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jwelin · Guest

To relieve wrist pain, I am planning to replace my mouse with a tablet or trackball. I am looking for suggestions of products suitable for drawing all day. Specifically, which type of input device will allow me to pan and zoom as easily as the mouse's roller button.

Walt Engle · Guest

This is not addressing your post directly, but I do have a suggestion. Of course, this will only work once your wrist feels good for, say a week. My father was raised near some of the worst pool halls, beer halls and gyms in Kansas City, Mo. He got to know some of the
areas most notable bare knuckle brawlers - men who fought 50, 60 and 80 rounds in some of the worst and gorriest unsanctioned fights a person would ever want to view. I digress a little but only to lay the ground work for this: the fighters in those days strengthened
their wrists and hands by carrying around a medium-hard ball that was about 75% the size of a billiard ball. They would constantly squeeze this ball until it became a part of their lives and helped build up their wrists and hands.

I know this sounds "off the wall" but you might also try this. Worked for me when I started using this around the age of 12.

Tom Smith · Guest

In addition to Walt's suggestion, I'd recommend borrowing one of those type
devices for a few days trial if possible, to see if there is actually any
benefit. Having had carpal tunnel flareups myself, the very idea of using a
trackball makes my wrist throb.

Ergonomically, a tablet isn't any different from a mouse, except that it's
usually elevated and slanted slightly. I've experimented with various
things, and found the best way to fend off wrist pains, for me, is to rest
my entire forearm flat on the surface where I'm moving the mouse or puck,
thereby keeping my wrist straight at all times, as if I were wearing a wrist
brace. No wrist movement = no pain.

I don't know of a tablet equivalent of mouse wheel zooming.

Dean Saadallah · Guest

In addition to Walt's exercise option, tablets come with pens, and you never
heard of anyone getting carpal issues with a pen, have you?
http://www.wacom.com, they work to fully replace your mouse/trackball in
anything in Windows, AutoCAD included.

It has a mouse option when your other hand is broken and can't type P and Z
on the keyboard ;)
--
Dean Saadallah
Add-on products for LT
http://www.pendean.com/lt
--

Jan van de Poel · Guest

The best way device is the "stress killer".
Believe me, i found out the hard way, both shoulders have been operated
because of impingment problem.
Cause: stress !!
This goes for most RSI related injuries like your wrist pain.
We use a tablet since rel.9 and don't want to miss it, many clicks can be
replaced by one if you create the correct command sequence in the menu.
(example: inserting a block, it would take many clicks to find the block on
your system.
On the tablet the path could be hardcoded, scale and rotation could be set,
needing only two clicks, one on tablet, one on screen)

But again: don't stress yourself, it is YOU that pays with your health, not
your boss.

Regards.
Jan

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Jon Kirkham · Guest

Anne Brown · Guest

In addition to any replies you might receive or have already
received, you may find more information or responses by posting
future digitize/mouse related questions in the following
discussion group:

Web browser: http://discussion.autodesk.com/forum.jspa?forumID=17
Newsreader:
news://discussion.autodesk.com/autodesk.autocad.digitize-display
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Anne Brown
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Autodesk, Inc.

jwelin wrote:

doug k · Guest

check out kensington's product line

http://kensington.com/html/1436.html

i use the expert mouse pro and have no additional wrist/shoulder pain from
it (which is why i went to a trakball).

the extra programmable buttons are nice to have too.

i am not a carpal-tunnel sufferer, just plain-old arthritis in the shoulders
(the inflammation in the shoulders would make my wrists/elbows hurt).
normal mouse movements are a killer on shoulder/elbow/wrist joints when you
have even minor arthritis there. a trackball was my only viable solution.

if i get arthritis in my fingers, its time to retire.

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Leon · Guest

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Leon · Guest

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wookie · Guest

My boss gets cronic OOS. She finds the most comfortable pointing device is the pen & tablet set up.
She also has special kitchen knives at home that have pistol grip style handles.

teiarch · Guest

For best production speed, reliability and moderate button programmability, check out the Microsoft optical track ball with roller ball on the side, three middle buttons (middle button is also a scroll wheel) and one additional side button on left and right sides which are programmable. Ball pops out for easy cleaning. It's smooth operation and reliable. Look for sales on these where they go for about $20 US.

Get a work chair with side arms so your arm is supported, plop down the track ball at side arm height (mine's pn a pull-out keyboard tray), train your thumb to do the moving your entire forearm used to do and I am confident your wrist problems will disappear.

Been using a track ball of one type or another for 14 years with absolutely NO hint of carpal tunnel syndrome (and the wrists are 66 years old at this writing).

Not to beat Kensington but their centered ball is not designed for speed or convenience IMO.

Tom Smith · Guest

Anne Brown · Guest

Tom -

As one who has "carpal tunnel" surgery in my future, I agree with
you on the need to keep the wrist straight. I've found that
wearing a wrist brace while working helps tremendously. My old
Toshiba died and the new ones do not have the eraser style mouse
but the thumb pad. That simple change in finger movement caused
me huge wrist pain. I now use the hand brace and an external
mouse as it is easier to keep my wrist straight.

Anne

Tom Smith wrote:

Tom Smith · Guest

You're right Anne, I've considered wearing my brace as a preventative but so
far have been able to get by with a mouse on a flat surface if I "pretend"
I've got the brace on. Let's hope you can avoid the surgery if possible.

I'd definitely need an external mouse if I had a portable. Those little
touch-pad thingies that they all seem to use now are deadly! I've sometimes
had to use them on a friend's computer for a demonstration. They make you
exert a downward fingertip force while bending your wrist, then make you tap
your finger, all the worst motions for me. It only takes a few actions for
me to begin to feel the pain.

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