Contoured Keyboards

Contoured keyboards are built to fit our hands. This may seem like a simple idea – building products that “fit” those who use them – but it is an idea that is only beginning to hit the mainstream world of computers and offices. While you may have thought that your standard keyboard “fits” your hands well (after all, the keys are slightly scooped for your fingertips, right?), just compare it to a contoured keyboard. Companies that make contoured keyboards have taken the following into consideration:

Not all of your fingers are the same length – Looking at a standard, flat keyboard, someone from the future may think that the user had fingers of all the same length. After all, if the person had fingers of different lengths, the longer fingers would have to arch up over the keys, resulting in an extension of the tendons and muscles of the hands. This not efficient, and such a motion can result in hand muscles becoming fatigued rapidly. However, a contoured keyboard has concave key wells – the keys are lower in the middle, accommodating the longer middle fingers and reducing extension. The user’s hands and fingers can remain neutral and relaxed.
Your thumb is stronger than your pinky finger – Because the thumb is stronger than the pinky finger, it makes sense to move keys normally used by the pinky to where they can by used by the thumb, instead. Many contoured keyboards do this – the “enter,” “backspace,” “delete,” “ctrl,” and other keys are placed where the thumb, rather than the pinky, can access them.
When your elbows are angled outwards, your hands are angled inwards – A standard keyboard requires your hands to be right next together. Of course, many keyboard users must bend their elbows out and angle their wrists sideways to keep their fingertips on these keys. To help users avoid this position, many contoured keyboards have separate key wells for each hand. By keeping the hands separate (and at shoulder width apart), it is easier to keep the arms, wrists, and elbows straight and in a neutral position. This “straight” position reduces ulnar deviation and abduction. (Note: not all contoured keyboards position the key wells in this same way… some are built differently).

To find out whether or not a contoured keyboard is the right sort of keyboard for you, it is best to try one out. Keep in mind, though, that it takes some getting used to. Not only will it literally feel different at first, you must also relearn which digits must be used to hit the “ctrl” key and other moved keys. Also, realize that although contoured keyboards are made to fit the human hand, all humans have different hands. Therefore, while one contoured keyboard may fit your co-worker well, a different one may fit you better.