Medical Diagnosis: Tendonitis in both arms.
Lois is a journalist for a national publication. She works at her keyboard eight hours a day, writing articles and taking or transcribing notes from telephone interviews. The software she uses is function key-intensive. To strike the requisite key combinations on her traditional keyboard, Lois was routinely required to perform uncomfortable stretches and reaches. In the summer of 1989, she began to experience discomfort from keyboarding. As her pain increased, she sought help from a hand surgeon and a hand therapist. Their treatments (including cortisone shots and anti-inflammatory drugs) helped, but her recovery was still limited by the geometry of the traditional keyboard. As a result, she began looking for an alternative keyboard design.

Lois formally requested to beta test the Kinesis keyboard, and began using a prototype keyboard in February of 1992. She noticed the difference almost immediately, and within two weeks was able to stop the cortisone and antiinflammatory drug therapies.

In particular, she noticed a big difference when she was able to shift workload from her little fingers to her thumbs. This redistribution also reduced the number of awkward reaches she was performing when she used Control and Alt (thumb keys) in combination with the keyboard's closer function keys.

To eliminate the final source of stress on her little fingers, Lois chose to use the Kinesis keyboard's optional foot pedal as an alternative Shift key.

Lois had experienced pain from the u1nar deviation required by her traditional keyboard, which "the Kinesis keyboard eliminates for me." Before she had a Kinesis keyboard, she was forced to type with her hands together in front of her body and with her wrists bent outward towards her little fingers. "When I try to use my old keyboard, am now uncomfortable. I feel like my hands are on top of each other."

After only three months on the Kinesis keyboard, Lois was sufficiently recovered to stop physical therapy and couldresume hobbies she had been forced to discontinue because of her injuries. She even began writing a novel.

More than two years later, Lois says she will never return to a traditional keyboard. "The Kinesis keyboard is really working for me."