Mouse Alternatives?

After a year of intense SL use, my mouse hand is beginning to suffer...despite using a comfortable, "ergonomic" mouse (a wireless MS type).

Does anyone have any suggestions, besides Motrin?

Trackball?

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

I sometimes use my mouse with my left hand.

I have the same problem, no doubt made worse by the years of childhood piano lessons, and a Nun's ruler ot two....

I'm glad you put the "mouse" qualifier in there. It saved you from becoming a target of another of my witty barbs.......

Ugh. That's about the only kind of picture I don't like to see from you

Do you use one yourself, and have you found it to relieve RSI? I've only used them for short periods, and found them a lot harder to use than a mouse...but I will try it if there's a chance it will help.

As for lefthanded mouse use...I AM lefthanded, so you'd think this would be a no brainer. But I have never been able to get comfortable/proficient with a "backwards set up" mouse.

[EDIT: Eek! Ann, you're supposed to unwrap them first!]

could've been worse. she could've been sucking on the other end. eww

Yep. i have used a trackball for years. i prefer a 'thumb' trackball ... but i know others prefer using their fingers (ones you control with your middle/index finger(s) primarily. (your hand sits differently on each sort so try both out for what personally feels comfortable to you) - though since you are left handed you probably need a trackball with a "middle/index" finger control.. because i've never seen a thumb-trackball for lefties. sorry. Though maybe you can find one (or learn to use your right - but - that's probably really hard).

They do take awhile to get used to (maybe a week or two?). i just mean.. if you're used to a mouse a trackball might "feel" slower and awkward at first (i mean moving your cursor around will "feel" awkward at first).. but give it time. In the end i feel they are faster than mice.

There is virtually no wrist movement involved with trackballs, so as long as you find one where your hand feels comfortable on it.. it's great.

Also you can set your trackball on your lap.. the arm of your chair ... and still run your fingers over it with relative easy.. unlike a mouse. so you can find a more comfortable "place" for the trackball to sit.. i often find when i have arm strain it feels really nice to have my hand "low" and resting my trackball on my seat next to me is lovely.

Optical, for one.

Get a mousepad with a gel wrist rest. The wrist rest is the key. Get one for your keyboard too.

Hmph. OK, fine.

What about the Space Navigator thing?

That's what's taking up my left hand.

Really, what I need is four hands...SN, keyboard/keyboard, mouse...

Now you've got me curious.. have you used one of those? (i never even heard of that before >_<
Have you used a trackball too?

do you like the spacenavigator better than a trackball?

I do like the sweater , though.

My boss is left handed and uses a huge track ball system. Looks like a pool ball in some kind of holder. He is very happy with it. It took him some time to grow accustomed to it but he is fine now.

When Doom first came out. I played so much the heel of my hand actually developed a "bed sore" type of wound.

I use a gel wrist rest off and on through the day. I find changing the angle of my wrist helps me the most. Ergonomics experts will tell you keep your wrist and arm as straight as possible. I find that by changing angles during the day helps me the most.

I currently use the mouse and PC at least 12 hours per day, 7 days a week. The thing that hurts my wrist and hands the most is using impact wrenches on the weekends and when I am TIG welding.

"CX" (good at massaging sore wrists)

Maybe if I went back to swinging a bokken for an hour a day...

(For anyone who doesn't know, a bokken is a mock katana, a japanese sword, made out of wood. Practicing with one is sort of like trying to develop both blinding speed and millimeter precision...with a baseball bat. While wearing pajamas.)

You can use a graphic tablet, it won`t work for SL but you could always use it on your sl "breaks"

You could always attempt one of these as well but there is a bit of a learning curve on them.

http://www.vrealities.com/P5.html

http://www.vrealities.com/cyber.html

The P5 has gotten great reviews in the past and gives full range of motion, plus the fact it is wireless. Might be something you may want to look into.

Hi Lindal. Your question is really important. Allow me to take a little time here, not just to recommend a mouse, but also to share what I've learned about RSI, and the best ways to treat it, or even better, avoid it altogether. This will be kind of a long post, but I promise it will be worth the read.

