Healthier Mouse

i am starting to get some light pain in my mouse hand when working on projects. i pretty sure i am not the only one that has had this happen. so i was wondering had anyone used a healthier mouse to prevent this??

i looked at the quill gripless mouse but i was thinking that it would take away some of the fine tuning i do in motion and fcp.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

We had a discussion about this a little over a week ago:

[www.lafcpug.org]

Alternatives include a Wacom tablet, a trackball (I hate those things, myself), a wrist cushion, a more ergonomic keyboard. Me, I'm happiest with a bare-bones standard Apple keyboard and a Mighty Mouse, as long as the roller ball doesn't get insensitive.


www.derekmok.com

what mouse are you using?

apples mice blow ASS! have since the apple ll days. they are too low profile. it started with that idiotic round imac piece of stool and has not greatly improved - even to the current [supposed] "mighty" (i.e. clitoris) mouse. one of their biggest problems is that their design has you tensioning with your thumb and pinky to hold it - which is ergonomically TOTALLY wrong! and using it WILL cause you probelms - eventually

you want your mouse hand to rest on the mouse almost like dead weight. and allow your shoulder and elbow to do the work - with your elbow as the pivot point. your wrist is only for microcorrection.

- apple is just one litigious customer short of a class action against their torturous mouse designs

the biggest ergonomic benefit of a wacom situation is that you will treat it like an ink pen and wrest your forearm flat on the table - which will relieve wrist strain.

get a BIG mouse. one that will fill your palm. like the logitech mouseman, or microsofts mouse...

another thing to consider is your desk and chair. WHERE is your mouse relative to your body? where does your "mouse hand" elbow sit? you want your elbow and shoulder to move - NOT your wrist. from an ergonomic standpoint, you want your elbow very slightly below your wrist. if your wrist is bent up or down from the plane of your mouse - you are going to eventually have problems.

logitech 2 button and scroll wheel track ball here - fits the shape of your hand perfectly.

[www.logitech.com]

the trackman - we have cordless and corded ones here.

check out the 3M mouse:

[www.stretchnow.com.au]


nick

i use a logitech mx lasar. its a bit small so when i use it my point and middle finger has to raise a bit so it almost like pushing buttons on a cordless phone. it has app. and it has page control arrows on it so when browsing i use them to go back or forward a page or so.

i wish my hand could be completely suported by the mouse so that my hand could feel more open during use.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

that 3m thing is interesting! but it will introduce an unneeded elevated wrist position and closing of the fingers that a larger (higher profile) mouse would not

yeah, good point re elevation, wayne.

an important thing to be aware of is if you;r fighting gravity or not.
are your arms elevated, (you work against gravity) or do they drop down, (you don't work against gravity).
working against gravity means you have constant strain in your muscles all the time (duh.. look up constant in the dictionary, nick!)


nick

> one of their biggest problems is that their design has you tensioning with your thumb and
> pinky to hold it - which is ergonomically TOTALLY wrong!

Really? I've never really had a problem. Then again, I have huge, thick hands with short fingers and a thick wrist and I've been told I'm not prone to carpal tunnel, so maybe I have a special physiological advantage? When I hold my mouse, I usually use my thumb and ringfinger to push the thing around, and there's a lot of air between my fingers and the mouse. I have a very relaxed grip on it, and I set my Tracking and Double-Click settings to a very high speed, which a) Reduces travelling distance and b) Makes it easier to perform double-single-click functions like renaming.

But I agree -- that round "UFO" thing for iMacs was just about the worst design idea Apple had ever had. At my film school, all of us bought the plastic extensions to add to those mice to make them "fully formed" again.

Another thing to look into: Make sure your chair is high enough so that, as Wayne says, you can be level with the desktop. Reaching up or down to move a mouse will screw up your arm.

Last time we discussed this, we also mentioned that playing certain musical instruments moderately but routinely (as long as you're not practising to be Yngwie Malmsteen) strengthens your fingers well. I play bass and guitar fingerstyle, and though my left hand gets more training than my right, it may have helped with computer fatigue. Here's an exercise tool for musicians that I use called the Gripmaster:

[www.musiciansfriend.com]


www.derekmok.com

jeff, it really depends on the size of your hand. if youre a bigger guy or have bigger hands, you need the biggest and tallest mouse that you can find (or a tablet) in order to really be comfortable.

if you have to squeeze even at all with your thumb and 3rd or 4th finger just to hold the mouse - youre in for problems...

there are a ton of variables when you consider ergonomics. the first things to consider are:
1.how deep is your desk
2.how high is your chairs armwrests relative to your desk.

if you have no armwrests on your chair or your chair leaves your elbow significantly above or below your desk surface, you need to wrest your elbows on your desk.

then the discussion comes to your palm. put your elbow on you desk (or your chairs armwrest - wherever it normally sits) hold your hand up to your chin - as if deep in thought. now, plop your hand like dead weight onto your desk. chances are better than not that your palm is NOT flat like a pancake. your palm is likely somewhat curved upward with your middle finger knuckle about a half inch above your wrist. you want your mouse to fill the negative space (both laterally and vertically) beneath your palm - but not too much above normal resting height. the weight of your palm alone should hold the mouse beneath your hand. you shouldnt have to secure it laterally with your fingers..

nicks referemce to the 3m mouse is interesting - but only if you can wrest the side of your hand on the table itself - otherwise, id bet youd be in for long term issues

I swear by by wacom, but my graphic designer LOVES his vertical mouse - he is also the fastest person I've ever seen work photoshop with it.

Peter

i just have to ask... whats a "vertical mouse"???

"what's a "vertical mouse"???"

same page as 3M mouse, next item down:
[www.stretchnow.com.au]

same idea as the 3M, (no awkward hand twist)
but maybe better for the reasons you pointed out, Wayne.


nick

oh yeah, that DOES look pretty sound!

Hi All

here is something medicine you can take so that you dont get
carpel tunnel ect--

Glucosimine Sulfate (as seen on TV) can be bought
at all Health Food stores and most other large stores --

It rebuilds cartlage and keeps your joints
in good shape -- your body will thank you for it--

It Really Works --

cost $10 a month -- Jay--

I am using a Kensington Orbit Optical Trackball and really like it. I tried a Logitech trackball but found it too top heavy ... it was always tipping over when I tried to click with it. Barry

with the wacom tablet does the pen have left and rite clicks?

can the tablet with pen only become my new mouse?

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

yes.
you tap the pen on an item to "click" on it,
and there is a button which acts as a right click.

all of this is pretty customisable

and the larger tablets have buttons which can be programmed for all sort of key combos.


nick