While Standing Desks have gained a lot of press lately, I generally feel that the bigger factor to spine and shoulder strain for desk workers is not the standing desk, but rather the standard keyboard. While keys placed close together made sense in the days of mechanical typewriters, I believe we have reached a point in the evolution of technology where we should be adapting the interfaces to ourselves rather than adapting ourselves to the interfaces. I have mapped out some of the affects on torso and the shoulder girdle in this blog post I wrote back in 2014.
If you are a hunt-and-peck typer these sorts of keyboards may be too big a transition for you. But if you are a touch typer and spend a decent amount of time typing in your daily life, the benefits of making the change to a split keyboard can be huge. I've found it takes some folks a bit of time to adjust to the new positioning but once you do, typically a spread keyboard positioning allows for a much more open set in the shoulders and reduced neck strain. And for me personally, I find it easier to find flow in writing and composition and I actually feel like my writing comes out better in this open position.
For a number of years now, the Kinesis Freestyle2 keyboard with a 20" separation cord (don't bother with the 9") has been my go-to keyboard. It comes in both a PC and MAC version and can also be outfitted with a tilt kit which allows you to angle the keyboard up from flat on the desktop, allowing for even greater reduction in strain.
As the technology continues to advance, I try to make a point of testing new options as they arise. As such, I am currently, during this quarantine, looking into two new options. If you decide to try one of the options below and want to give me your thoughts about them, I'd be more than happy to get more feedback.
The Kinesis Freestyle Pro which claims a better keyboard action and reduced effort to type. It also can be paired with it's own specialized tilt kit.
And the Core Mechanics split keyboard which claims better action and boasts a 48" separation cord.