The kind of wrist pain you're describing is nothing to take lightly. It can quickly go from moderately annoying to absolutely crippling, much faster than you'd think. I'm not without experience in this department, unfortunately. What I've learned (the hard way) is don't be afraid to invest a few hundred to a few thousand dollars into ergonomics. There's nothing more important you can do for yourself. No matter how rich or how poor you may be, your health has to come first. If you have to make sacrifices to buy the following items, do whatever it takes.

The first thing to realize is that having the right mouse is only one component of the necessary remedy. Keep in mind that even if you only feel the pain right now when using a mouse, that doesn't necessarily mean the mouse is the direct cause of the problem. It's highly likely your keyboard is contributing to your pain as well, whether you feel it (yet) while typing or not. And your chair can have a lot to do with it, as well as your desk. What I've had to learn is that your posture is a system, and that every part of it is just as important as every other.

If you talk to a good chiropractor about this (I have), you'll really be surprised to learn how one thing affects another. It's not always as direct as you'd expect. Wrist pain, for example, can be a sign of a problem in the wrist itself, or it could be just a symptom of a problem that exists elsewhere. The cause could be anything from a badly shaped mouse to an improperly positioned keyboard tray to sitting the wrong way in your chair. Again, every part of the system is vital.

The solution is twofold. One is hardware; the other is habit. I'll address hardware first. Here's the setup I'd suggest:


1. Mouse

Check out the Evoluent VerticalMouse. I don't actually own one of these yet myself, but I've been meaning to get one for a long time now. Everyone who has told me of their experiences with them has said nothing but great things. It comes in both right and left handed versions. http://evoluent.com/

Test the concept real quick right now. You'll be amazed at how right it feels. Grab hold of your current mouse in your hand, and rotate your wrist 90 degrees to turn the mouse on its side. It won't work while in that position, obviously, but how does your wrist feel while holding it that way? You should feel the tension melting away from your wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

For a more standard horizontal mouse, I recommend the Logitech G5. It fits very comfortably in the hand, glides with total ease, and get this, its weight is configurable. It has a cartridge in it with eight holes for weight inserts, and it comes with a canister of weights. If you remove the cartridge, the plastic mouse itself weighs practically nothing. Or you can add anywhere from 1.7 grams to 36 grams to it, in 1.7 or 4.5 gram increments. It's really nice to be able to give the mouse the exact feel that's right for you in this way.

Another really great feature is that the resolution and sensitivity of the mouse are user-configurable as well, on the fly. It has five programmable settings, each of which can range from 400 to 2000 dpi resolution (X & Y independently configurable), and from 125 to 1000 Hz report rate. Two buttons on the top of the mouse cycle between the settings. It's very handy to be able to change configurations like this, especially for gaming and for artwork.


2. Keyboard

It's highly likely that your keyboard is a major contributor to your wrist problems, even if you're not (yet) feeling pain while typing. I can't speak highly enough of the Goldtouch adjustable keyboard from Key Ovation. I've been using one for several years now. When I first got it, it literally saved my ability to use a computer. The pain up until that point had gotten so bad, my only choices were find a solution or never use a computer again. As soon as I got the Goldtouch, the pain went away. It was (and still is) incredible. To this day, if I so much as put my hands in regular (flat) typing position for a few seconds, I end up with searing pain in my left wrist for the rest of the day. But I can use the Goldtouch all day long with no trouble at all. It's a miraculous device. http://keyovation.com/


3. Large Keyboard/Mouse Tray with Adjustable Articulating Arm

This is something most people don't think about, but it's sooo important. It's crucial that your mouse and keyboard be at the same height, and at the same distance horizontally from your body. But many keyboard trays either don't have room for a mouse, or else have some sort of attached mouse platform. You need one that is wide enough to accommodate the mouse and keyboard on the same surface. I can't underscore enough how important this is.

