howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz) (06/08/89)
My wife has developed a severe inflammation (tendosynovitis for sci.med)
of her thumb and wrist following a period of extensive work (approximately
12 hours per day for 7 days) with the Macintosh SE standard mouse.
The problem seems due primarily to pressure from the "hump" of the
left front corner of the mouse against the ball of the thumb,
and secondarily from her need to hold her wrist unsupported while
using the mouse (her hand is not long enough to rest the wrist on
the mouse pad).
This remains under treatment after approximately 2.5 months; it has
been splinted, placed in a cast, and yesterday was injected with
anti-inflammatory medications (repository corticosteroids again, sci.med
readers). She has been on oral anti-inflammatory drugs (naprosyn 500mg
bid) for approximately 6 weeks, which has helped considerably.
She has substituted a trackball (i.e., Kensington Turbo Mouse) for the
regular mouse, which enables her to work again. There is still some
problem of pressure on the pad of the thumb, but, since the trackball
is operated with a finger rather than wrist movement, the stress is
much less.
I have several questions for the net:
1. I believe I have seen others mention their experience
with hand and wrist problems from mouse use. Could
people please inform me if they have seen or experienced
this, and the conditions which produced it?
2. What circumventions have people found which allowed them
to continue Macintosh use? Does anyone know a way to pad
the Turbo Mouse to decrease stress?
3. Besides rest, immobilization, and oral and injectable
anti-inflammatory drugs, has anyone had successful experience
with treating this problem?
--
howard@cos.com OR {uunet, decuac, sun!sundc, hadron, hqda-ai}!cos!howard
(703) 883-2812 [W] (703) 998-5017 [H]
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Corporation
for Open Systems, its members, or any standards body.trebor@biar.UUCP (Robert J Woodhead) (06/20/89)
In article <7214@ecsvax.UUCP> howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz) writes: >My wife has developed a severe inflammation (tendosynovitis for sci.med) >of her thumb and wrist following a period of extensive work (approximately >12 hours per day for 7 days) with the Macintosh SE standard mouse. >The problem seems due primarily to pressure from the "hump" of the >left front corner of the mouse against the ball of the thumb, >and secondarily from her need to hold her wrist unsupported while >using the mouse (her hand is not long enough to rest the wrist on >the mouse pad). Hmm. I don't think she should be resting her wrist on the mouse pad. For me, the most comfortable method of mousing is with my arm off the table, hand falling over the mouse like a net. This moves the stress away from the hand and wrist. Your wife might try this. She could, for example, get a small pillow or cushion for her forearm and elbow that makes it comfortable to have the wrist and forearm above the mouse. Or she could try other mice. There are several different styles available. -- (^;-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-;^) Robert J Woodhead, Biar Games, Inc. !uunet!biar!trebor | trebor@biar.UUCP ``I can read your mind - right now, you're thinking I'm full of it...''
kent@husc6.harvard.edu (Kent Borg) (06/24/89)
In article <7214@ecsvax.UUCP> howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz) writes: >My wife has developed a severe inflammation (tendosynovitis for sci.med) >of her thumb and wrist following a period of extensive work (approximately >12 hours per day for 7 days) with the Macintosh SE standard mouse. >The problem seems due primarily to pressure from the "hump" of the >left front corner of the mouse against the ball of the thumb, >and secondarily from her need to hold her wrist unsupported while >using the mouse (her hand is not long enough to rest the wrist on >the mouse pad). Go into the Control Panel and click on the mouse icon. Set the tracking to ``Fast''. This will make the little rodent (or trackball) much more sensitive. I never move my hand any more, I can get from corner to corner with just finger movement. (The faster you make a gesture, the farther the pointer moves.) Next, it should be possible to rest her wrist on some sort of pad. The computer cart I am using right now has ~5/8 inch high upholstered strip along the front edge of the keyboard shelf. What I don't yet have here at work is a mouse pad. I recommend one. Makes the mouse grab the pavement much better. Yes, a trackball uses finger movements rather than wrist movements, but since the mouse got fast tracking I don't move my wrist any more. If she contimues to have problems, look closely at the `ergonomics' of the situation and see what else might be physically adjusted. Kent Borg kent@lloyd.uucp or ...!husc6!lloyd!kent
russ%prism@gatech.edu (Russell Shackelford) (07/05/89)
In article <7271@ecsvax.UUCP>, lloyd!kent@husc6.harvard.edu (Kent Borg) writes: > > In article <7214@ecsvax.UUCP> howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz) writes: > >My wife has developed a severe inflammation (tendosynovitis for sci.med) > >of her thumb and wrist following a period of extensive work (approximately > >12 hours per day for 7 days) with the Macintosh SE standard mouse. > >The problem seems due primarily to pressure from the "hump" of the > >left front corner of the mouse against the ball of the thumb, > >and secondarily from her need to hold her wrist unsupported while > >using the mouse (her hand is not long enough to rest the wrist on > >the mouse pad). I wish I had the source of this, but I don't: I recently read that some mdeical researchers in Europe, Netherlands I think, had done a study about this and similar phenomena. They concluded that a mouse is bad news for folks who are heavy users, and they recommended that folks who use machines all day adjust their habits to emphasize the keyboard BECAUSE it shares the load among more muscles, whereas the mouse puts all the wear and tear on just a few and does so reliably. This should come as some news to "the rest of us":-). -- Russell Shackelford School of Information and Computer Science Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332 russ@prism.gatech.edu (404) 834-4759
swc@information-systems.east-anglia.ac.uk (S.W. Cox CMP Staff) (07/05/89)
In article <7270@ecsvax.UUCP> trebor@biar.UUCP (Robert J Woodhead) writes: > >In article <7214@ecsvax.UUCP> howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz) writes: >>My wife has developed a severe inflammation (tendosynovitis for sci.med) >>of her thumb and wrist following a period of extensive work (approximately >>12 hours per day for 7 days) with the Macintosh SE standard mouse. > >Hmm. I don't think she should be resting her wrist on the mouse pad. For >me, the most comfortable method of mousing is with my arm off the table, >hand falling over the mouse like a net. This moves the stress away from >the hand and wrist. I found that if you hold the 'tail' of the mouse between the tips of the thumb and the second finger, pressing the button with the outstretched first, then you can comfortably rest the whole of your hand on the pad/table. If Apple are bringing out this new optical mouse it might be worth looking into this possibility. If the worst came to the worst and you could get you hands on another Mac mouse incase it doesn't work - you could try filing the corner off the mouse and/or sticking foam on it. Steve. P.S. Have you seen those joke furry mice covers for them - maybe if you filled one with cotton wool or foam before putting it on the mouse it may help.
ari@dartvax.dartmouth.edu (Ari Halberstadt) (07/16/89)
I've more or less solved the problem of the mouse by working at a desk with a draw[er]. I open the draw[er], and rest my forearm on its edge. This system also alows me to keep a reference manual open in front of me, and even gives me quick access to such things as calculators and pens. Occasionally, I put a cushion in/on the draw[er]. The only remaining problem is the tiring of a tendon and muscle in my arm, the muscle used to click the mouse button (I've no idea what the muscle is called). In fact, I find the SE mouse much more comfortable for this tiring. I use a Mac plus with a standard mouse; you could also consider purchasing a track-ball, such as the one made by Kensington (advertised in most Macintosh magazines). Or, you could convince your wife to take more frequent breaks. Ari Halberstadt: ari@dartmouth.edu