My wrist is injured from UI design

[DoTheBIM]

No I'm not talking about the 2010 UI... althought that UI might help with this problem.

I have a fair amount of wrist trouble that I believe is due to software UI design in general. Revit gets the blame in this post, but I use lots of other soft-wares with similar designs. Most of the tools are positioned toward the upper left of the application window. Also I bowl 1-2 times a week as well and my style puts more strain on a the wrist than most people, but then my scores reflect the extra momentum I put into motion. I've tagged my wrist trouble to a very minute windows mousing behavior. The simple action of moving my mouse quickly to the left to get to a tool that I instinctively know where it is. then moving my mouse less quickly back to the right to my work area. Since the movement is not a 1:1 ratio. I incrementally move position my mouse farther and farther to the right as I work.

So a thought occurred to me today, "Can I change the speed independently of which direction I move my mouse?" Searching google didn't turn up much. For now I've maxed out the windows speed of the mouse to see if that helps at all. Are there any programs out there that can disable the variable speed/distance ratio of mouse movements? Any other suggestions?

[tomnewsom]

No I'm not talking about the 2010 UI... althought that UI might help with this problem.

I have a fair amount of wrist trouble that I believe is due to software UI design in general. Revit gets the blame in this post, but I use lots of other soft-wares with similar designs. Most of the tools are positioned toward the upper left of the application window. Also I bowl 1-2 times a week as well and my style puts more strain on a the wrist than most people, but then my scores reflect the extra momentum I put into motion. I've tagged my wrist trouble to a very minute windows mousing behavior. The simple action of moving my mouse quickly to the left to get to a tool that I instinctively know where it is. then moving my mouse less quickly back to the right to my work area. Since the movement is not a 1:1 ratio. I incrementally move position my mouse farther and farther to the right as I work.

So a thought occurred to me today, "Can I change the speed independently of which direction I move my mouse?" Searching google didn't turn up much. For now I've maxed out the windows speed of the mouse to see if that helps at all. Are there any programs out there that can disable the variable speed/distance ratio of mouse movements? Any other suggestions?
This is caused by the 'acceleration' feature, which does indeed cause a greater mouse:cursor ratio when moving at higher speeds. My logitech mouse software lets me set mouse acceleration to varying amounts (mine is Low). The windows control panel for mouse has the misleading option "increase mouse precision". Turn this off to disable acceleration.

Personally, I find it hard to strike a balance between accuracy at small distances and the "pointer creep" that you mention, and need the fine control over acceleration that the Logitech driver provides.

[gwnelson]

Try golf instead of bowling?

[ycymry]

I use a logitech trackman mouse with thumb ball for that very reason - then I'm not moving the mouse at all, just spinning the ball with my thumb. It also enables me to put the mouse wherever the hand is most comfortable, since I have rheumatoid arthritis and when I have attacks, I can't keep my hands in a traditional "ergonomic" position, and occasionally end up with the mouse in my lap.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/trackballs/devices/159&cl=us,en

HTH

[j_starko]

don't laugh at this too much, cause it made a difference to my wrist.

I sometimes draft with one of my punk rocker metal stud bracletes on. It raises my wrist off the counter by about half an inch and that makes all the difference some days with my wrist woes.

I've seen other wrist raising things too, but I wear the bracelet cause it follows my wrist and arm where ever they move.

also it lets me rock out in the office !

[ws]

If it's any help I've spent years trying to keep rsi problems at bay.

Apart from ergonomics and posture, regular breaks are very effective.

I found a very useful program called workpace - it has a free trial
http://www.workpace.com/
It monitors your mouse and keyboard actions and reminds you to take short breaks or longer ones with suggested little stretching exercises.

I've also always used pens and tablets for cad - Wacom in recent years, but I also keep a cordless mouse for a bit of variety.

Best of luck.

[STHRevit]

We use MS Razar gaming mice in our office. They have a huge range of adjustment, customisable buttons etc. etc.
You can adjust the sensitivity of the laser so you don't have to move your hand much at all to relocate the pointer on your screen.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/productdetails.aspx?pid=092

[Scott Hopkins]

I had a hand surgery several years back (unrelated to drafting). For six weeks I couldn't use my right hand because of this crazy cast with rubber bands and pulleys. I had to train my left hand to use the mouse. I thought I was done for. Within a week I was drafting just as fast with my left hand.

It is not as hard as you would think - train yourself to use the mouse with your opposite hand. When one wrist gets sore, switch to the other for a few days. It works!

