Are your shoulders sore after a day at your computer? Do your hands or wrists ache when you spend too much time at your keyboard? Here are a few tips to help you stay healthier and pain-free while typing.

Move your keyboard. Place your keyboard flat, or slightly sloping away from your body with the back lower than the front. Never raise the back of the keyboard. The optimum placement is one to two inches above your lap, only slightly lower than your elbow height. Center the keyboard to your body, with the space bar directly in front of you. A keyboard tray can make this placement easy and can be adjusted to fit any user.

Sit up straight! Remember your mom always telling you to sit up? She was right. Proper posture while typing is one of the most significant changes you can make to relieve pain and discomfort. If your chair doesn't provide enough support for your lower back, consider adding an easy-to-install, adjustable lumbar support.

Keep your wrists straight. Your arms and hand should form a straight line from your elbow through your wrist and down to your middle finger. Never bend your wrists to the side, or up and down, in order to reach a higher key, or to use your mouse.

Float your hands. Your hands and wrists should always hover over the keys, with your hands relaxed. Never rest them on your desk or wrist rest while you are typing.

Remove pressure from your wrists. Between typing stints you can relax the weight of your hands and arms on the ball of your hands. Do not put any pressure or weight on the wrists; any surface pressure there can agitate the sensitive carpal tunnel area.

Press the keys lightly. There should never be a need to pound on the keys. Most keyboards require very little pressure to register a keystroke. This one tip can save you significant muscle wear in your hands and wrists throughout the day.

Never reach for a key. When your hands loosely hover over the keyboard, it should feel natural to move your entire arm and hand to press the needed key. Any reaching or stretching will strain muscles, and wear on your tendons.

Keep your hands and fingers curved. With your hands hovering over the keyboard, it feels natural to loosely curve your hand, almost like you are holding a golf ball. Be careful to follow this rule specifically with your thumb and smallest finger.

Use both hands for two-key combos. If you need the Shift key (or Ctrl or Alt), always press it with the opposite hand than the one for the letter key. Using only one hand for two simultaneous keystrokes can stress the tendons in your wrist and hands.