Ergonomic Mice Reviewed

Gregg writes "Most of the time these mice are marketed towards people suffering from RSI, however anyone feeling discomfort using a regular mouse should be able to switch to any of these pointing devices that were created with ergonomics, and only ergonomics in mind. TechSpot's comparison includes three products: the Perific Wireless Dual Mouse, 3M Ergonomic 'Renaissance' Mouse, and Evoluent's VerticalMouse 2." From the article: "People are sometimes under the impression that only those who work at a computer all day are at risk of repetitive stress injuries (RSI). Unfortunately that is not true and even people spending an hour or two per day using a computer are now suffering from RSI. Even if you aren't going to purchase ergonomic products for your everyday use, there are still some very helpful tips on how to lower the risk of someday suffering from RSI. Many specialists recommend taking short breaks after long periods of computer use to reduce risk. It is also a good idea to do a few quick and simple hand/wrist stretches that will help make sure you are doing your best to try and stay healthy."

Mouse Trapper

[NoOneInParticular]

My personal favourite, the MouseTrapper [officeorganix.com]. Completely mechanic, can use whatever old mouse you have lying around, and the motion you use are completely different from a regular mouse. It also doesn't break. I personally cannot use any mouse, not even those 'ergonomic' ones, as I will feel it in my wrists in a couple of days. I usually use a laptop with touchpad, but when I sit behind a desktop machine, this thingy really helps.

"ergonomic" devices are not ergonomic at all

[lokedhs]

Seriously... What's the deal with all of these "ergonomic" pointing devices?

Most of them are big as houses are requires you to move your entire hand to move the damn thing around the desk. If anything, this increases the risk of getting "mouse arm".

The way to use a mouse, is to rest your wrist on the desk, and move the mouse with your fingertips. None of these ergonomic ones allow you to do that. Instead, they force you to move your entire arm, increasing stress on the shoulder.

Someone should tell the mouse manufacturers that the problem isn't that the hand isn't resting "comfortably" around the mouse, but rather that the user moves and strains his shoulder.

Right-handed bias

[piyamaradus]

As with almost all higher-end mice, these seem aimed at primarily or entirely right-handed use. Left-handed mouse users are almost completely stuck with 2 or 3 button mice that are longitudinally symmetrical and thus work with either hand. I'd love one of the high end logitech laser mice but it's impossible to use in any reasonable fashion with the left hand. Yet I find most left-handed people have given up and just use the mouse with the right hand, which makes very little sense -- mousing with the left hand on a standar keyoard reduces by 3x-4x the distance required to move the arm to change from keyboard to mouse and allows the right hand to use the keypad or other control-type key clusters easily. I chose to use the left hand with the mouse on my first mouse-enabled machine ~18 years ago (I'm not strongly handed either way, but use left for some tasks and right for others) and am amazed that the mouse manufacturers treat 10% of the population this way. Logitech doesn't even answer my emails.

Make your own

[mathgenius]

For less than $20 I modded [arrowtheory.com] a cheap mouse so that I can have one of these "vertical" mice at home. It's a lot cheaper than the 3M model. Also you can adjust it to fit your hand exactly.

Simon.

Another solution

[bunyip]

If the glucosamine and chondroitin don't work for you, there are therapies that will. Active Release Technique (ART) is great for RSI and other repetitive injuries (I'm a runner and triathlete, I've used ART to treat various problems).

The company where I work has an ART practitioner come on site 2 mornings a week to treat RSI and other problems. Several of my friends and colleagues have been rteated on site. It's a pretty cool benefit.

BTW - I don't do ART for a living, I'm a programmer, so don't consider this an advertisement.

Alan.

Re:Jeez, mice sure are high-tech these days

[Pig Hogger]

Mine's the old style: furry and with a little tail. I give it a little water, some pellets twice a day, and it just runs around on its little wheel and is happy.

Funniest thing I ever saw in a pet-shop: a bunch of 15-20 mice were running together in a hamster wheel... But one mouse had enough of it and stopped dead in her tracks, and gripped the wheel wires, where it promptly went around and around and around while the other mice kept running... Just hilarious!!!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

only 1/2 right

[psycobrat]

these are all right handed. what about the other 1/2 of the world who is left handed?? or righties who prefer a left mouse?

Re:Why use thse when you can use

[Clockwurk]

I'm not sure why the parent comment is rated flamebait, but it shouldn't be. Apple's mice are most assuredly form before function (as anyone who use the imac puck mouse can attest).

I tried the Mighty Mouse in the apple store and while it is a step in the right direction (multiple buttons, scrolling, etc.) its still very uncomfortable to use.

  To right click, you have to lift your left finger or it doesn't register. The side button was equally shitty; there is only one button (that is on both sides of the mouse), and it doesn't offer any feedback, you only know that you clicked it when it performs an action (all windows expose was the default. The scrollball seems like a good idea, just poorly executed. The ball is placed pretty far back on the mouse and you have to arch your fingers a lot to use it, and the ball is too small.

The 3M Ergonomic Mouse Rocks!

[xyu]

I'm a 23 year old programmer, and I already have bad carpal tunnel in my right arm, and sorta bad in my left. I was so bad that I'd get tingling and a dull pain in my wrist after 15 minutes of computer use.

I say "had" because sometime around March I bought one of the 3M Ergonomic Mice. It was the best $50 I ever spent. The mouse is shaped like a joystick and has 3 buttons. It was hard to aim at first, but after a week I was back to 90% accuracy. (100% after 2 weeks). After adjusting I can play FPS games at my old skill level.

I started a new job in May, and I used an old-style mouse. After a month the pain came back, and I got my employer to purchase me one for work.

I can now use a computer all day, and have no pain at all in my wrist! I now look forward to a lifetime of happy mousing!

Use hind paws

[2901]

I've put a trackball on the floor, and I'm spinning the ball with my toes. That spares my hands and lets me leave my fingers in the home position for touch typing on the keyboard.

The trackball only has two buttons and I need three for X11 on FreeBSD so I've started the mouse demon with

moused -p /dev/cuaa1 -3 -E 500

"-3" gives me three button emulation, "-E" adjusts how simultaneous the left and right buttons have to be to count as the middle button. I boost it from 100ms to 500ms to accomodate my relative lack of coordination when I try to click both buttons with my toes