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Subject:Re: more on cp, wrist/arm problems... From:"Ridder, Fred" <F -dot- Ridder -at- DIALOGIC -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 20 Aug 1997 15:47:22 -0400
Wyrwas, Kathleen A [Kathleen -dot- Wyrwas -at- UNISYS -dot- COM] wrote (in part):
<snip>
I've read all the comments this week on wrist pain in your mousing hand.
But does anyone have a problem with their clicking finger? I have a
Microsoft kidney-bean mouse, which is definitely more comfortable to
use. (Except for left-handers of course, but that's another
discussion!) But regardless, after a day of clicking, dragging,
marking-and-bounding, my index finger is SORE and markedly puffed up
compared to my non-mousing hand. Some days I try to use my middle
finger to click instead, but that's sore now too. I've tried Ben-Gay
and Triflora to relieve the pain, but there's got to be something
better! Like preventing the problem in the first place!
<snip>
I never experienced mousing hand pain until my previous employer
bought me a new computer which had the ubiquitous Microsoft
"ergonomic" mouse; with the old-fashioned Microsoft serial mouse
on my older computer, I had no problems at all. But the bulbous
shape of that mouse forced my wrist and hand to assume more of
an arch, and the button locations dictated the use of fingertips to
actuate them, both of which made my hand very unhappy after a
few hours of normal use (never mind web surfing or the occasional
game of Minesweeper). When I changed jobs I was exposed to
the Logitech 3-button mouse, and I'll never willingly switch back
to the fat Microsoft mouse. The Logitech is almost triangular in
shape and snuggles comfortably into the palm of my hand while
the heel of my hand rests on the desktop--no wrist support needed.
The mouse is also fairly short and the buttons fall under the middles
of my fingers rather than the tips, so that I only have to flex a finger
at its first joint to activate the button. Another big advantage is
its three fully configurable buttons, which means you can spread
the clicking actions across three fingers instead of just two. On
my system, I normally have the middle button programmed for
double-click which seems to aggravate my hand problems much
more than single clicking. You might want to give it a try.
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