[patricks]

We use MS Razar gaming mice in our office. They have a huge range of adjustment, customisable buttons etc. etc.
You can adjust the sensitivity of the laser so you don't have to move your hand much at all to relocate the pointer on your screen.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/productdetails.aspx?pid=092

Habu mouse? Sounds like something from Star Wars :lol: Looks like a pretty nice one, though.


I had a hand surgery several years back (unrelated to drafting). For six weeks I couldn't use my right hand because of this crazy cast with rubber bands and pulleys. I had to train my left hand to use the mouse. I thought I was done for. Within a week I was drafting just as fast with my left hand.

It is not as hard as you would think - train yourself to use the mouse with your opposite hand. When one wrist gets sore, switch to the other for a few days. It works!

So do you right-click with your left index finger, or do you swap the button functions?

[SCShell]

Hey there,

I still (and have always) use the Microsoft Explorer Track Ball mouse. I also have wrist pads on my old Mayline and this helps to raise my wrist. Also, I have everything on my old sloping drawing board....which makes it really, really comfortable for me.

Good Luck
Steve

[patricks]

Hey there,

I still (and have always) use the Microsoft Explorer Track Ball mouse. I also have wrist pads on my old Mayline and this helps to raise my wrist. Also, I have everything on my old sloping drawing board....which makes it really, really comfortable for me.

Good Luck
Steve

Oh I was about to ask if the mouse tended to scoot down on the sloping desk, but I realized you're using a track ball. ;)

We all have this keyboard tray at our desks, 2nd one down: http://www.humanscale.com/products/keyboard_systems.cfm?detail=best_sellers

It allows the keyboard to be slid out from under the desk and raised up to optimum height, with a swinging tray off to the side for the mouse. I can get my keyboard all the way out to my forearm's distance from my body, at the same height as my elbows. The mouse tray is a touch higher than my chair's arm height, so I can rest my forearm comfortably on the chair arm (elbow still at my side) and reach the mouse easily to move it around.

Our office system desks are 30" high, which is a little high for keyboard/mouse use in my opinion. I could definitely see issues if I had to use the mouse/keyboard up that high, with my elbow floating above my chair arm. With this tray I can get the surface the keyboard sits on anywhere from 23" - 28". I usually keep it around 27.5" while working, which is the perfect height for me as it also allows room to cross my legs underneath (one foot up on other knee, comfortable for me).

I've been using Revit for over 5 1/2 years with no discernible wrist issues, and it's probably because of this keyboard try setup. It ain't cheap though, the setup is usually $400-$500 depending on the specific options you go with.

[Railrose]

These have been a lifesaver for me. I get them at Hobby Lobby. They have a seam around the wrist, so I wear them inside out. Otherwise, they create welts on my wrist. If they are too tight around the fingers, they can be snipped to make them fit better. They usually have some of them at the check out counters, but for a full range of sizes, go to the needlework section. In cold weather, or when doing yard work, I can wear them under normal gloves, without extra bulk.
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=83103&dep=20&cat=41&subcat=5&Search=Y

[andy.239668]

I was recently diagnosed with Carpel Tunnel in my right wrist. I relate this to 6 years in architecture school (most of which is computerized now) and more than a decade of sailing and lots of hands on model building and drawing my whole life. It is a shock because I'm only 25. The doctor is highly recommending surgery because I'm losing muscle mass in my hand and in less than 2 years it would be worthless without getting the surgery. (most people don't get this until they are 50 or so). I got lucky because they caught it so early. If you are having pain, it might be worth a trip to get it checked out because it gets so bad they can't do anything for you. (which happens)

Best practices can make all the difference. I wear a wrist brace every night (looks like a wrist guard for rollerblading). I have a very good mouse (Logitech MX Revolution Laser) which is much more ergonomic than most mice which helps a lot over the standard mouse which ship with most computers. I have to watch the angle I hold my hand at and take frequent breaks to stretch my hand out. Having a wrist pad under your wrist for your mouse is also a good idea.

Spending a buck on a mouse is a really good idea if you are sitting in front of a computer all day drafting. The MX Revolution costs about $100 (I got it on sale for $40 just by watching ads for Best Buy). Any decent higher grade mouse out there will give you the features you are looking for via their added software (ability to speed up the tracking speed).

Good luck.

[Scott Hopkins]

So do you right-click with your left index finger, or do you swap the button functions?

I prefer to swap buttons when switching to the left hand.

[gwnelson]

I have used a 3M mouse pad with a big-mound-of-gel wrist support for years and it's been great.