I can remember when I started out in the professional world, my father gave me some advice, in his words, “In business there are 3 things you NEVER discuss” (for fear of offending or alienating with anyone with a differing point-of-view);
1. Religion
2. Sex
3. Politics
Well….after our blog post 2 days ago on ERGOLAB’s concerns with the ergonomic issues of the Apple iPad, I am nominating another topic that is not open to discussion or questioning.Â
   4.    Apple (and anything having to do Apple, it’s products, leadership etc)
The response from Apple nation was impressive and loud. Apple has a fantastic reputation for excellence in product design; creating products that anticipate consumer needs intuitively. Apple users are passionate and proud of their community. Â
Some reader comments;
– Apple might be leaving the heavy lifting to the after-market. Similar to the iPod series, the iPhone, and the iTouch, Apple is relying on the secondary market to address the ergonomic issues around the product; outside ideas and design will fill the gaps.  If this is their thinking, we are a little disappointed Apple did not address the issues within the core design. This device does not come cheap; after investing $499 for the iPad unit; ergonomic accessories could add another $100 or more to that price tag.  Our concern is that many consumers will do without the enhancements; due to budget or ignorance of the ergonomic risks.
– Under pressure to deliver a tablet device to the market (Apple’s original target date was October 2009), Apple chose to release an interim model. An enhanced version will be offered at a later date. If this is the case, delay your purchase and wait for increased functionality and sound ergonomics. Particularly if you plan on using the iPad as a small format ‘writing’ or ‘creating’ tool.
-Loving the iPhone and slamming the iPad is hypocritical. Yes, the iPhone poses some ergonomic issues, texting being #1 on the list. Human Factors research proves that the mechanics of texting, regardless of device, are damaging.  I would counter your comments with this; the iPhone was never positioned or marketed as a replacement for the laptop. The Apple iPad is being marketed in this way; a SLIPPERY SLOPE in our eyes. People will use this device for writing, with or without the iPad Dock accessory, that usage is high risk.Â
– A very agitated Apple worshipper demanded that I return my iPhone, my laptop and go back to those big ugly, clunky desktops of yesteryear. I hit a nerve with him.Â
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The Apple iPad has ergonomic flaws.Â
Take a look at the Apple provided promotional photo to the left, our ERGOLAB team identified several risk factors FROM APPLE’S OWN MARKETING MATERIALS!
Photo 1 – The left hand holding this device is in EXTREME STATIC ulnar deviation, which is a well-known risk factor for the wrist. Check out the extended index finger; this product will lead to overuse of the index finger due to repetitive and prolonged scrolling. Don’t get us started on the risks to the ‘one-finger’ typists who will use iPad for emailing, document creation and more.
Photo 2 – Both wrists are in EXTREME STATIC wrist extension. This position is often the culprit, in causing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and other wrist Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI).
These identified risks scratch the surface ergonomically.  The Apple iPad is not well-designed to support computing – writing emails or creating documents. Typing on the iPad, while it is laying on a flat surface, creates static neck flexion which causes discomfort, pain and possibly REAL INJURY.Â
If you buy this product – do not type for long stretches. Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) can and will occur. If you choose to adapt your iPad; adding the docking system and keyboard, static neck flexion is reduced, BUT STILL PRESENT.  Injury is possible even with investment in the iPad Dock with keyboard.
The bottom line; using this device ‘as-is’ poses real risk of injury. It’s our responsibility at ERGOLAB to surface these issues, it’s our job, it’s what we do. Just don’t shoot the messenger.
What’s your point-of-view on the Apple iPad? We’d love to hear from you.
I believe you are missing the point of the iPad by miles…
The iPad is *never* intended to use for typing multiple hours a day, but for browsing, reading, gaming, writing the occasional notes and emails, etc.
Just like the iPhone, it’s main purpose is not for writing long essays. If you type on it for like 30 minutes, no problem at all.
If you state it like this, working with *any* laptop, tablet, phone, or desktop computer — which is not adjusted by a professional ergonomics expert — is considered a risk…
disclaimer: I am a professional, working 8-12 hours per day on a laptop without any modifications, external keyboard, or screen height adjustments, for over 10 years, both on a desk and on my lap, and never had any problems with my wrists or neck
Absolutely agree with you, use of any device (laptop, smartphone etc) is a risk.