I can't seem to find the one I have online anymore, but the Deluxe Keyboard Arm and Tray from VersaTables.com looks very similar. Make sure to opt for the 28" tray, so there's enough width for both the keyboard and the mouse. Or you can do what I did, which is to replace the tray with 30"x10" shelf from Home Depot, which will give you even more room. http://www.versatables.com/pages/products/options/dka.php

If your desk doesn't have enough space underneath to accomodate at least a 28" tray (or worse, if it has a center drawer), replace the desk. That's might not be something you want to hear, I realize, if you're attached to the desk you have. But if it's detrimental to your health, it has to go. It's vital that your keyboard and mouse be properly positioned relative to each other, and that the position of the tray they both sit on be adjustable throughout the day. If your desk can't allow for that, it's harming your health.


4. Gel Wrist Rests

The good news on these is they're cheap, and you can get them anywhere. Most computer stores and/or office supply stores will have a large selection. Pick out ones that are thick, supportive, and soft. I recommend getting separate ones for the mouse and keyboard, so you can position them wherever you need them, as opposed to one large one for the whole tray.


4. Chair

Here's where the expense comes in. So far, each major item we've talked about has been $75-150, not a lot, and of course the wrist rests are just a few dollars each. But be prepared to pay $500 or more for a good ergonomic chair. Trust me; it's worth every penny.

You need a fully adjustable chair with equally good support for your back, neck, arms, and pelvis. Do not scrimp on any of these areas. Be really careful with your selection. It can be tempting to say, "Well, this one doesn't really have the arms as high as I'd like them, but it does fit my lower back well, so maybe I should get it." Don't do that. Keep searching until you find one that supports each body part equally well. Otherwise, you WILL have problems down the road. Again, I learned that the hard way.

The chair I now have is the Raynor Ergohuman High-Back Mesh Chair, which I happend across at Office Depot. The Ergohuman series are the only chairs I've ever been able to find with proper arm support for me. It seems most chairs just aren't made with tall people in mind, but the Ergohumans are adjustabl enough to fit everybody. And they're not too expensive either, as chairs go. $599 for a chair of this quality is a steal. Many good chairs cost thousands. http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/518380/Ergohuman-Mesh-Chair-x-x-27/

Similar to the Goldtouch story, I was in pretty terrible pain when I found the Ergohuman chair. And as soon as I sat in it, the pain went away. Of course, the eight-dollar-an-hour teenagers at the local Office Depot looked at me like I was crazy for spending what to them is month's pay on a chair, but as I said, it was worth every penny.

My only complaint is that after about two years of sitting in the thing for 8-12 hours a day, the mesh seat is starting to stretch out a little. It's not quite as firm as it was when it was new. To solve the problem, I ended up stuffing a pillow underneath to give it more support. It's not the most visually attractive solution, but it works. I still prefer the mesh to the leather version, though, as it breathes really well. And if you sit less than I do, you'll probably get many more years out of it before it starts to stretch.

Now, here's where we break slightly from the hardware discussion, and start to talk about habit. In addition to just getting the right chair, you also have to use it properly. One of the most important things I've learned is these two little words: sit back. All that money on ergonomic back support is just wasted if you don't actually sit back in your chair and let it do its job. Most of us have the unfortunate tendency to lean further and further forward throughout the day as we sit in front of the computer. That REALLY screws up your whole body, from your neck to your spine to your arms to your legs, even your rib cage ends up strained, literally every part of your body suffers from it.

It really takes a conscious effort to break the habit of leaning forward. But if you don't, you can end up with all manner of problems. I myself ended up with sciatica from it, which I must say was one of the most painful experiences I've ever endured. You simply can't imagine that pain like that is possible unless you've been through it. And perhaps the worst part is that it's so deceptive. It hurts all through your leg, from your hip to your ankle, so you end up icing your leg, heating your leg, elevating your leg, doing everything you can think of to treat the leg. But none of that has any effect, because actual problem is not in the leg at all, but in the spine. And until the spine is treated, the leg will continue to hurt, and hurt, and hurt.

For me, intensive chiropractic treatment, and constant attention to posture have mostly reversed the condition. I'm almost completely pain free these days. Not everyone is so lucky. For some, the condition is permanent, the suffering non-stop. Trust me; avoid the potential now by sitting back as much as you can. Don't slouch, and don't lean. Sit upright, all the way back in your chair. This is an absolute must.


