Reply to: RSI - Mouse Recommendations

[OwlHoot]

WSES

I've been having to have physio for a few years and still cannot sort my neck/shoulder out. ...

Didn't you say you were into wrestling?

If so, those neck and shoulder pains might be more to do with people jumping up and down on you, or swinging you around by your neck.

[MarillionFan]

Do you use a laptop stand? Or external monitor? Or docking station?

Most laptops are too small for the vast majority of people to use comfortably without elevation hence lots of people suffer from back and neck pain because of it.

Then once you get the laptop elevated then using an external keyboard and a mouse helps.

In fact you can find like MF said that it's not the mouse but the entire position of your body while working which is probably contributing to all the pain.

My laptop stand was a cheap one from Amazon (it cost about £10) which is light and portable but depending on your height you may need a different one. I can't remember on the high street who sells them unfortunately. If I have to use a my laptop at a client site continually for days then I at least bring the laptop stand and an external mouse with me.

However at lot of decent client sites who want you to use their stuff like the one I am at now, they will have docking stations with external keyboards and mice so you don't need to.

BTW this is a serious H&S issue which has legal implications for the client, as I temped for a company that were sued for allowing one of their typist to be injured. I then talked to a journalist a couple of years ago who was writing an in-depth article about it and it's still an on-going problem that loads of IT companies ignore. Apparently it normally takes for a company to be sued before they do anything.

WSES

Poor posture is really bad for you. I've been having to have physio for a few years and still cannot sort my neck/shoulder out. The problem with contracting is they expect you to get on with it, but in truth the last three gigs I've done I've kicked up a real fuss straight away, explicitly stating Health & Safety. Got so bad at one point with headaches I thought I was going to have to give up IT.

The last three clients I have kicked up a fuss at have all sorted it. Chair, screen, monitor. You may feel you're being a prima donna, but at each site I've done it within the first few days. You get the 'Well we all work like that' to which my reply is 'You're breaking the law'. That sorts it super fast and then afterwards you have permies coming up to you saying they have the same problem and the company won't do anything about it.

Be firm.

[RichardCranium]

BTW this is a serious H&S issue which has legal implications for the client

Absolutely. WSES.

You really, really should not be working in such a way that it affects your health. It's only an office job, FFS.

If it is a public sector client, it will be very easy to fix, so much so I can't believe you'd have the problem. So it must be private sector.

As a director of your LtdCo you have a duty of care toward your employee, being you. That is a real genuine legal obligation to take care of your health in the workplace.

If it helps, think of yourself as 2BIT the Director being different from 2BIT the Employee. 2BIT the Employee is someone you have known most of your life and is someone you're really fond of. What's more, 2BIT the Employee is the only one one your workforce pulling their weight and without them, you'd have no income. What would 2BIT the Director do about that? What would you do if your spouse / child / best mate said they were in your position?

You are going to have to to talk to ClientCo about this and get a desk or table sorted out somewhere. Otherwise, you need to be working from home / other premises.

As for a decent keyboard / mouse / trackball (I use a Logitech Trackman Marble Wheel), you can sort those out yourself and plug them into a USB port in the laptop. Ditto for a laptop stand to sort out the height and angle of the laptop screen. A few tenners will sort those out and you get to keep them anyway.

Have a read of the stuff on here: Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

And remember: the injuries caused can be irreparable and stay with you for life. (And not go away.)

[SueEllen]

cheers, this is the problem I'm lucky to get a desk some days so def cant expect a decent chair or anything.

in all my years its only just started happening but its painful and affecting my guitar playing so need to get it sorted

Do you use a laptop stand? Or external monitor? Or docking station?

Most laptops are too small for the vast majority of people to use comfortably without elevation hence lots of people suffer from back and neck pain because of it.

Then once you get the laptop elevated then using an external keyboard and a mouse helps.

In fact you can find like MF said that it's not the mouse but the entire position of your body while working which is probably contributing to all the pain.