Our job is to raise awareness of those risks – user behavior / practices is central to a positive ergonomic experience.
Happy to hear you have no RSI/MSD (Repetitive Strain Injury/Musculoskeletal Disorder) issues. Did you know RSI/MSDs account for 1/3 of all workplace injuries? (Our Ergonomic practice is part of Pisano & Associates, an Environmental Health & Safety firm) OSHA data tells us that each MSD costs business $25K in direct costs and $125K in indirect costs. Those costs are unacceptable and drive down productivity.
Our mission here is to raise awareness – get people thinking about the products they use everyday and HOW they use them. You take your body everywhere – work, home, etc – it’s all you’ve got.
Robin thanks for your comments
Cyn
I saw something about this on TV last night…
Excellent site by the way. I didnt know much about this until i came across this site via yahoo Thanks
Thanks for great post! Will be bookmarking this article for future reference!
[…] Ergolab, a US-based ergonomics blog, thought that “the Apple iPad has ergonomic flaws”. […]
I seem to be having some RSI issues from use of my iPad. This article came up upon searching for “repetitive stress ipad.”
When laying in bed, sitting on the couch, or sitting in a chair, the easiest way to type on the iPad is to hold it in your hands vertically and use it like a large iPhone. I just can’t get comfortable or type quickly when laying it down or using it like a traditional keyboard.
Unfortunately, the bottom corners of the iPad press against the fleshy part of the thumb, the same digit used to type. Most of the weight of the iPad gets pressed right into this muscle. The combination of a rounded metal corner pressing into a tensed muscle, rubbing back and forth while you type, gets to be painful quickly. After (admittedly) a few hours of typing this way (not continuously, but perhaps typing 10-15 emails and the same number of Facebook updates, etc.), my left thumb began to really hurt.
Now, a week later, my thumb still hurts and I’m experiencing sharp, periodic pains and some numbness. Typing doesn’t help (on the iPad or otherwise), but I really need to type for work.
I’m giving the iPad a break for a week or so to see if this gets any better. If not, it’s a trip to the doc for me.
hi Michael,
Thanks for sharing your iPad challenges. It is VERY challenging finding a comfortable body posture while using the iPad. Out of the box, iPad is not equipped for long-term typing activities…neutral (non-injurous) body postures are impossible to maintain ( and face it, most people have NO IDEA what those postures are!). Hope the after market develops some ergonomically sound accessories with proper adjustablity to expand iPad usage ‘envelope’. At present, it’s better suited for viewing and listening. Light surfing also.
One comment on your pain. A break will help, but once you initiate the old activities that caused the pain it WILL come back. If you plan on typing on your iPad, use caution. Wait for aftermarket to come up with docking station, etc etc…
Cyndi
Michael, my advice is to get thee to a good knowledgeable massage therapist now! (And yes I am a massage therapist but I likely don’t live in your area and won’t benefit from your visit.) Why do I say this? You already are having some pain and numbness from using the iPad. Even if you stop using the device, you may still have pain when you type on your regular computer. A few good therapeutic aka “medical” massages can help loosen some of the tight muscles the iPad use caused you to create and hopefully avoid further pain. Check out ABMP or Massage Today’s websites for referrals. Hope that helps!
Sue
Finally! I found someone who share my pain! I have exactly the same thumb pain from holding the ipad exactly the same way! It’s been over 2 months now and my thumb and around it are very swollen and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Tomorrow I’m going to a doctor to see about getting a cortisone injection.
Great article… Thanks for sharing!
64gb iPad
I knew the moment I starting using my iPad that I would to find a better way to prop it up will typing.
Having investigating several cover options I have decided to create my own ergonomic cover that will open and allow for an adjustable angle support complete with wrist rest.
And from the looks of it, I better hurry up because even using the type pad for a few emails a day has caused extreme pain in both of my wrists where pain did not exist before.
I’ll be designing the new cover from an art quilt, so i’ll likely have one of the most unique cases around, might because a new side line of work for me, who knows!
As for the finger pointing issue, I suggest using your thumb while comfortably holding you iPad firmly in both hands. And of course like anything else we do, give yourself a break and exercise your neck, back and wrists.