5. Montior Riser or Articulating Mounting Arm

For inexplicable reasons, since the dawn of monitors, every single onboard monitor stand has been too short. As a result, we end up tilting our heads forward to stare at a downward angle at the screen. This is really bad for your neck, your back, and the rest of your body. You need the center of your screen to be at eye level. This way, you end up keeping your head level, and you just move your eyes to see every part of the screen. Your corresponding neck and back muscles then never need to be strained.

There are all sorts of ways to accomplish this. You can put your monitor on top of a store-bought riser, or even a wooden box will do. Or if you don't mind spending some bucks for a really elegant solution, an articulating mounting arm is great.

I have a HumanScale M7, which I love, configured for dual monitors. They're quite expensive, but they're made of high strength cast aluminum and stainless steel, so they last forever. Mine is five years old now, and it still looks and works as if it were brand new. http://www.thehumansolution.com/humoar.html?gclid=COnstp2Z9JMCFQtvGgodcnzhWg

Again, I'll state that there are much less expensive alternatives if all you want to do is raise your monitor's height. The reason I like the M7, though, is that it allows me to have my screens right above the front of my desk, about 24" from my face, minimizing eye strain, while at the same time keeping the entire desk surface clear. I don't like clutter in my workspace, and I don't like having my screens too far away. To me, that's worth the money.

I spent about $300 on this arm setup five years ago which means I've spent about 16 cents per day to keep my desk clear and to keep my screens the right distance from my eyes. Had I spent the current price, it would have been more like 23 cents a day. Either way, it's well worth it to me. And if it lasts another five years, which I'm sure it will, that makes it just 8 or 12 cents per day. (Incidentally, I think the reason the price has gone up over $100 since five years ago is because the commodities markets are out of control right now; metals cost more now than they did then.)

Whatever you do, the important thing to remember is that the center of the screen should be at eye level when you're sitting up straight.


6. (Optional) Wacom Drawing Tablet

Not everyone will need this, but if you're an artist, it's a must-have. Not only will it drastically help to improve your artistic abilities in the computer, it will also help save you from wrist pain. Since you're holding a pen stylus instead of a mouse, your hand is in a much more natural position. If you're not an artist, you likely won't find it worthwhile, but if you are, once you start using it, you won't know how you ever lived without it.

Just make sure it's a Wacom. No other brand on the market is worthwhile. You're better off without a tablet at all than with a non-Wacom tablet. http://wacom.com/index.html








I hope this has been helpful. As I said, RSI is not to be taken lightly. It can be absolutely debilitating. Whatever amount of effort and money you need to invest into preventing it is more than worthwhile.

Oh you poor thing I feel for you. I hope you find a good solution soon. Here's what worked for me.

A few years ago I was so addicted to The Sims that I was in severe pain from the tips of the fingers on my mouse hand to my neck. I cured it completely in just a couple of weeks (and really no slowing down on my time at the computer). I put my keyboard on my lap and the mouse directly in front of me. Now I have a slide out tray under my desk for the keyboard that works great. But it was holding my arm out to the side that caused my problem. Having right in front solved it.

I tell myself that it's a sugar mouse.

I've worked with computers for over 20 years now. The past two years I have started to have a lot of problems with my 'normal' mouse hand. At work, I have switched to a trackball. It did take some getting used to, but not more that a few weeks. I also move it from one side to the other and started training my non-dominant hand to use it -- that was and is still hard for me. It has relieved a lot of the mouse stress though.

Also, get a handsize rubber ball, not too firm nor too squishy -- no smartass comments here -- and squeeze it 10-15 times multiple times a day. Also, one of those hand squeezing grippers that you can find in the excercise equipment area of a store.

Make sure your arm alignment is proper, for both the keyboard and the mouse so that they are in a natual position and you are not having to move your arm around while moving the mouse. I also use a mouse pad that has a gell pad for the wrist to rest on, so that my hand is not bent upwards to use the mouse.

:0
I have two in my house.
Nice Lindal.

I have used the Logitech Thumb trackball for years - helped out wonderfully!



And it only takes a couple of days to get used to it, then you would be amazed how much more precise and easier it is to move.

And the SpaceNavagator for the left hand is great for camming around and all.