Study Protocol for CTS and Keyboard Controlled Randomized Trial

The study hypothesis is that there is a relationship between the keyboard layout and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Specifically, use of the standard QWERTY keyboard increases the risk of symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. The QWERTY keyboard requires more effort by the fingers than necessary to perform the required work, i.e. data or word entry; up to 200 percent more flexion and extension and 100 percent more distance traveled. The purpose of the protocol is to evaluate two keyboard layouts for carpal tunnel syndrome therapy, and to see if the efficient keyboard, Finger Relief, can be used as an adjunctive tool to other treatments or therapy for CTS for typists. Subjects who had received a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome from their medical doctor and, where not contraindicated, had received confirmation of the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome with a nerve conduction velocity (NCV) study participated in four typing sessions to compare onset and severity of carpal tunnel symptoms. Testing sessions alternated between keyboards. The keyboard selected for the first typing session was determined by random assignment. Twenty subjects completed all four typing sessions. The test protocol consisted of a medical history, 3 tests of the subjective pain experience of the subject (visual analogue scale / verbal rating scale, and hand diagram), 2 clinical measures of physical manifestations of swelling associated with carpal tunnel syndrome (water volume/tape measure), and a measure of the length of time spent typing on each keyboard layout - QWERTY and TheOrdinals (the Finger Relief keyboard).