A mouse is a very useful computer accessory that makes computing a better experience…but they can also lead to injury
Using a mouse can help make working on the computer more pleasurable but you can make the experience even more pleasurable by using the mouse rightly – and safely because it can be dangerous if not properly used.
The following tips can help you avoid a mouse-related musculo-skeletal injury and this applies to trackball, touch-pad, pens, digitizing puck etc.
- Don’t skate or flick the mouse with your wrist. Instead, make controlled mouse movements using your elbow as the pivot point and keep your wrist straight and neutral.
- Sit back in your chair, relax your arms then lift your mousing hand up, pivoting at the elbow, until your hand is just above elbow level. Your mouse should be positioned somewhere around this point. Don’t use a mouse by stretching to the desk or out to the side of a keyboard.
- Avoid restricting circulation. For many people there are exposed blood vessels near the skin at the wrist, which is where the pulse is often taken. Any pressure in this region will disrupt circulation into the hand and this will increase the risks of injury.
- Don’t use a wrist rest because research has shown that using it doubles the pressure inside the carpal tunnel, increasing the risk of injury.
- Keep the mouse free-moving always. The base of the palm is the part of the body designed to support the hand when resting on a surface. A mouse is used by moving its location over a surface, and resting usually occurs when mouse movements stop but with the mouse still being held in the hand.
- Mouse movements should be made using the elbow as the pivot point, not the wrist. Anything that impairs free movement of the forearm/hand and mouse will increase injury risks.
- Choose a mouse design that fits your hand but is as flat as possible to reduce wrist extension. Don’t use a curved mouse.
- Consider a larger mouse that encourages arm rather than wrist movements.If you want to load share between your right and left hands, by using the mouse for some of the time with each hand, you need to choose a mouse platform that can easily be configured to the left or/and right or a keyboard platform that can accommodate two mouse platforms, and a symmetrical shaped mouse that can be used by either hand.
- Other input devices: Whether you choose a different mouse design, a trackball, a joystick, a pen, a touch pad or some other input device, make sure that your position this comfortably, and that your wrist is always in a neutral position.
Mouse Use Tips you can use
- The mouse wheel can also be used as a button by pressing down on it like a third mouse button. This can be used to open a web page in a new tab by clicking the wheel on any link and can also be used to close a tab by clicking the wheel on any open tab.
- Holding down the shift key while scrolling up or down in a Internet browser will quickly go back and forward between web pages.
- Zoom in and Out on a web page, word document, excel spreadsheet, etc. by holding down the Ctrl key and scrolling up to zoom in and down to zoom out.
