Proper Way to Hold a Mouse and Avoid Injury
Wrist pain is common to people who use their computer for long hours. This is because of the way they hold the mouse or use the trackpad to complete computer operations or move the cursor.
According to statistics carpal tunnel syndrome accounts for 35% of work related injuries because most jobs require repetitive movement.
The continual use of a computer mouse is one of the causes of wrist injury in the workplace, however there are a few things to do that will reduce or stop wrist injury. Here is an article on ways to hold a mouse and reduce workplace injury.
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How to Hold a Mouse to Avoid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is also called median nerve compression, it involves numbness or tingling of the hand and arm caused by pinched nerve in the wrist.
Things that contribute to median nerve compression is underlining health conditions or pattern of hand use.
A good way to reduce this is to assume a handshake position and use a mouse that has an aggressive slop. Try to reduce pressure from underside of your wrist and make sure you don’t observe forearm pronation.
What is the Best ay to Hold a Mouse?
The main cause of wrist injury when holding a mouse is streets on the wrist and fingers, reptlititive action and awkward posture. Here are things to do when working with a mouse.
You need to pick the right size mouse
As mouse goes there are different sizes of mouse in the market. You have small, medium to large size mouse. Most problem you have with a mouse is if the mouse is too small or to big for your hand.
- Pick right size. The first and most important step is to pick the right size mouse. People mistakingly think all mouse are the same size, this thinking is wrong.
You know a mouse is small for your palm when a part of your palm is not cradling the object properly and fingers are not aligned with the buttons.
On the other hand you know a mouse is too big for your palm when part of the mouse when gripped touches your wrist, that is why you subconsciously adjust your grip to align with the controls and hold the mouse. This type of grip is the number one reason you experience wrist pain in the of
2. Avoid excessive screen motions
Granted you need to do your work efficiently, however excessive screen motions is a serious problem. Excessive windscreen motion involves running the cursor all over the screen.
To reduce wrist agitation that cause stress in your blood vessels or tendons keep to the minimum ulnar nerve deviation of the wrist by keeping the windscreen motion of the cursor to a minimum.
Thing to do to reduce windscreen motion is to reduce slightly the sensitivity of your mouse.This adjustment will support smaller movement or travel of the mouse.
The second thing you can do is keep the wrist steady by pivoting the elbow, because the stationary wrist reduces wrist strain.
Finally you can decide to switch to a trackball mouse or take a break occasionally to rest the wrists.
- Position your mouse within reach
A good way to reduce pressure on the wrist 8s to position the mouse within reach. Placing it close by will make your work easier and faster.
4. Avoid gripping the mouse.
A simple solution to different ways to reduce mouse injury is to position the mouse within reach. Try to position the mouse close to the keyboard to reduce stretching everytime you use the mouse. This will make sure your elbow is at a comfortable angle at all time
Some of us apply too much pressure on our mouse, we grip them hard stressing out palm. This happens when the mouse is too big or too small. Therefore make sure you use a comfortable mouse that is the right size.
Proper grip involves mostly the fingertips with the palm resting on the upper side of the mouse.
Different Types of Mouse Grip
Did you know that there are different types of mouse Grip? There are three ways people grip their mouse, the palm grip, claw grip and fingertips grip.
The fingertips grip
People with big hands tend to use the fingertips grip , this is because their palms are large or bigger than the mouse, therefore griping the mouse is moderately difficult.
The main advantage to this grip is quick rapid motions however your hand will get tired easily. The fingertips grip is an indication your mouse is too small for your palm.
The claw grip
The claw grip is when only part of the palm is resting on the mouse. This grip is very uncomfortable because the knuckles are slightly raised like a claw. People that use this grip find that they can easily maneuver the cursor rapidly across the screen.
The palm grip
The palm grip is when the palm is squarely rested on the mouse. This is the best type of grip because your palm is fully rested on the mouse therefore stress is reduced in the wrists and fingers.
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