10 Tips for Using a Computer Mouse Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University
The following tips should help you avoid a mouse-related musculoskeletal injury. The same posture principles apply to other input devices (e.g. trackball, touchpad, pen, digitizing puck etc.). Postural variation is a key factor for good ergonomics. Try to regularly vary your posture when you work with a mouse, and in this way you will help to minimize the risk of ergonomic problems. remember, the best ergonomic mice are designed to allow you to vary your posture while working with the mouse.
Mouse Grip - don't throttle your mouse (it's already dead)! Hold the mouse gently to move it over a mousing surface. Mouse from the Elbow - don't skate or flick the mouse with your wrist. Make controlled mouse movements using your elbow as the pivot point and keep your wrist straight and neutral. Optimal Mouse position- sit back in your chair, relax your arms then lift your mousing hand up, pivoting at the elbow, until your hand is just above elbow level. Your mouse should be positioned somewhere around this point. Don't use a mouse by stretching to the desk or out to the side of a keyboard. With a flat mouse platform, position this 1-2" above the keyboard and over the numeric keypad if you are right handed - you can easily move it out of the way if you need to access these keys. With a downward sloping mouse platform, position this close to the side of the keyboard so that you can use the mouse in a neutral wrist position. Position adjustable mouse platforms are commercially available Protect your wrist - if you look at the anatomy of the wrist it is curved away from any contact surface (you can easily see this by resting your hand/arm on a flat surface - you'll see light under the wrist and can probably even pass a thin pen under this). The forearm is shaped like this for the wrist to remain free of surface pressure contact. Avoid restricting circulation - For may people there are exposed blood vessels near the skin at the wrist, which is where the pulse is often taken. Any pressure in this region will disrupt circulation into the hand and this will increase the risks of injury. Don't use a Wrist Rest - research has shown that using a wrist rest doubles the pressure inside the carpal tunnel, because the floor of the tunnel is a more flexible ligament that transmits external pressure changes directly into the carpal tunnel (the roof of the tunnel is bone so the pressure doesn't get transmitted on through the hand). Indeed, one test for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), know as Tinel's sign, simply involves tapping on the palmar surface of the wrist, which is enough to cause tingling and numbness in someone developing CTS. Avoid Restricting Arm Movement - with a softly padded wrist rest, especially one that is rounded, or a soft chair arm rest the forearm becomes "locked" into position and this encourages people to make mouse movements by flicking the wrist, which also increases intracarpal pressure. Keep the Mouse Free Moving - The base of the palm of the hand is the part of the body designed to support the hand when resting on a surface. For keyboard use a broad palm support is best. However, mouse use is different from keyboard use. With a keyboard the best posture is for users to float their hands over the keyboard when typing and then to rest on the palm support in microbreaks between typing bursts. You can use rest-breaking software (e.g. Magnitude ErgoManager, Break reminder etc) to help track and advise on your mouse use. With mousing this doesn't happen. A mouse is used by moving its position over a surface, and resting usually occurs when mouse movements stop but with the mouse still being held in the hand. Mouse movements should be made using the elbow as the pivot point, not the wrist. Anything that impairs free movement of the forearm/hand and mouse will increase injury risks. Mouse shape - choose a mouse design that fits your hand but is as flat as possible to reduce wrist extension. Don't use a curved mouse. Use a symmetrically shaped mouse. Consider a larger mouse and there are several new interesting products on the market , such as the Whale mouse or the Perfit mouse, that encourage arm rather than wrist movements or that encourage postural variety and one or two-handed use. Pen-based mice designs also allow a more comfortable grip. Load sharing - if you want to load share between your right and left hands, that is using the mouse for some of the time with each hand. For this you need to choose a mouse platform that can easily be configured to the left or/and right, and a symmetrical shaped mouse that can be used by either hand.
Summary recommendations for mouse position:
If you are using your mouse on a surface then: Best arrangement for a mouse is a platform over the number keypad and just above the keyboard. Good arrangement is a pad on an angled platform to the side of the keyboard. Poor arrangement is a flat surface to the side of the keyboard Worst arrangement is on the desk out to the side of the keyboard.



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Ever wonder what the heck we're talkin' about?

Massage Terminology 101 (a-e)

Adhesion- The uniting of two surfaces. Layers of connective tissue may adhere to each other limiting the involved muscles and increasing the possibility of injury.

