TheProf

Hello,

I hope everyone is doing well.

I have started to notice an increase in my wrist pain from using my mouse. I'm wondering what solutions people have had for this situation. I'm already using a Logitec trackball on one computer but for the other I was considering maybe something like a joystick for controlling the mouse? The idea is that the joystick positioning would allow the wrist to be in the more natural "vertical" position rather than the painful horizontal one created by the mouse.

As well, does anyone have any suggestions for things which can be used to strengthen the arm or relieve the pain? I've heard there are some sort of spinning gyroscopes that are all the rage now. Thoughts?

Thanks

cyrnel

I can't say it's a cure-all but switch it up. Move the mouse/trackpad around. Switch hands. No matter how bizarre it seems at first it'll get easier. In my coding days I had a brutal case of RSI but got it completely under control by switching positions often. Rests every half hour also helped. Moving the mouse side to side (even with just my right hand) so the wrist angle changed made a big difference. I also took every opportunity to stretch my wrists at my side while waiting.

Oh, and I ditched my little teensy laptop that forced me to type in meetings with my thumbs touching. Ouch.

__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

Plaid13

I have had all sorts of wrist problems since a wonderful mountain biking accedent about ten years ago and typing and other computer stuff has always givin me trouble. But i have found a nice mix of stuff to make using the computer to be very natrual and comfortable without pain. Some of this stuff may sound strange or impossable or impractical for you but it works wonders for me for everything from typing to gaming.

Ok first of all look at how your arm is when you use the keyboard and mouse. Most of the planet has some okward way to sit at a desk with the wrists bent at some ungodly angle. If your going to be at your computer for more then half an hour at a time why sit in some annoying computer chair at a wooden desk? My personal setup is a nice big recliner with good armrests and a little wooden table to my right where i keep my mouse and a good soft pad to rest my arm on. The pad i use is just a big peice of fake lambs wool cloth folded over and clamped to the table. I use a logitech MX518 mouse the most comfortable mouse i could find. The hight of the table is very very important the higher the table is the higher your arm will be and the more natral the angle of your wrist will be while using the mouse. But if you go too high your arm will be at a uncomfortable position. So my table is basicly at the same hight as my lap is. My lap is also where i keep my microsoft egronomic keyboard. They make a few diffrent models of it but its a keyboard split down the middle that feels much better to type on then anything else i have ever tried. This thing is the only reason i can type for more then 5 min at a time without extreme pain in my wrists. Basicly think of the position your the most comfortable and feel the most natrual in and do whatever you can to get yourself into that positon. I keep my moniter on a metal stand just to my left of my recliners footrest and my tv directly in front of me so i can see both screens without turning my head more thena couple degrees.

Basicly just find a way to type and use the mouse that keeps your wrists straight. This is the best positon i have found to use the computer in and i have used it nonstop for the last 5 years and its worked wonders for me.

JStrider

those gyroscope things your talking about are called a powerball
http://powerballs.com/

its kinda expensive... but its got a lifetime warranty, no questions asked


its helped my mild carpal tunnel, and its pretty fun.

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

oiekeooiyw

I've used this and it really helped. Just wish I could find mine right now.

Daniel_

Change to an overhand grip when masturbating?

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macmanmike6100

when you sprain your wrist, they give you a brace -- when my wrist used to act up (i was much younger, and think it was related to growing pains), I would simply use a wrist brace to force it straight.

like others have said, look at your ergonomics as well

shakran

If you don't already have one, get a natural keyboard. That not only got rid of my RSI, but it increased my typing speed by 10wpm to boot.

As for the mouse, make sure it's a comfortable mouse. It should be angled somewhat so your index knuckle is higher than your pinky knuckle. That puts your wrist in a much more natural position. The Logitech MX1000 laser is a good example of this (and it's also a kick ASS mouse in every other aspect).

don't sit there clicking the mouse all day with no breaks. Rotate your wrists, stretch 'em by pressing your hands back and forth. Stimulate the blood flow to the wrists/hands by squeezing a stress ball or a hand exerciser.

Something that helps many, but not all, people is an eastern herbal linament called Dit Da Jow. You can get it just about anywhere. Mine comes from the Oriental Herb Company (orientalherb.com). I will warn you, this stuff does not smell very good (think soy sauce mixed with tobacco and rubbing alcohol) and you will smell like it until after about the second time you shower

Lasereth

A couple of people have already mentioned this but the height of your chair in relation to the desk is the main portion of your wrist pain, not the mouse or mousepad. When I use other peoples' desks and their chair is lower than mine, my wrists starts hurting pretty fast. At college my wrist was always in pain until I bought my computer chair that put me high enough so that my wrist isn't really at any sort of angle.

Another HUUUGE factor is if your chair has high armrests. When I sit in this chair and put my arm on the mouse, from my elbow to the end of my fingers is entirely horizontal. If you have to "hold" your arm up while using the mouse, then your wrist is gonna take a huge strain. Make sure the arms of your chair are elevated and support your entire arm.

It sounds stupid, but I've had a lot of experience with this shit because the slightest wrong angle and my wrists/shoulder start going crazy with pain. It's all in the armrests/chair/desk.

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

cyrnel

On that note, I used one of these Adesso keyboards for a couple years when my wrists were both starting to go. It absolutely rocked. You barely move your fingers and can just fly. Much better and higher quality than the usual natural keyboards if more expensive. The downside is a slight learning curve, managing bunches of systems means inconsistency, and other people are suddenly unable to use your system (if that's a problem).

__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

MikeSty

I noticed today that if I stand and the surface I'm mousing on is lower than my arm, I experience pain in not only the wrist but extreme pain the tendons in my hands.