Forearm support

Providing forearm support prevents musculoskeletal disorders of the upper body and reduces upper body pain resulting from computer work, according to an April study in the British Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

A padded board, attached to the front edge of a worker’s desk with a support that is placed under the meaty part of the worker’s forearm, positions a computer user’s arm in a way that releases tension in the shoulder muscle. The study shows that the use of the board reduces neck, shoulder, hand, wrist and forearm pain.

The study also tested a trackball, a large ball installed next to the computer keyboard that replaces the mouse. The study found that it reduced worker discomfort in some cases, but for others it was hard to use.

David Rempel, the study’s author and director of the ergonomics program at San Francisco General Hospital and professor of medicine at University of California San Francisco, said, “Based on these outcomes, employers should consider providing employees who use computers with appropriate forearm support and training.”