The best ergonomic gaming products come in a wide variety of styles, forms, and functions. They're good for our hands and bodies. As a result, we all know we want them, but they can be somewhat difficult to define clearly. One of the most clear-cut definitions comes from an Oregon OSHA discussion of work, "Ergonomics is designing a job to fit the worker so the work is safer and more efficient." This is GameRant, though, and our work is play, so let's redefine it all more clearly.

"Ergonomic gaming products are designed to fit the gamer so playing is safer and more efficient."

Indeed, all the items on the list that follows are designed in some way or another to be easier on your hands and fingers. It could be a unique shape that spares your joints extra movement, or having a superior grip that makes things easier. How this is done or ends up looking changes from product style to product style and can vary in how well it matches up to your individual body. As a result, there are several things to look at and consider when getting ergonomic gaming products.

When choosing an ergonomic gaming product you can consider factors like:

• Category-specific guidance: What is important for an ergonomic gaming mouse is different from for an ergonomic gaming keyboard.
• Design over aesthetic: Ergonomic gaming products are more likely to be asymmetrical, for example.
• What form of "ergonomic" the product is: Look beyond the word "ergonomic" in a product description, see what makes the product special and healthy.

The Best Ergonomic Gaming Products for Healthy, Comfortable Gaming

Click, click. Click, click. Turn, click. Aim, click. There's a lot of motion required when using a mouse for FPS gaming. So much so that it can cause an injury if you play too much. While the standard advice — and solid advice at that — is to take a break (or even consider changing your mouse grip) there are ergonomic gaming products, such as the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro, that are designed around giving your hand maximum comfort and minimal movement.

The first way the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro will perform for you is through its thumb rest. If you have the wrong mouse grip for them, thumb rests can be annoying, but for people that like them the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro's is nearly universally loved. Next, the geometry of the mouse top and button locations are meant to mimic your hand's. Well, at least if you're right-handed. The left-mouse button rests high on the frame, clicks easily, and runs more or less parallel to the mouse pad. Meanwhile, the right mouse button is lower and slanted, like the shape of your hand. Finally, the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro's scroll wheen functions dynamically, with a faster spinning mode when you're scrolling faster.

It's pretty easy to tell that the main ergonomic feature of the Razer Huntsman Gaming Keyboard — already one of the best gaming keyboards — is the wrist rest. It's soft, comfy, and easily removable when not needed due to its magnetic connection to the main body. However, the Razer Huntsman Gaming Keyboard has more going for it than just that.

The keys use sound-dampening tech that makes key presses less clacky while still giving pleasurable clickiness. As a result, less strain is needed when typing in situations where noise should be kept to a minimum, such as when you're next to a studying sibling or have the crew on the other side of your gaming headset. The effect is comfortable typing or WASD'ing in a way that comes naturally to you, no matter your environment.

The Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair is a brand mashup that brings the best of both worlds to gamers seeking ergonomic options. If you aren't familiar with them, Herman Miller is known for building high-quality products (clocks, office chairs, etc.) with intricate moving parts. When we pondered if Herman Miller office chairs were good for gaming, there was only one problem with the brand; they specialize in office equipment. Enter Logitech and you've got a gaming combo made in heaven.

Related: Best Ergonomic Gaming ChairsWith the Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair you get premium lumbar (lower back) support with adjustments for the arms, back, and height. You also get to avoid worrying about messing up your posture, or the chair, from misconstruction as there is no assembly required.

While there are a lot of desks with height adjustment among the best gaming desks, it is practically a requirement when you are looking for the best ergonomic gaming products. Why? No matter how much lumbar support your chair has, standing periodically is important. Still, the EUREKA ERGONOMIC Standing Desk has a range of bonus features that make it stand out as one of the best ergonomic gaming products.

Related: Best Height Adjustable Gaming DesksThe EUREKA ERGONOMIC Standing Desk's mouse and keyboard tray is retractable, adjustable, and rotatable, so you can get the fit and style that works best for your arms and hands. Next, the desk has multiple construction modes, each with different user styles in mind (gamers, audiophiles, and monitor lovers) but also with great opportunities to customize the desk to be perfect for you. One issue with the desk is that this very construction is rated as being "medium difficulty" but once the desk is set up, you're good to go.

In our listing of the best PS5 controllers, we highlight the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro as not only a premium controller but also as one of the few choices that was built with a focus on ergonomics. With a large size, tactile buttons, and interchangeable thumbsticks, the movement of both your hands and the in-game character you're focusing on should be easier. Even the D-Pad is eight-directional, reducing the need for precision thumb movements when gaming.

