Musculoskeletal disorders aren’t a joke and unfortunately, they’re closely related to poorly designed workstations. Back pain, neck pain, shoulder stiffness are some of the many disorders you can get by working in an office that isn’t ergonomically designed, but fortunately, all of this can be prevented. All it takes is ditching the old workstation pieces and investing in new ergonomic ones. The first step towards setting up an ergonomic workstation is investing in an ergonomical mouse.
What Is an Ergonomic Mouse?
Let’s make something clear, there are a lot of traditional mice that look like ergonomic mice and a lot of people keep making the mistake of buying them because of their ‘ergo’ design. The truth about ergo mice is that their entire design is ergonomic from the ground up, and their main goal is to reduce injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome or similar injuries. Investing in one is one of the best decisions you could make, but first, you should understand their types and some other important things that can help you make the right choice. And honestly, you no longer have to wonder ‘Do ergonomic mouses actually work?’ or not.
Consider the Types of Ergo mice
Horizontal
Horizontal mice are the most popular choice in both ergonomic and traditional mice. And because they’re horizontal, you can easily transition without needing any period of adjustments. Practical and easy to use, ergo mouse is the ideal choice for those of you who don’t like the idea of trying something new and having to spend a great period of time on adjustments.
Just like the standard version of horizontal mice, these ones also won’t slow you down when working, especially on multiple monitors, or when gaming. The main difference between ergo and traditional horizontal mice is that the former models are designed not to put pressure on your hand or wrist. Usually, they have a lot of useful features like shortcut buttons, scroll wheels, etc. All in all, they’re a perfect choice for anyone who loves the standard type of mice.
Vertical
Unlike horizontal mice which are designed to keep your hand in a flat and horizontal position, the vertical mice are designed to give you a more natural feeling aka vertical alignment, just like when holding a mug in your hand. Instead of moving your wrist left and right, a vertical mouse requires you to move the wrist up and down which can be strange in the beginning. Even though looking strange, practice shows that vertical design makes for easy to use ergonomical mouse that is extremely convenient.
What’s more, once you get used to it, you’ll never want to use a horizontal mouse, even though ergonomic. The biggest downside of this mouse is that it isn’t appropriate for gaming, and if you work in a workstation where you share computers, the other members might not love the idea of working with this ‘weird’ mouse. Nevertheless, once they get used to it, they’ll love it. Just like the horizontal models, the vertical ones also have handy features and shortcut buttons to ease your work.
Trackball
This might sound strange, but the truth is that these mice appeared after World War II and have been used in household computer systems since the 1980s. Back then, they were quite handy that they’ve made their way in the air traffic control radar systems and aircraft, but they’ve also been used in game cabinets. The beauty of these mice lies in their design and use.
They’re designed to be used with your thumb or two fingers without moving the wrist. They have an additional scroll for zooming and scrolling, and they don’t need a flat surface so they could work. This is a huge bonus because you can use them literally anywhere. Just like using a vertical mouse, you’ll need an adjustment period in order to feel comfortable using a trackball mouse.
Joystick
As the name implies, this mouse has a joystick grip, designed to move the whole device, unlike a joystick on a gamepad. These mice look a lot like vertical mice, so getting used to their use might be a bit difficult, especially if you have experience only with horizontal mice.
Consider the Grip
Speaking of grip, it’s said that mice with taller backs are better for a palm grip because they can provide you with more surface for your palm to rest. This will also improve the overall comfort thus reducing the chances of developing some kind of hand/wrist condition. On the other hand, mice with shorter and flatter designs are better for fingertip grip. So, before choosing anything, make sure to consider your personal preference regarding the grip, and then you’ll know which design is best for you.
Avoid Using Wrist Rest
Although this factor isn’t related to the mouse itself, practice shows that you should avoid the use of wrist rest because this can only increase the pressure on your wrist. And unfortunately, this can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
