Swollen wrist looking for track pad to replace mouse

[Wendywendywendywendy]

Hi all,

I use lots of keyboard and mouse at work. Recently, my right wrist is swollen again. I use ice bag at night but the next day my wrist is still swollen. The evening is normally the worst as I finish the whole day work.

I am using an ergonomic mouse but it is not helping.

Can I know anyone try to use a track/touch pad to replace mouse？does it help on the wrist ? Can you give me some advice on which pad you use ?

Thank you

Wendy

[Madmusiclover]

I use a mouse with central controls. Track bar ‘emotion’. Got it following workplace assessment.

Photo of central track bar

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Madmusiclover]

Thank you. I will take a look.

[Amnesiac3637]

I had a full workplace assessment organised through Occupational Health. Very supportive, was given voice recognition tech, ergonomic desk and chair and a split keyboard. They even changed some of the door handles! I was also supplied with a wireless mouse and wrist mats because all of these were deemed necessary for me to do my job with a disability such as RA. If you have an Occ Health department it’s work approaching them but your employer should do that too. I have been retired for nearly ten years but all that was available then and should be now under the Disability Discrimination Act. Hope you get what you need without having to go to your own expense.

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Amnesiac3637]

That’s something new. We don’t have an occupational dept. But I am seeing rheumatologist today. Will ask about occupation therapy. Thank you.

[KittyJ]

I’d do as amnesiac says and get a workplace assessment as they can look at where the problem is and recommend equipment that will help and is more personal for you. You could spend a lot of money buying what people here find useful and you may not find they help at all. In my previous job I had to work on a computer quite a bit and found a mouse mat with wrist support helped, you can also get keyboard supports. Have you spoken to your employer about reasonable adjustments they should make for you, including equipment? Good luck 🤞🏻

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to KittyJ]

It makes so much sense to assess before buying anything. I will do a bit googling to see if there’s any private supplier can do the assessment. My employer is ok. I will do some research and bring it to them. Thank you

[Scottishlad]

While I haven't used one, a vertical mouse may also be worth trying. It allows your wrist to be in a much more natural and relaxed position than a conventional mouse. You can get a vertical mouse from under £20 on Amazon.

I use a larger ergonomic design of mouse and a mouse pad with a built-in wrist rest but these days I don't generally have to spend a long time a my computer these days so that is generally fine for me.

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Scottishlad]

Thanks for the info. I also have an ergonomic mouse at work.But it is not helping a lot when I am busy. I will go to a occupation therapist and see if there’s anything I can get.

[Maggsie]

I second the use of a vertical mouse. It has been a game changer for me. See if you can get a wireless one.

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Maggsie]

I have one in the office. But my recent workload has offset the benefits of the mouse. Will see a occupation therapist and see what else I can get. Thanks for sharing.

[Yebam]

I used to get a lot of pain in the wrist as my job is computer based. My OT suggested using a joystick style mouse. So I got one of these:

posturite.co.uk/penguin-amb...

It's great for a few reasons:

1) Your hand is in a natural position

2) Its ambidextrous, so if you do have one painful hand, you can use the other easily.

I haven't hand wrist problems since getting one, it's great.

Penguin Joystick mouse

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Yebam]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will check this out. Looks cute.

[Green230461]

Logitech used to do a mouse you don’t have to move

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Green230461]

I googled it and cannot see any mouse don’t need to move. Maybe is an old product? Thanks for the sharing.

[Hidden]

I have an apple trackpad. I don’t know about PC ones. TechRadar is a good site for reviews etc. They are my usual first port of call.

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Hidden]

I heard many good words about apple track pad.will check the website. Thank you .

[Hidden]

As others have said, ask for a workplace OT assessment. You could also contact the Equal Opps/ Disability part of your council to link in with a centre where you can go and try different things out.

[Wendywendywendywendy in reply to Hidden]

I am currently in Hong Kong. But good to know you can access to the resources in the UK. Thanks for the advice.