Related: Best Uses Of HD Rumble On Switch GamesrOn a more controversial note, the lack of rumble/vibration effects from the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro could, in practice, be considered an "ergonomic feature" of sorts. There has been a report of a 15-year-old boy getting HAVS, a neurological disease caused by long-term vibration in the hands, from playing PlayStation games. However, it is reported the boy was already playing an ill-advised 7 hours per day and rumble features have always been able to be turned off. As a result, this is more of a HAVS-not than a feature.

The Scuf Instinct Pro is one of the best ergonomic gaming products for this generation of Xbox gamers. Meant for those that want ultimate control over the design of their controller, Scuf sells customizable faceplates and thumb grips for the Instinct Pro separately. However, the control over the controller goes beyond just this. It has remappable rear buttons to reduce overall tapping and "Instant Triggers" that can be set to fire without a full pull of the trigger, saving tendon strain in the fingers. Try it out with some of the great FPS games on Xbox Game Pass to get a feel for the difference.

The Scuf Instinct Pro's backside is similarly built for gamer comfort and easy gripping. A textured comfort grip provides for a simultaneously soft and firm grip that will keep your head in the game and not on how your hands are positioned on the controller. The only downside is that such a controller is rather expensive, with it currently sitting as the most expensive controller on our list of the best controllers for Xbox gaming.

How to choose a good ergonomic gaming product

We've gone a long way when it comes to how to discuss gaming and health. Consider how we, at GameRant, have gone from covering how excessive gaming being considered a mental health disorder in 2017 to how gaming can actually contribute to better mental health earlier this year. The next era of gaming health reporting, however, will likely be focused on the way gaming affects the body.

As a world that increasingly sits indoors and uses repetitive hand and finger motions, conditions such as lower back pain and carpal tunnel are on the rise. When people are using computers all day for work and school, telling people to "game less" is no longer the solution it used to be, either. Even a little bit of gaming utilizes a lot of the same movements already required for being an average member of today's world. The new answer, at least according to some, is utilizing a more ergonomic gaming product list when picking our gaming supplies.

Of course, this new answer brings us to more questions. Namely, how can we choose the best ergonomic gaming products in a sea of so many?

While the solution to this contains many parts, some areas are more important — and accessible to average gamers — than others. We'll focus on utilization of category specific guides, looking at design over aesthetic, and avoiding ergonomic as a buzzword.

Category Specific Guidance

It is hard to categorize the best ergonomic gaming products as sharing a linked whole. What is best for a mouse and a keyboard is largely different. As a result, it comes highly recommended to look at guides for each product category individually to pick out the best information available. For example, our buyer's guide for the best ergonomic gaming chairs includes an in-depth discussion about what to look for in a chair. ErgoPlus maintains an extensive guide to picking an ergonomic keyboard for office use, including info on how they should be placed. Gaming keyboards will be different, but not so different that some information cannot be taken. In a similar vein, picking the right desk size for gaming can be just as important as other factors for your gaming comfort.

Still, there are some ways that the picking of the best ergonomic products for gaming can be generalized. Typically, this is done by looking at design (for humans) over aesthetic purposes.

For Humans, By Humans

Humans are a bit more oddly shaped than we like to think. For example, our hands are more pentagonal than square, with the base of the middle finger sticking out a bit more than the pointer finger. Likewise, the pinky's base is more retracted.

Oddly, though, it often seems that our gaming products are designed more for the sake of their appearance and what we think our bodies look like than reality. The typical gaming mouse is very symmetrical, whereas an ergonomic one will have a less symmetrical shape. Somewhat ironically, ambidextrous products (those that are designed for right or left-handers) are sometimes worse for ergonomics. They can't decide who they're for.

Buzzword, Beware

Finally, watch out for the word "ergonomic" being thrown about in the product marketing haphazardly. A product should tell you how it is ergonomic (or it should be very clear from the visuals) not just say the words. Phrases like "our most ergonomic model yet" are just as often empty as not, especially on cheap products.

Furthermore, just because a product is ergonomic and labeled as such does not mean it will be the correct fit for your body. Ergonomics is about fitting the product to the body, not the body to the product. In each of the product listings above, we've worked to explain why the product is listed as ergonomic. However, if what you're reading about doesn't sound comfortable to you or similar things haven't worked for you in the past that item is an easy, guilt-free skip for you.

FAQ

Q: Is it better to stand or sit while gaming?

Why limit yourself to standing or sitting while gaming when you can do both? While sitting for excessive periods can be damaging to our spines and bodies, so can excessive standing. Using a height adjustable gaming desk will give you the best of both worlds.

Q: What is gaming wrist pain called?

Typically, when gamers get injuries in their wrist we think of carpal tunnel syndrome. Repeatedly gripping with an extended wrist can wear out tendons fast. By taking plenty of breaks, stretching, and having products that reduce the need for intensive gripping we can reduce our chances of getting this sort of injury.