Medical Diagnosis: Nerve entrapment in both wrists
Ellen is employed by the home office of a national multi- disciplinary engineering firm. As administrative assistant to the computer services department, she uses her computer at least four hours a day.

She first experienced wrist discomfort in 1991. "While I don't know if keyboarding caused my condition, I do know that it at least irritated it. I distinctly remember that the problem started while I was typing on a portable PC. I was holding my wrists at an awkward angle when the pain started. I was uncomfortable enough that I stopped typing for the day. But I assumed the discomfort was temporary and that it would go away if I just rested my wrists."

However, the problem didn't go away. Over time, Ellen's pain actually increased. "It took me close to eight months to convince my doctor there was really something wrong." After diagnosing her condition as nerve entrapment, he prescribed anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers. "He also started me wearing wrist splints at night for a couple of weeks. When that didn't alleviate the pain, he had me wear them during the day as well."

At this same time, Ellen was asked to research ergonomic issues and make recommendations for improvements to her company's workstations. As a necessary part of her research, she began investigating computer keyboards. She first read about the Kinesis keyboard in a publication about modern office technologies. She learned more from a newspaper article, a local newscast and a national news program.

"The more I found out about the Kinesis keyboard, the more it seemed to be the best alternative." Still, it was Ellen's boss who actually convinced her that she needed to get the Kinesis keyboard. "He'd seen me wearing those cumbersome wrist braces. And here viewed my report and much of the support literature I'd gathered. But it was the Kinesis' 30-day money-back guarantee that was the deciding factor. When he read that we'd have a month to evaluate whether the Kinesis keyboard was helping me, he had me place an order immediately."

Meanwhile, Ellen's wrists continued to ache. A cortisone injection eased the discomfort in one wrist, but only briefly. "My wrists were pretty bad, and they were getting weaker. I wasn't able to do little things at home like open jars. I could feel things pulling in my wrists when I tried to turn off a water faucet. By the time the Kinesis keyboard arrived, I was really discouraged. But once I started using the Kinesis, my pain went away fairly fast in about two weeks.

"At first, I was a bit frustrated as I tried to find the keys. But then one day, it all came together. I logged onto my computer, loaded my software programs, began typing, and everything just felt right. Ever since then, I have just loved using my Kinesis keyboard. And now, when I sit down at a traditional keyboard and try to type, I can feel the difference right away."

When Ellen's schedule allows, she likes to try her hand at the practice lessons and tests in Typing Tutor , the software program Kinesis included with her keyboard. "Then I'll work with the Letter Invaders program to increase my typing speed and accuracy." After using the Kinesis keyboard for about a month, Ellen's speed wasn't quite back to it's pre-injury high: "I'm typing 70 words a minute, and I was doing around 90. But I'm getting there, and now I'm careful to be more accurate."

Today Ellen is still careful not to further injure herself. "Even though I'm feeling much better using the Kinesis keyboard, I know there's a lot of healing still going on. To support the Kinesis, I watch what I do with my wrists, take regular rest breaks and wear my splints at night. And my wrists keep getting stronger all the time."

Recently, representatives from the company's other locations paused at Ellen's desk during a tour of her division's computer services department. "They were impressed with the Kinesis keyboard's state-of-the-art looks. But I told them that the keyboard's appearance is nothing compared to what it has done for my health. Now I don't hurt at all, I really don't. It's the best I've felt in a year and a half."