralysis and muscle deterioration / Muscle Atrophy /.

the advantages of the project:

Ergonomy is the scientific discipline which improves adaptation of work environment and tools to the psycho-physical capabilities of human bodies. Its goal is to humanised work through such organization of the man - machine - environment configuration to achieve the lowest posiible biological cost and highest possible efficiency, which is achieved, among others, by eliminating sources of occupational diseases. Ergonomy is interdisciplinary science.

Ergonomic keyboards are the best possible solution to problems arising from the use of outdated, inadequate and inconvenient keyboards. The main task of the ergonomic keyboards is to improve working conditions of human and best possible cooperation with user.

Ergonomically designed keyboards are the best keyboards for people.