Helpful Information

Category: Computer Help

Mouse Hand Pain

It was becoming so diffficult for me to talk to people in IM and email, because my right hand was in constant pain. Sometimes on IM I would tell people, I have to stop chatting now, because it hurts to talk to you.

I have reversed the buttons on my mouse and am now using the mouse with my left hand.

First, I think this is going to help reduce the pain in my right forearm.

Second, my right hand has always been the weaker hand in terms of typing speed, because I take it off the keyboard, so my fingers don't stay over the keys and "know" there position as well, so I hope this will help in the regard too.

Can anyone else "feel my pain"?

Some years back I had a lot of trouble with 'mouse pain'.
Then I bought a Wacom Tablet and started using that. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to it but since then I've been pain free.
The other type of pain comes from having the wrong 'attitude' to the keyboard, in the sense of holding your hand in the wrong position. For this I got a MS Natural keyboard, which has helped a lot. It also sped up my typing.

I make living at the computer and I realized that it was important to spend time and money on making sure that I could continue working on them. A few years back I was facing the prospect of having to give up and find other work.

Take care of your body!

Can anyone else "feel my pain"?

Absolutely!
I had pain so bad that I could not operate the mouse. I also
had problems with my hands and wrists. Doctors I went to
were giving me bad advise. I did some reading on my own
and solved all my problems using the knowledge I gained
from this one book listed below.

I basicaly setup my workstation to be ergonomicaly correct, did
some specific exercises, and stopped some bad practices.
Read the book or see if she has a newer edition than the
1994 edition I read.

Repetitive Strain Injury
by Emil Pascarelli, MD, Deborah Quilter

---pete---

yes i do. i too am on the computer alot for work and i have a few different pains. i have a nice track ball and it helps my wrist but after a time, my thumb hurts because the wheel is thumb opperated, so i switch to the good old 2button mouse, but then after a time i get pain in the web between my first 2 fingers from having them split to use the buttons. ;)

happy mousing.

I now use the mouse with my left hand and arranges my keyboard and mouse to site lower. It has helped a lot.

I get pain when standing and walking. Pain is horrible and sharp when climbing stairs to the point that I can hardly put weight on it. The pain has been on going for about 3 months progressively getting worse. I have an appointment with orthopedic on Friday because I can no longer take the pain. What did I do and what possibly could be wrong? Should I have him chop it off on Friday?

I think many people who use computer especailly laptop for more than 6 years will definately feel Hand Pain.

I am feeling pains too, so I made Lulupage (http://www.lulupage.com)

By Lulupage (http://www.lulupage.com), you can reduce a bit your daily mouse clicking because by it you can get access to popular websites, different search engines, your emails and web spaces in only ONE page. No need to open and click on a lot of web pages!

About 100 keyboard clicks and 100 mouse clicks can be reduced each day.

I have been using the so-called "IntelliMouse TrackBall" for some years and it goes a long way to eliminating mouse pain. In essence, there is no wrist action involved. Probably are newer alternatives available.
etters

I was doing research for my blog and stumbled across this old thread. I'm a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association and have found infrared heat to be healing for hand pain. There are three products I use and advocate for the relief of computer mouse hand pain. Plus, I think seeking the advice of a doctor is #1.

There's a warm fleece blanket pouch called the Mouse Hand Warmer to put a USB warm mouse and USB warm mouse pad inside. The three items used together create an ultimate, heat insulated mouse house for your hand. About 20-30 minutes of use each day rids the pain. It really works well.

I hope this is helpful.

Was just going to update on what I have done.

The main thing that makes a difference for me is keeping my elbows higher than my wrist, and trying to keep the muscles in my hands relaxed.