(FORTUNE Small Business) – Ergonomics

Freedom Chair, $1,170--If you never listened when Mom told you to sit up straight, you'll listen to the Freedom Chair, bar none the best of the small office ergonomic chairs. The seat responds to your body's weight--no annoying levers or knobs--offering the right amount of resistance as you recline without sacrificing back support. Lean back, and the seat slides forward so that your lumbar area is always reinforced. The seat's techno-gel spreads your weight evenly, and the arm rests always stay at the same height, so your back is even. In other words, it's no slouch. www.humanscale.com The nifty thrifty pick: CustomAir backrest ($75; www.obusforme.com)

Cruise Cat Touchpad, $69 Jerry usually bests Tom in their eternal struggle, but in the real world cat-and-mouse game, this cat wins. With minimal impact on your fingers and no repetitive motion or stress on your wrist, touchpads are the healthy alternative to mice. This one needs only a light touch and lets you preprogram specific movements on the pad to execute common functions. "Hot keys" let you launch your browser or e-mail with one tap, and you get left and right mouse buttons. The only downside: Cutting and pasting can be annoying. www.cirque.com The nifty thrifty pick: WhaleMouse ($59; www.ergogear.com)

--Kinesis Classic Contoured Keyboard, $275 It diffused the repetitive stress problems in my wrists and forearms within three months. The halved keyboard lets your hands sit where they naturally rest, and the concave inlets position the keys where your fingers naturally fall. Be prepared to spend at least a couple of weeks getting used to the peculiar design, since many common keys (like the space bar) have new homes. www.kinesis-ergo.com The nifty thrifty pick: Goldtouch Adjustable Keyboard ($99; www.goldtouch.com)

Tips & Advice

1. THE BIG THREE A good chair, the right positioning of your keyboard, and straight-ahead placement of your monitor will fix most of your daily pains.

2. AVOID THE MOUSE trap Learn as many keyboard shortcuts as possible--and use them too!--so that you're not relying so much on stressful pointing devices.

3. BUYER BEWARE Research before you buy as there are plenty of quack scams and johnny-come-latelies in this industry.

4. KEEP IT MOVING, BUDDY Even the best posture will eventually hurt, so look for products that can move around (even if just a little) and get in the habit of repositioning yourself during the day.

5. BE LIKE POPEYE Use stress balls and hand grips to build strong forearms, which can help save you from repetitive stress injuries. Spinach is optional.

Source: Katherine Mares, ergonomic consultant, L.A.'s D.R. Group

Resources

TIFAQ.COM The Typing-Injury FAQ is an excellent educational resource on the most-often-asked-about source of office injuries.

OFFICEORGANIX.COM Get your free-range monitors and soy keyboards at ergonomics HQ. Order the best products at a discount and find tips to improve your office's ergo-health.

PRIO.COM Hey, four eyes! These custom glasses stop the constant refocusing your eyes have to do when you stare at the screen. Get rid of those migraines the Poindexter way.

NCERGO.COM Ergonomics, schmergonomics: Find out why the skeptics think most ergo talk is just a bunch of hot air.

What's Next?

Death, taxes, and...ergonomics? Not with Dubya in charge. Expect the Labor Department to announce voluntary ergo guidelines instead of OSHA regulations.

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