Hi,
this article was really interesting. I would be interested to know what ways you suggest using the iPad. ie what uses, how long for, how to hold it etc.
Regards,
John.
I love Apple products and I have many including the iPhone and the iPad. But whenever I go long stretches with either, my left shoulder and neck become very painful to where I cannot sleep at night and I can barely use that arm. Short of getting rid of these devices, I’d like to know how to minimize injury. I’d like to know what’s ideal and what is worst case and everything in between to make smarter decisions. Thanks.
I’m finding I am having significant pain the front of my shoulder from holding the iPad up and using it while reclining.
Just wanted to tell my story. I’m a software engineer and I picked up an iPad both become familiar with the form factor, but also to reduce the load of carrying around technical books. In the past I was diagnosed once with carpal tunnel and had to go to occupational therapy and really take that stuff seriously. I bought a $900 office chair (Steelcase Leap), an ergo keyboard and mouse and things improved.
Something that didn’t improve much is that I still have tendinitis in the joints between my thumb and index finger. My occupational therapist said that was front “pinching” books open or holding them open at the spine. She taught me all the things to avoid. It got better, but it didn’t abate until I got a Kindle. I can hold a kindle flat without pinching it and have no pain.
The iPad? Not only did that joint pain come back, but I got the same numb / sharp pain in my index finger. So it’s getting returned today. So much promise, but ultimately poor ergonomics. Thanks for alerting me to the other risks I faced if I tried to “play through the pain” I was already having.
Just adding my experiences: I have a history of repetitive strain which I eventually learned to avoid by having ergorest arm rests attached to my desk for typing. I went from not being able to brush my hair to holding down a busy editorial job through learning how to use my computer safely.
I’ve been at home with the kids the last few years and my injury had all but disappeared through diminished computer use until I had to get a new Apple wireless keyboard (much smaller than earlier models) which seemed to exacerbate things again.
Texting, or particularly surfing, on my IPhone made things worse. Then I received an Ipad as a gift; I have used it for moderate surfing and reading, maybe typing a couple of emails, and I can feel the old injuries coming right back. I don’t feel happy about using it at all, to be honest.
The Ipad is a wonderful product but I can’t use it at the moment; there is no way I am going back to the early days of my injury. People should be aware that an RSI can manifest as a “niggle” for a couple of months and then everything can fall apart almost overnight. Once you have the injury, it’s a long road to recovery, especially if your job is affected.
Thanks for highlighting these issues, I hope Apple take note.
This is really amazing, very good information thanks for sharing. I love my ipad and could not change it for a laptop anymore, but before summer 2010 I hade no problem with my index fingers, then I started to experience pain my joints, it hurts to flex the tip of my fingers, I was wondering what happen. I have not hit or injured my hands any how. Then pain start crawling up to my wrists, I don’t type much but I do use the iPad for quite many hours a day, one thing I noticed is that if you play 3d games the effort to hold the device is amazing you will get tired in no time, pain in you wrist and so on. I’m very glad I found this page, I was getting worry it was something else, now I can pin point the problem to the use of the iPad, everything fits. I have to readjust my habits , right now I’m typing this message with the device and let me tell you is painful. I have purchased the pen and is much better to control the pain.
Thanks for this page it was very useful
Doug.
I have been thinking about purchasing an iPad but have hesitated because I already have ergonomic issues with computers. I have chronic shoulder pain and intermittent pain in my wrists and hands due to my job (I work in IT and am on a computer all day every day), despite a special keyboard, mouse, tray, chair, so I have to take this seriously. I do have an iPhone, and if I make the mistake of playing with it too much at one sitting, I have issues.
When my Dad brought his iPad 2 for a visit yesterday, I played with it doing the types of things I think I would use one for. I love Apple toys. I love my iPhone and my iPods. I have had Macintoshes since the early 1980’s. I own Apple stock. But my body is telling me that an iPad might not be the best decision for me. The question is, will I keep listening to my body in the face of the cool new toy? Time will tell! 🙂
I was an IT professional for many year and had mild issues with hand pain sporadically. I would recover with rest. I switch careers and had ver few problems until I got my iPhone. I felt twinges of pain when I texted my kids. Then I got my ipad and all heck broke loose three months later. The pain is so bad in my wrist, neck and arm that I can barely sleep. I do love the ipad though and I wish I had a better understanding of which ctivities are causing the pain. I don’t want to give it up completely if I don’t have to.
