Recently, I decided to buy a cheap ergonomic mouse because I found out that the pain in my right arm might be due to my blogging.
In recent months, I’ve been doing more paperwork for my day job, so that meant my hand was using the mouse more frequently.
In fact, if you follow me either on this blog or social media, you would know that I went to see a doctor about the pain in my arm recently. The doctor confirmed there was a tear in my tendon, but he didn’t say anything about the rest of my hand which sometimes felt numb and annoyingly numb.
The doctor didn’t say anything because I didn’t tell him about the rest of my hands as it wasn’t as painful as my arm.
Either way, the annoying pain and numbness came and went, and my research online led me to find about the Carpal tunnel syndrome, or CTS in short.
WHAT IS CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
Okay, I am malas to rewrite this, so this is the explanation given by Orthoinfo about the Carpal Tunnel Syndrom;
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that causes pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand and arm. The condition occurs when one of the major nerves to the hand — the median nerve — is squeezed or compressed as it travels through the wrist.
In most patients, carpal tunnel syndrome gets worse over time, so early diagnosis and treatment are important. Early on, symptoms can often be relieved with simple measures like wearing a wrist splint or avoiding certain activities.
If pressure on the median nerve continues, however, it can lead to nerve damage and worsening symptoms. To prevent permanent damage, surgery to take pressure off the median nerve may be recommended for some patients.
SYMPTOMS OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
Technically, the symptoms are (as written in the same website)
- Numbness, tingling, burning, and pain—primarily in the thumb and index, middle, and ring fingers
- Occasional shock-like sensations that radiate to the thumb and index, middle, and ring fingers
- Pain or tingling that may travel up the forearm toward the shoulder
- Weakness and clumsiness in the hand—this may make it difficult to perform fine movements such as buttoning your clothes
- Dropping things—due to weakness, numbness, or a loss of proprioception (awareness of where your hand is in space)
Based on that, it is unlikely that I am experiencing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, because while I do feel numbness as stated in the symptoms above, an article I read debunked that the use of keyboards and mouse can cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. According to the article, ‘certain wrist position did increase pressure on the carpal tunnel, but not to dangerous levels’.
The article nonetheless suggested that one tries to keep the wrist in a neutral position when using the computer as you can see below.
HOW A CHEAP ERGONOMIC MOUSE HELPS
It is however difficult to use the mouse as suggested above since most of us, my self included, tend to wrest our wrist on the table, and just move the mouse using our write.
However, what is shown above is easier said than done, because habits die hard.
That said, I found out that there’s an easier solution to adjusting the hand to a neutral position as suggested which is to buy a cheap ergonomic mouse.
An ergonomic mouse ensures that your hand is in neutral position, while at the same time avoiding the nerves in the wrist to be compressed while using the mouse.
A cheap ergonomic mouse may look and feel odd, and it would take a lot of practice before one could get use to it.
However, the results have been quite impressive.
Just after a few days using the cheap ergonomic mouse, I realized that the pain in my wrist had gone away. It isn’t gone completely, but it’s so much less than before, and so here I am typing this to share about this little thing I’ve found that helped me.
WHERE CAN I BUY A CHEAP ERGONOMIC MOUSE?
I know by now that perhaps you are wondering why I am constantly talking about a cheap ergonomic mouse instead of just ergonomic mouse?
Well, it has something to do with key words and Search Engine Optimization, which doesn’t effect what I am typing and sharing here.
The fact is, if you wish, you can spend more money to buy an expensive ergonomic mouse if you wish, but the one I bought cost RM43 (USD11) with shipping on Gearbest.
Compared to those on other online sites, I figured the price is cheap although I did have to wait for two weeks for the shipment. You can also check out ergonomic mouse reviews by Product Nation to learn about more options.
Either way, I’m also going to buy an ergonomic mouse pad to further help relieve pressure on my wrist because honestly, the discomfort is too annoying to ignore.
If you are also experiencing such discomfort in your wrist, try these two things. It can really help.