hand gets a bit stiff using mouse for long periods

aidanki

hi all,

I often spend up to 12hrs a day at computer, combination of regular keyboard work and mouse

Im right handed and end result is right hand and wrist often get a bit stiff from using the mouse so much

what solutions are availble other than switching to using the mouse with my left hand for a bit

its more initutive to use the mouse with my right hand.......

Ted_YNWA

*** checks which forum this is in before commenting ***

Maybe when your not using mouse, flex your wrist & make a fist every so often.

This way your wrist is not constantly hovering over the mouse in once position.

riclad

I heard of people using a trackball, mouse, to avoid pain using a mouse
for long periods.
as you can use trackball using a finger.
read reviews before you buy anything.

http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-K72337US-Orbit-Trackball-Scroll/dp/B002OOWB3O/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims

i dont use a mouse at all ,i just use the pad on my laptop .

mordeith

Might be worth getting a mouse like the one here. At least with the roller ball you will eliminate lateral movement of your wrist as you won't have to move the mouse itself to move the cursor around the screen. A mouse pad with a wrist rest is also a good idea.

riclad

http://practicalpainrelief.com/2010/05/trackball-mouse-options/

Maybe use a tablet ,for non work webrowsing.

the_syco

aidanki wrote: »

Im right handed and end result is right hand and wrist often get a bit stiff from using the mouse so much

Where is your elbow when you're using your mouse?

Floating below/above the level your mouse is at?
On the desk that your mouse is at?

You'll find that if your elbow and lower part of your arm is resting on the desk whilst you're using the mouse, there'll be less strain on your wrist, etc.

Example;



This is one of the first Google results, but is very true; http://www.wristassuredgloves.com/2012/03/14/ergonomic-set-up-for-desk-top-computers/

Lingua Franca

I have very small hands and using a normal sized mouse makes my hand stiff and gave me carpal tunnel syndrome. I started buying mouses designed for kids and it went away.

PrzemoF

OP, buy a tablet. I'm using wacom intuos4 wireless instead of mouse - shoulder paid and wrist stiffness were gone almost immediately.

However it takes a bit of practice to use tablet, so you have to be willing to switch.

P.S. you can easily program series of keystrokes and assign them to a button on the tablet - I use it all the time.

riclad

A small laptop mouse may be comfortable ,much lighter.

Khannie

Switch hands. Takes some learning, but works really well. I switched to my left hand with my work mouse when I was gaming a lot at home.

wandatowell

The advice seems to be to either buy a tablet or use a mouse correctly............hmmmmmmmmmmmm toughy

jester77

Learn shortcuts and work in the terminal. You will only then need to keep your hands on your keyboard. This will both help against carpal tunnel and also speed up your productivity.

Dr Silly Bollox MD

the_syco wrote: »

Where is your elbow when you're using your mouse?

Floating below/above the level your mouse is at?
On the desk that your mouse is at?

You'll find that if your elbow and lower part of your arm is resting on the desk whilst you're using the mouse, there'll be less strain on your wrist, etc.

^^This.

From Experience.

Also, for it to bother you in the first place-->you're a Heart Attack waiting to happen.

Have a nice day.:D

Khannie

And this guy's an MD!

ScumLord

Windows 8 allows the use of touch screen monitors. It might be worth looking into for the future, probably too much of an expense to go out and change your computer and software.

Try to take a break every 15 minutes. It's the repetition that's killing your wrist so anything you can do to break up the repetition will help.

Dr Silly Bollox MD

Khannie wrote: »

And this guy's an MD!

:pac:

10/10 for bedside manner. lol.

Alun

ScumLord wrote: »

Windows 8 allows the use of touch screen monitors. It might be worth looking into for the future, probably too much of an expense to go out and change your computer and software.

Actually for desktop machines, there's evidence that using touch screens in such situations (i.e. vertically oriented) can make things even worse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen#.22Gorilla_arm.22

Overheal

ScumLord wrote: »

Windows 8 allows the use of touch screen monitors. It might be worth looking into for the future, probably too much of an expense to go out and change your computer and software.

