EK HEALTH

-by Kim Granata-Clark, MS in Human Factors and Ergonomics, Ergonomic Specialist

The trackball mice do not take a lot of space on the work surface or keyboard tray.  You can order a 2 or 4 button trackball.  There is not much stress on the hand with the trackballs but like most mice, when you are not using the trackball, take your hand off the mouse or rotate your hand onto the small finger off your wrist or carpal tunnel area.  The thumb is clicking the buttons and the fingers move the ball but try not to rest your whole palm on the trackball base when using the 2 button trackball.  Keep the natural C in your hand and allow movement in the arm.  When using the 4 button trackball, use your palm to move the ball and click the buttons with your fingers and thumb.  Also try customizing the left and right click mouse buttons to be on the top left and top right so you slide off the top of the ball to the buttons versus bottom left, which is the default for the left mouse click.  The 4 button trackball allows you to do more movement of the hand to use the ball and buttons but be careful of the wrist extension when you are not using the trackball. This trackball also allows you to customize a drag lock feature so you click one of the mouse buttons, highlight your text, and then click the button again without having to hold a button down while trying to highlight text with the trackball.

The touchpad is used mainly with laptops and most people use one hand for moving the mouse and clicking the mouse buttons.  Try to use both hands, one to maneuver the cursor, and one to click the mouse buttons since the touchpad is below the keyboard and in front of you.  When using the detached touch pad such as the Cirque SmartCat® Touchpad, placed on the left or right side of the keyboard, it operates the same way as on the laptop.  You can scroll horizontally and vertically, right click by tapping the upper right corner of the touchpad, zoom/magnification tools by gliding a finger along the touchpad edges.  This device also does not take a lot of space on the work station or keyboard tray.  There are three buttons for left and right click and you can customize the third button.

The vertical mouse can be the 3M Vertical Ergonomic mouse or the Evoluent mouse.  This is basically taking your current mouse and turning it on its side so you are using the mouse in a handshake position or neutral posture.  This allows you to rotate off your carpal tunnel area, which is pressed on the work surface when using a traditional mouse.  The 3M Vertical mouse keeps the thumb in an extended position while using the mouse since the mouse buttons are on the top of the joystick.  We recommend that you alternate with another mouse when using the 3M Vertical mouse to prevent the thumb from becoming fatigued.  There is a third button at your fingertips that enables scrolling in some applications.  The Evoluent mouse allows the thumb to relax in a grove on the top of the mouse and it has six buttons, left click, right click, and 3-4 programmable buttons, with a scroll wheel that can also act as a button and be programmed for another function along with scrolling.  It has the RSI guard software built into the mouse software.

The Rollermouse Pro or Free sits in front of your keyboard and the rolling pin moves the cursor horizontally and vertically.  There are 5 buttons below the rolling pin that is left click, right click, and double click.  The two top buttons can be programmed to be a copy and paste.  The rolling pin can be used as a mouse click by pressing it down.  A con to this mouse is that you have to reach for the keyboard and you might hit the rolling pin with your thumb so you need to float your wrists and there might be a slight rise in your shoulders.  A pro to the keyboard is if you do a lot of mousing, it is right in front of you and you are not reaching for the mouse to the right of the keyboard.