Medical Diagnosis: Tendonitis in left wrist and arm
Peggy works as a communication services coordinator for an international heavy-equipment manufacturing company. Her job requires that she spend up to 85% of her workday entering alphanumeric data into her personal computer.

She first experienced keyboard-related health problems in 1990 while working intensely on a major project. After two or three weeks on the assignment, she noticed "an aching in my left wrist, shooting pains in my fingers and an inability to close my left hand at the end of the day." Her pain diminished when she followed her doctor's instructions to wear a wrist brace and take anti-inflammatory drugs.

Over the next two and one-half years, her discomfort steadily increased. In July 1992, her condition was diagnosed as severe tendonitis in the left wrist and arm. With her arm temporarily immobilized in a cast, she went on a two-week vacation. When she returned to work she was pain free, and her employer provided her with a redesigned, ergonomic workstation. "After three days of keyboard use, the pain was back." Even though she applied ice packs, wore a wrist brace and. took anti-inflammatory medications under her doctor's direction, the pain increased.

A sympathetic friend brought her a newspaper article about the Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard^®, a new keysystem designed to reduce the stresses from keyboarding. Determined to find a solution, she called Kinesis and received a prototype keyboard in early September.

"Within two weeks of using the Kinesis keyboard, my problems were gone."

She attributes her quick recovery to an iron resolve to make it work. "I wanted the pain to go away - and go away quickly. So I went after it with a vengeance by using the Kinesis keyboard for all of my work and by faithfully keeping up with my medical treatments as a necessary support." Peggy believes that continuing to follow her doctor's advice after she began using the Kinesis keyboard was an important part of her recovery. "To make sure I got better, I was religious about continuing my regimen of taking anti-inflammatories and wearing my wrist brace at night.

"My doctor was amazed at my rapid progress, expecting my recovery to take much longer." As her condition continued to improve, Peggy was able to reduce -and eventually eliminate - her medication. She stopped wearing her wrist brace after six weeks.

Even though Peggy is an accomplished typist, she used the complimentary Typing Tutor^® software provided by Kinesis to ease her transition to the keyboard. As a result, she 'had no problems at all in adapting."

Peggy "appreciates the contoured design, split keywells, and many of the other differences between the Kinesis keyboard and traditional keyboards. Everything's right there at your fingertips. You don't have to stretch your hands out or manipulate your body to perform the keystrokes."

She also likes the Kinesis keyboard's keyswitches. "They're more sensitive to the touch, so you don't have to hit the keys as hard as you do on a traditional keyboard."

Peggy's tendonitis has not recurred since she has been using the Kinesis keyboard for all of her keyboard work. "As long as the Kinesis keyboard follows me wherever I go, I'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere without it."