Typing on Tablet Keyboards Can Be Murder on the Shoulders - East Idaho News

Typing on Tablet Keyboards Can Be Murder on the Shoulders

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getty 101514 digitaltablet?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1413371833686iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(DEKALB, Ill.) — As much as you love your tablet, you could be doing your body a disservice.

Researchers at Northern Illinois University say that prolonged use of a tablet’s touch-screen keyboard can cause chronic shoulder pain.

To reach that conclusion, they enlisted 19 people in their mid-20s to type various passages for five-minute periods on touch-screen, desktop and notebook keyboards as muscle activity in the forearms and shoulders was recorded.

By far, the participants typed more words and with greater accuracy on the conventional keyboards.

But more importantly, the researchers noted that fingers hovering over touch screens were found to put more muscle exertion on the shoulders, which can then lead to persistent problems.


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