Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:06 PM
RSI has been a hot item for years; most people doing repetitive work fear that they might get hurt but won't, and other people just ignore what their body is telling them and end up getting really hurt.
I'm a little in-between; I listen to those parts of my body that might protest from a repetitive strain injury, but pretty much ignore the rest. ^^;;
No really; in my field (IT), it's all about whether you feel comfortable or not, whether you have to adjust your posture often or not, and changing your movements and behaviour at random.
In 2005, I developed a small inflammation in my right arm and the middle and index finger on my right hand due to repetitive motions.
I got antibiotics and physical therapy to take care of it, I changed the way I operated my computer and it healed. As a bonus, my sense of "too much" was sharpened as well and I learnt to detect it. I'm also an avid fan of preventive measures like using
key combinations and
shortcuts instead of switching back and forth between mouse and keyboard.
I also like keyboards like the
Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and the ever popular (but sadly out of production)
Natural Keyboard Pro, so I own them both. :)
The 4000 sits on my desk at home, next to a classic Logitech Trackman Marble Wheel (I regard the new line as rather shitty due to the smaller ball), while my old NKPro is used by me at the office, together with a Microsoft Trackball Optical (also OOP), and I rarely use a regular mouse any more.
However, tonight, I went shopping for a few decently curved rodents.
You see, a few people in another department at the office have been complaining about the lack of ergonomics on their regular, standard-issue mice, so their manager asked the guys at Systems & Networks (that's us) for substitutes.
Since I'm in charge of buying most of our hardware and am a avid user of ergonomic products, it's up to me to find something suitable.
Well, I found a few mice that may cut the mustard (even one I'd fancy myself as a second or third pointing device next to my trackballs and drawing tablet), now to find a way to let them test, without seeing the mice, or more specifically, the brands.
You see, I bought a Trust, a Logitech and a Microsoft mouse, and I fear that the Trust (while very comfortable) may be sacked upon sight just because it's a cheap brand, while the wireless mouse might get all the votes because of its shininess (it even has a laser) and the lack of a wire.
It's also the most expensive mouse of the lot, coming in at a whopping €60.
Hold on, perhaps I can cook up something with gaffer tape, a cardboard box and some black cloth, and let them feel the mice instead! Yep, that could work, and only one way to find out.
More later.
Cheers, K.