posted 24 September 2001 03:03            

Seems I'm on the verge of getting a bit of a "mouse arm" in my right arm, and I was wondering if people have any hints/tips as to what might help.

I've heard that getting rid of the mouse and for example getting a drawing tablet (Wacom Graphire?) should help, as it eases the strain on the muscles being pushed too hard when using a mouse. Anyone have any experience with these?

Any other hints/tips greatly appreciated, as the pain in my right arm is getting rather bad.

posted 24 September 2001 07:13            

I went for the Wacom Graphire but used their mouse instead of the pen. This gave me the advantage that there was no ball and I could program one of the buttons to act as a single press turn hold on/turn hold off button. The logic of this is not yet right, as pressing the standard button cancels the hold but doesn't tell the other hold button that it's been cancelled. So you have to press the hold button twice to get it on again.

Also by sticking felt to the underside of the mouse, made it much smoother.

Making sure that the mat is low enough so that your hand is lower than your elbow can also help. Thats why piano stalls are normaly higher than desk chairs and piano keyboards are lower than most desk surfaces.

I do have problems with the wacom when I try to use it with a USB hub and midi interfaces but it works with a replug after boot up, and it works fine with no hub at all.

posted 24 September 2001 12:30            

I personally didn't find that a pen tablet helped in the long run. It felt good for a few days, and then started to strain the same area of my wrist as the mouse button had. ( i.e. "writers' cramp" )

The solution for me was a trackball - especially the big square Kensington trackball with the big ball. This allowed me to move the ball with my fingertips and switch to pressing the left button with my thumb. The thumb is stronger and more able handle repeated motions.

Note that many types of trackballs are small or awkward, or the buttons are too hard to press, but I found this Kensington to be excellent.

After a couple of years of using the trackball I've healed enough to use a mouse again when I want to, but I still prefer the trackball for many purposes.