I’m experiencing iPhone finger with one finger typing. I don’t think I type excessively on it, but after 2 years of daily use I have a painful, slightly swollen knuckle on my right index finger. In hindsight, I felt it coming on gradually over the last several months. Felt like fatigue at first, so I just ignored it. Any suggestions on treatment?
I have been using my i-pad for 6 months. I love it, but have developed very bad pain in the knuckle joint of my index finger (i-pad swiping finger). The pain lessens when I limit use but never goes, and comes back whenever I use the i-pad.
How can I deal with this problem and lessen the injury to my hand?
[…] reporters at The ErgoLab have dared to suggest that the iPad is not the most ergonomic of devices. They point out that the iPad forces users into “extreme static wrist extension” and […]
Hi
I have just read this article after searching for articles on cts/RSI in relation to kindles. Having purchased a kindle in mid December prior to month long beach holiday (continuous reading) – I now find I have significant / increasing pain in my left wrist.
I hold the kindle almost identically to the left hand grip in the photo attached to the article. What strikes me is the kindle is so thin that there is quite a degree of tension (almost pinching) in this action. Additionally I turn the page by twitching the base of the thumb – a constant recurring movement.
Obviously I will cease using the kindle for a period and will get the doctor to have a look…
Let me share with you my experience… I’ve had my ipad for 6 months, I’ve stopped playing games on ipad for a year and a half now i think, and yet i’m still healing. such a long time. the picture 2 probably described my position when playing and my wrists just turned bad. They crack and look deformed a bit. Now I’m trying massage and the injury points (from repetitive stress) are numerous, the area in the forearm, the back of the hand (though it looks like the front of the hand that is the problem, but actually the muscles at the back of the hand are also tensed), the area between the thumb and the index finger (this one is easy to see and feel and it just doesn’t go away easily), and my latest discovery, the front and back of the hands between the index finger and the middle finger (especially my right finger which i used to play games with). i use a massage pointer and just applied pressure to this single point and wow… hard to describe the feeling of muscle soreness… you have to try getting injury from ipad and apply this method (oh and there’s also the numbness in the area of your small finger, but that one, i think you can massage and stretch your hands and the sides of your arms to get rid of the stiffness). getting someone to pull on your arms and swing your arms (mimick swimming) also help. oh and taking pills don’t really help, think of it like getting cramps and you just have to massage it out. do i still have my ipad? yes, but i think i’ll use it more for youtube.
I have found that tilting the iPad on a diagonal allows me to type with all five fingers of my right hand. It saves my index finger a bit. Also, try keeping your hand loose and relaxed. And keep a light touch. Lastly, a bit of gentle stretching of the wrist, fingers and forearm before, during and after makes all the difference. I keep my left hand in line ith my arm by leaning back and braving the corner of the tilted iPad on a hard surface or my stomac/thigh. Hope this helps.
I have numb tips of index and middle finger right hand. Using a stylus has helped a little. Nerve damage is a concern.
I had been using my Ipad instead of a computer for 18 months with no ill effects. But, now as my fingers hands and arms have been suddenly thrust into a whirlwind of activity in restoring my 1969 MGB, whenever I bend my elbows to use the Ipad, my arms ache and my hands become numb and achey.
I thought that perhaps the pain and numbness might subside as my arms became used to the rigorous daily workouts to which I am subjecting them. Alas, I am wrong about that.
Arms stretched forth in front of me, I bend and twist my hands at the wrists like the daffodil princesses in a parade.
This blog is pretty cool. How was it made ?
Hi There Click…we just used wordpress to create it. Thanks for the compliment! We have lots more to come!
Since I bought an ipad2 a few months back, I can’t put the thing down. But I now have tingling in my right hand, last two pinkies and base of wrist. I use my right hand to hold the iPad as I am left handed. The pain has not spread to other fingers/thumb yet. I think I will try ibuprofen as recommended on other sites. Is this a good idea?