Ergonomics of Computer Pointing Devices

Posted by on 03/09 at 12:06 PM Permalink

Being the dedicated geek that I am, I spend a lot of time with my face in the computer screen. Much of that time, I am driving a cursor around the screen using a pointing device of some kind. In this installment, I want to talk about the long-term physical effects of computer pointing, in other words, the ergonomics of riding a mouse.

We will look closely at how to use a computer-pointing device for maximum comfort and minimum wear-and-tear on your arm and shoulder. This is not something to ignore unless you want to be too crippled in your geek old age. Don’t laugh, it really happens, as I will personally relate.

Read Full Article Here:
http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-09mar06.htm

Do you wish to add to this article? Click the “comments” tab below and let your voice be heard!

    Posted by Peggy Hall  on  08/23  at  12:07 PM

  1. Where can I get the mouse for carpel tunnel clients. My boss just asked me to order him one but our contract with Office Max doesn’t have any. HELP!!

    2. Posted by Jason  on  09/17  at  11:06 AM

  2. Great article.  I too found a trackball to be a good solution for the sore arm. 

    Another thing that I would add is that a secondary navigation device like 3D connection’s “space navigator” or “space ball” (if they still make it).  They have other models too.  The main idea is that you can use your left hand to pan, zoom, tilt, and scroll in 3D space, or zoom and scroll in 2D space.  When I was doing a lot of design/CAD work in the past it helped with the discomfort and increased productivity.  I used a trackball on the right hand for drawing and selecting tools and the space ball on the left hand to fly through my design environment. 

    Some models also have several programmable buttons that eliminate the need to go back and forth between the keyboard and the navigation/pointing devices further reducing drawing time and fatigue.

    I found this to be the best approach and soon had the whole department using the same setup for 3D modeling and 2D CAD applications.  Everyone commented on how amazed they were that they’re mouse arm was no longer sore and how much faster they could work with the “space ball”

    Jason

    3. Posted by Chris  on  10/30  at  06:57 AM

  3. I avoided this altogether quite by accident. The office setup that I had when I first started using CAD was not designed for computer use so the way I ended up setting up my system required me to sit somewhat sideways to the desk and my arms were totaly resting on the desk, from my elbow to my hand. I have never had any of the difficulties associated with either keyboards or mice, except for a very brief period when I ended up with a “Proper” computer setup. As soon as I realized that I was begining to have some pain, I jacked the furnature into a position that allowed my arms to be back on the desk and end of problem. I have shared this with quite a few people who have used it and they have all reported very positive results.

    I cannot recomend this too highly, I am in my mid sixties, and have been doing intense CAD work all day for quite a few years, at one point I was doing it about 70 to 90 or more hours a week and never had any problems until I got into a “Properly” set up workstation, once I jacked it out of shape it has been smooth sailing ever since. I had one young man in his early twenties who was having major pain, we ended up pulling out the desk extension over the right hand desk drawers and placing some catalogs on it and he started an immediate recovery. It didn’t look just right, but he never changed it all the time that he worked with us, and never had any more difficulties. (Except with his wife, but that’s a different story, couldn’t find a simple solution for that.)

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