My laptop stand was a cheap one from Amazon (it cost about £10) which is light and portable but depending on your height you may need a different one. I can't remember on the high street who sells them unfortunately. If I have to use a my laptop at a client site continually for days then I at least bring the laptop stand and an external mouse with me.

However at lot of decent client sites who want you to use their stuff like the one I am at now, they will have docking stations with external keyboards and mice so you don't need to.

BTW this is a serious H&S issue which has legal implications for the client, as I temped for a company that were sued for allowing one of their typist to be injured. I then talked to a journalist a couple of years ago who was writing an in-depth article about it and it's still an on-going problem that loads of IT companies ignore. Apparently it normally takes for a company to be sued before they do anything.

[Ignis Fatuus]

Trackball.
Also try switching devices around to ease the stress, including laptop's touch pad, mouse, mouse on left side, and of course keyboard shortcuts.

[PSK]

As mentioned above, when I last looked, the Maltron products were very highly regarded

Accessories

[Scrag Meister]

Now you can do both, surf and




This is not a joystick, but a mouse that you grip vertically. The whole unit moves not just the grip.

[BlasterBates]

The main thing is make sure your wrists wrest on the table. If you're typing with your hands in the air that's a real no no. You need a table with enough space to do this. I did get RSI for a while, and got a tip indirectly from a "Hand" surgeon.

[doodab]

cheers, this is the problem I'm lucky to get a desk some days so def cant expect a decent chair or anything.

Where are you working?

I had a gig like that once. I quit after being told "that's tough tulip" by some jumped up PA tart. A week later I was working from home.

Have you considered that it could be the guitar playing that's causing the problem?

[2BIT]

It's more the position / angle of the arm & wrist, plus neck. I've been having neck problems for sometime and did also suffer wrist problems for a while. I now insist on getting a decent chair, screen and if needed I bring my own gel pads(though I don't need that now). When I had an initial HSE check they gave me one of those. The mouse was not a real issue.

Have a look at

gel wrist pad - Google Search

It will support the arm/wrist which is causing problems.

cheers, this is the problem I'm lucky to get a desk some days so def cant expect a decent chair or anything.

in all my years its only just started happening but its painful and affecting my guitar playing so need to get it sorted

[MarillionFan]

Probably one for Technical but feel I may get better answers here:

I have been chasing an RSI induced pain around my arm, shoulder and hand for a couple of months now - due to having to work hunched over a laptop I have been trying to find a sitting position which doesn't result in pain somewhere along my arm or my hand - recently my hand has actually been swelling (so i switch hands and that swells too)

so have realised its more likely my mouse that is causing the problem - had a look at ergonomic mouses online and there seems to be a few different kids - was wondering if anyone has suffered from RSI before and whether an ergonomic mouse solved their problem and if so which one?

It's more the position / angle of the arm & wrist, plus neck. I've been having neck problems for sometime and did also suffer wrist problems for a while. I now insist on getting a decent chair, screen and if needed I bring my own gel pads(though I don't need that now). When I had an initial HSE check they gave me one of those. The mouse was not a real issue.

Have a look at

gel wrist pad - Google Search

It will support the arm/wrist which is causing problems.

[Churchill]

It's all for show, although I am rather good with colours.

There's sense in using a tablet instead of a mouse, as the grip on a pen is far more natural a convention - and it's a lot quicker to use.

I agree with AtW (note to self, must stop) a track-ball is the way to go, it stops the hand from being constrained in one position for too long.

[realityhack]

It's all for show, although I am rather good with colours.

There's sense in using a tablet instead of a mouse, as the grip on a pen is far more natural a convention - and it's a lot quicker to use.

[AtW]

Use trackballs and natural keyboard. The best ones were made by Microsoft and now out of production so ebay-ing is the way ...

[Churchill]

..and admits to drinking girly drinks.

Yep. I've seen him lick ice-cream off Xeno's head... Not a pretty site, I might add.