Ergonomic Mouse
The mouse is one of the biggest culprits for injuries that physiotherapists treat. There are a few reasons for this – the amount of times that you click the mouse per day (i.e. the repetitious nature of using the mouse) and the position of the mouse. Often at the end of a long day when we are tired the mouse can tend to move further away from the keyboard. This can cause a huge amount of problems through the neck, shoulder and arm.
Similar to all other pieces of ergonomic furniture – there are a lot of mice on the market, trackballs, joystick mice, touchpad mice and just your standard looking mouse.
Choosing the right mouse for you is important and should be based on your hand size and the type of work that you are doing. The main thing is that your hand should not be in an awkward posture while using the mouse. Awkward postures as well as repetitive postures are what cause injuries such as RSI.
Some key points regarding the mouse:
- Ensure that the mouse stays close to the keyboard – don’t let ie drift away throughout the day
- If you are not using the mouse, remove your hand from it, its not going anywhere!
- Minimise the amount of time you spend using the scroll button – using this a lot with the one finger can cause strain through that tendon
- It’s a good idea to be able to use your non – dominant hand, this will give your dominant hand a break
Read more about computer ergonomics.