Oh my yes. We have one at work. a 23" Acer Touchscreen will burn a $550 hole in your pocket. It only seems to be a cost effective monitor when its attached to a high-end tower, as the medium and low-range All in One touch PCs are cost-comparable or more cost effective. But start talking about i7's and dedicated GPUs and the AiO cost shoots skyward.

OP you didn't say what type of mouse you are using. Ergonomics plays a lot into it. I would advise looking at a more comfortable mouse. Logitech does a pretty wide range of such mice. Look at the G500/G500S, its very comfortable, and very customizable in terms of sensitivity and even the weight is adjustable. That's just one among many though. MAD Catz does the R.A.T. which is completely customizable - even it's shape is adjustable.

Freddy Smelly

buy one of these for your pc and you wont need touse the mouse much at all

http://www.gizmag.com/leap-motion-gesture-control-sensor/22644/

Overheal

LM isnt available yet and little is known about its actual usefulness.

Plus, that will increase the amount of motion you require. a Mouse will minimize it. If were talking about carpel tunnel and arthritis, mouse.

Freddy Smelly

Overheal wrote: »

LM isnt available yet and little is known about its actual usefulness.

Plus, that will increase the amount of motion you require. a Mouse will minimize it. If were talking about carpel tunnel and arthritis, mouse.

its the lack of movement or reptitive motion that causes the stiffness in the wrist joint.

leap motion would require you move your wrist more but not so much in a repetitative fashion thus reducing the time your wrist is in a constant position and therefore reduce stiffness

launch date for leap motion is may 2013 and hp have made a deal to retail it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpal_tunnel_syndrome

moc moc a moc

Try out different mouse sizes. I find if I use a mouse that's too small, my hand cramps up more easily. A mouse that's too big might also cause problems.

As mentioned above, alignment is important. I like to rest my whole forearm on the desk to make sure my wrist is in line with the mouse. If your desk is too low, a mousepad with a gel wrist-rest might help.

Try a different shape of mouse altogether, or even a trackball as mentioned. Logitech used do mice with the surface set at an angle to give you a more natural wrist position - I've even seen vertical (as in held vertically) mice somewhere.

Play around with the mouse sensitivity settings in your OS. I find if the sensitivity is too high, my wrist gets tired from all the small precise movements (and often overshooting what I'm trying to point at and having to correct). If I lower the sensitivity, I use my arm more and the pointer feels more precise.

Soundman

Something like this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Ergonomic-Optical-Compatible-EM500GPS/dp/B00008KWWG

T-Bird

jester77 wrote: »

Learn shortcuts and work in the terminal. You will only then need to keep your hands on your keyboard. This will both help against carpal tunnel and also speed up your productivity.

+1 for this. Using the alt key and the underlined character in the menu bar can save a lot of mouse use. Its also faster in a lot of cases. Use of the tab, cursor keys and enter key is also very good once you get used to using them. I did a lot of repetitive work in my previous job and found that I used the mouse less and less. Example "Alt f x" is a lot easier closing a window than using mouse to go to manually close it.

belcampprisoner

put mouse lower,also keyboard so your pushing down

Skerries

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

buy one of these for your pc and you wont need touse the mouse much at all

http://www.gizmag.com/leap-motion-gesture-control-sensor/22644/

I pre-ordered this about a year ago so interesting to hear it is nearly out

BloodBath

That leap motion looks awful to be honest. I don't understand why people think these motion controls are the future.

Putting more effort into controlling something less effectively doesn't strike me as an evolution of controls.

Khannie

Well, coupled with a mouse and keyboard, it could be very useful, but overall I would tend to agree.

BopNiblets

Soundman wrote: »

Something like this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Ergonomic-Optical-Compatible-EM500GPS/dp/B00008KWWG

+1 for this, use one in work, keeps my wrist from turning to mush!

Soundman

If I used a mouse I would more than likely go for this myself, hence why I suggested it. I have noticed that my hand naturally feels more comfortable in that sort of position than in that where you would use a mouse/trackpad.

Dr Silly Bollox MD

Google Earth update includes support for Leap Motion's gesture control device