It may seem the only answer is to encourage people to work using a wrist or palm support, even if it might cause some other discomfort. While officially taking such steps could give companies a defence in the event of being sued for a repetitive strain injury by their employees, especially if they refused to use a support provided, (and the keyboard surface was height adjustable, and the employees understood how and why to use them, and . . . ), there is another solution. Suggest keyboard use away from the support. The further up the underside of anyone's arm pressure is placed, the less the discomfort. That is because the amount of flesh covering the nerves and veins increases. Therefore, what many people may actually require is not a wrist or palm rest, but a forearm rest.

Keyboards can be pushed as much as four, five or even six inches away from the inside edge of the support, depending on the length of an individuals forearm. This is an ideal and extremely beneficial working position for many people, but not just because of the greater comfort felt underneath the forearm. It is because the physical differences in people that must be accommodated, includes not just their heights, but their 'widths' as well. When people sit and simply drop their arms to their sides, the distance between their elbows will vary. Broad shouldered or heavy set people will have a greater distance.
However, the distance between our hands, when in the home row position on a standard QWERTY keyboard, does not vary for anyone. Because the users hands must also 'square up' in a straight line on the home row, using a palm or wrist support can increase the sideways hand deflection.

By using the 'wrist' support as a 'forearm' support, however, the sideways deflection of the hand is decreased substantially. The user is now in as close to a straight, hand in-line to the forearm position as they are likely to get. Up, down and sideways. Provided all the other steps have been taken and they have been properly trained, the potential for a related Repetitive Strain injury or a Cumulative Trauma Disorder has been virtually eliminated.

Remember, however, that most employees will be forced to compromise proper sitting and keying positions, if they must also complete desk work on adjacent, nonadjustable surfaces, or sit in chairs with fixed arms. Armless chairs work much better, especially at angled workstations. Typists never had chairs with arms, for reasons that still apply. Tiltable keyboard support surfaces are also not required in a workstation that is properly adjusted, as they will cause hand deflection if utilized. Extending the feet at the back of the keyboard is ail that is necessary to achieve a proper keying angle. While all of these steps can virtually eliminate the danger of an RSI developing, or the wrist pain many people experience after as little as a half an hour of keying, there are many other discomfort problems affecting employees. Unfortunately, most are created by incorrect ,expert' advice and improper 'ergonomic' workstations, such as those that utilize articulating keyboard support arms.

Knowing how to determine what specific solution is required and having the proper training capabilities to ensure that each is utilized properly can be difficult, yet is essential in eliminating all of the physical discomforts and injuries being associated with using computers, but caused by the workstation. Besides, employees are hurting, and they need help, now.