Atrophy- A wasting or decrease in size of a part of the body because of disease or lack of use

Autonomic Nervous System- The body system that regulates involuntary body function using the sympathetic "fight/flight/fear response" and the restorative parasympathetic "relaxation response." The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work together to maintain homeostasis. (balance)

Body Mechanics- Use of the body in an efficient and biomechanically correct way.

Central Nervous System- The central nervous system controls and coordinates all physical activities of the human organism. It is comprised of the brain and spinal cord, which are located in and protected by the skull and the vertebral column.

Chemical Effects- The effects of massage produced by the release of chemical substances in the body. These substances may be released locally from the tissue, or they may be hormones released into the general circulation.

Chronic- A term that describes the type of disease that develops slowly and lasts for a long time, sometimes for life.

Chronic Spasm- Alternating involuntary contraction and relaxation of a muscle.

Compensation- The process of counterbalancing a defect in body structure or function.

Compression- Pressure into the body to spread tissue against underlying structures. Also referred to as the exertion of inappropriate pressure on nerves by hard tissue such as bone.

Concentric Isotonic Contraction- Application of a counter force by the massage therapist while allowing the client to move, which brings the origin and insertion of the target muscle together against the pressure.

Connective Tissue- The most abundant tissue type in the body; it provides support, structure, space, stabilization, and scar formation.

Contraindication- Any condition that renders a particular treatment improper or undesirable.

Counter Pressure- Force applied to an area that is designated to match exactly (isometric contraction ) or partly (isotonic contraction ) the effort or force produced by the muscles of that area.

Deep Transverse Friction- A specific rehabilitation technique that creates therapeutic inflammation by creating a specific, controlled reinjury of tissues by applying concentrated therapeutic movement that moves the tissue against its grain over only a very small area.

Draping- The required procedure of covering and uncovering areas of the body during the massage.

Dysfunction- An in-between state in which one is not healthy but also not sick. The state that a muscle, etc. is in when it is not functioning properly.

Eccentric Isotonic Contraction- Application of a counterforce while the client moves the jointed area, which allows the origin and insertion to separate. The muscle separates against the pressure.

Edema- An accumulation of excessive water in cells, tissues, or various membranes. (swelling)

Effleurage (Gliding Stroke)- Horizontal strokes applied with the fingers, hand, or forearm that usually follow the fiber direction of the underlying muscle or fascial planes. Strokes are generally directed towards the heart.

To be continued...

Please don't be shy when we use terms you don't recognize. We love to share our knowledge with you. An important part of the healing process includes helping you to understand all of the surrounding details!

In this issue:

M.I.C.E. or R.I.C.E.
Q & A - Massage Terms A - E
How to use a MOUSE

A note from our Therapists...

Basic Kneads is proud to make available the brand new:

"West End Boys 2007 Calendar"

The "West End Boys" 2007/08 Fundraising Calendar was inspired by community request as a result of the success of the "West End Girls Calendar" which has raised over $27,000.00 to date.

All proceeds go to the Princess Margaret Hospital for an Early Screening Detection Unit for Cervical Cancer.

West End Boys Calendar!

MICE

vs.

RICE

-Julia Chotowetz MT

Conventional advice has recommended that we R.I.C.E. injuries. (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation). Newer research, however; now recommends that immobilizing an injury - unless it is fractured, or completely torn - can shut the muscle down and restrict blood flow. Using the injured area carefully and with common sense can assist an injured muscle or joint to open up, increase blood flow to oxygenate the area and flush out metabolic waste from the injury, thus expediting the healing process.

Additionally, immobilizing an injured muscle or joint causes it, and everything around it, to atrophy. (see definition) The body instantly launches into a series of compensations to make up for the fact that something is not working properly which can lead to more imbalances and instabilities and greater risk of injury elsewhere.

In many cases now, the best way to treat an injury is now M.I.C.E.: (Mobilization, Ice, Compression and Elevation) when you're on periodic breaks from your rehab program. You must be certain that your injury is not catastrophic in nature (ie: fracture/dislocation) and if uncertain please get a diagnosis from your M.D. or Chiropractor. Move carefully and gently and you'll be good as new in no time!

Just a reminder...

Employee health benefits are often renewed with the new calendar year. Don't wait 'til it's too late.

Preventative maintenance is not only proactive, but a great way to help you to avoid more serious and debilitating pain/injury and/or the accumulation of stress-related illness.