Sometime in September of this year, I began to experience serious pain in my right shoulder.
The pain was sufficiently bad so that I had to take a couple of Advil to eliminate it. The pain began in early morning after I had been typing for a couple of hours. I spend a good portion of my day typing articles and chapters for my books. That's what I do for a living. That really is my life.
The pain did not go away. It lasted all day. In the evening, it bothered me as I sat watching television, which I do at the end of my workday. (My wife and I watch mostly reruns of old crime shows. I am partial to The Closer.)
The pain started again before noon the next day. It lasted all day. I knew I had a problem.
I use a mouse all day long. Anybody who works with a computer does. I am not unique. So I went online and did a search for "mouse" and "shoulder" and "pain." I found several entries on this condition. It is quite appropriately called "mouse shoulder." Here is one entry from a British site on osteopathy. Click here.
Basically, mouse shoulder is a shoulder version of carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects the wrist. We hear a lot about carpal tunnel syndrome. I had never heard of mouse syndrome until I became a victim.
I decided to order a new kind of mouse. It's called a vertical mouse. It cost $18. I really liked it. But it didn't solve the problem. The pain persisted. So, I kept looking.
I came across some videos on a completely different approach to what a mouse should be. This one is built into a bar that sits below the keyboard. It is called a rollerbar. That really does describe it. Rather than verbally explain it, which would waste my time and yours, here is a very good video on the product. It is produced by a man who specializes in digital tools. It's a good video for a low-budget video, except that he really ought to spend $30 and buy a lapel microphone. I am always astounded that even experts in digital tools seem unaware of how rotten built-in microphones are on camcorders. Whenever you can solve a problem for $30, I recommend it. But I digress. Here is the video.
I watched this video and several others. Nobody had a bad word to say about the product. So, I bit the bullet. I ordered one. I ordered a used one, and I saved $90. But it was still expensive. I do not think anybody would adopt this technology who is not suffering from mouse shoulder. It is too expensive.
I have used it for about a week. I am slowly making the transition. Habits that are developed over a 22-year period are difficult to break. I have developed an instinctive knowledge of the use of a mouse for the handful of procedures I use. Now, I am having to relearn them. But, I must say, it has reduced my pain. Because I still use a regular mouse, meaning my new vertical mouse, for some operations, because I'm always in a hurry, I am still getting some pain during the day. But it is nowhere near as bad as it was. I still use my mouse when I get stuck. I know I must stop doing this.
The product really is ingenious. You can use it exclusively with your left hand or your right hand. You can use both hands. I am doing my best to use only my left hand. I am doing my best to keep my right arm right in front of me--no angle to the right. It is the angle to the right that creates the problem.
I am using a kind of goofy procedure. I am trying to keep myself from instinctively grabbing the mouse. So, I try to keep my right arm across my stomach most of the time. This keeps me from habitually reaching for the mouse.
Hooray for voice-activated dictation software, and hooray for the Contour rollermouse.
I bought it from Amazon. Here is a link. https://www.amazon.com/RollerMouse-Red-Ultimate-Ergonomic-Mouse/dp/B00DE83RSC
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Note, evening, Friday, Oct. 5: I have put the mouse out of reach. I am doing OK -- a bit slower, but getting onto this. My arm feels better. I am happy I made the switch.
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