VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Mike Harrison

I've had RSI in my shoulder and neck from using the computer mouse before, but now I'm beginning to experience some stiffness/weakness only in my forearm, and wonder if it, too, is related to using the mouse to repeatedly highlight portions of audio waveforms. For me, that's a lot of very short lateral mouse movements, where my elbow rests on the chair's armrest, the heel of my hand on the desk, and my wrist creating the motion.

If anyone else has experienced this, did you switch to a trackball and, if so, which one(s) did you like? Or, did you find some other means of addressing this?

Thanks!
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

Bruce · Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:01 am Post subject:

My understanding is poor posture at the desk can make mousing so much more damaging. Arms perpendicular to the desktop is the least damaging. Also explore stretching exercises for everything from your back to your fingertips.

My experience with a track ball was I got a different set of repetitive motion pains after a while, especially my thumb. I knew an audio engineer who had mousing troubles and then tried and raved about the electronic pad and pen that graphic artists use in place of a mouse.

I'm recording long textbooks now and have had less trouble since I set my chair and desk heights so that my forearms are very close to level with the desktop and mouse. When I sat higher I hurt. Now, much less. I'm also using a mouse pad made with a very cushy pillow for my wrist to rest on.

B
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:12 am Post subject:

Thanks, Bruce. Yes, ergonomics was the very first thing I researched and made necessary corrections some time ago. I think I'm taking all the right precautions (the shoulder/neck problem isn't an issue anymore), so either it's the repeated lateral mouse movements or something entirely different, which would completely stump me.

Anyone else?
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Using a trackball definitely helps my wrist and shoulder...and then my fingers cramp up! Smile

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heyguido · Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:30 pm Post subject:

Funny you should bring it up....

I once developed a similar issue.... Numbness and tingling in my right hand, accompanied by a loss of grip strength. Scared the bejeezus out of me.

Long story short, it turned out to be a result of bursitis, brought on by resting my elbow on the edge of the desk as I worked at the computer. It would have taken much longer to discover the cause, if my elbow hadn't suddenly ballooned like a snausage during a particularly brutal deadline crunch.

Ice, rest, and a forced vacation later, my elbow returned to normal. The tingling and weakness persisted a little longer, but, with a change of posture and position, have not returned.

Most importantly, it took a trip to my doctor, and a referral to a physical therapist, to discover the root cause of my problem. I recommend the same to you. See a pro.

Inoccent

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Jen Gosnell · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:04 am Post subject:

Mike, this sort of thing became a problem for me back in my corporate days. What I did back then was to train my non-dominant hand to use the mouse. Slow going at first, of course, but I did become proficient at it. Combined with a stretching regimen used on both arms, the distribution of the workload eliminated the repetitive stress/tension problem for me.

Give it a shot! It's free. Wink

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Kim Fuller · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:43 am Post subject:

I have had RSI - carpal tunnel- 8 hours a day keyboarding will do it. A doctor advised me to try a mix of vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and magnesium (sorry, can't remember dosages). It took about 3 weeks to take effect, but my symptoms completely disappeared. I kept it up for about a year.

When my symptoms recurred 3 years later, I took the vitamin/magnesium mix again. Again, symptoms disappeared.

Haven't had the symptoms for about 5 years now - but I do much less keyboarding than I used to.

Yonie · CM Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Posts: 906

Carpal tunnel. Tendonitis. RSI. Issues.

See a physiotherapist. Get some exercises.

Get some supporting structures for your wrist. A gel-padded mouse mat, perhaps.

Don't forget to stretch your forearms, fingers, and hands.

Adjust the height of your chair. Force your body to support the forearm at a different point.

Take supplements.

(Pick one or more of these solutions)

Jason Huggins · Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:14 am Post subject:

I had similar issues a while back, especially when editing audiobooks. I used to use a mouse and keyboard. I switched to a Trackpad and the Razer Nostromo haven't had issues since. For me, it was much better ergonomically. I also did some measurements with chair/desk height and made some minor adjustments. It takes a little getting used to, but I'm super fast with a trackpad now and I can edit on a laptop much faster without carrying a mouse.

georgethetech · Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2015 12:16 pm Post subject:

I loved the Apple Magic Mouse until I had pain in my forearm. Switched to a Trackpad and I've had no problems since. I still use a 15 year old Microsoft Natural keyboard, that I will likely never change... That and I work mostly standing, and I do strength training.

Hope you get it straightened out!
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 3:26 am Post subject:

Thank you, all... particularly Jason and George, for your suggestions.

The Apple Magic Trackpad and the new MOPB Power Bar USB Battery Pack For Magic Trackpad by Mobee Technology are on their way to me now.

Reviewers stated the Bluetooth Trackpad used batteries incessantly, so I found the Power Bar, which replaces batteries and/or charges them.

Thanks again!
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

Bruce · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 5:59 am Post subject:

Jason Huggins · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 6:12 am Post subject:

I personally don't have major issues with batteries, but that is a great little adapter. I just have a set of rechargeables sitting on the charger and just swap them out when the die. Usually once every couple months or so? It is so infrequent that I can't really put a number on the frequency. I DEFINITELY like the Apple Trackpad vs others. Much better sensitivity and accuracy. I have a Microsoft trackpad/keyboard combo in the booth and the track pad is TERRIBLE.

Mike Harrison · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 6:56 am Post subject:

I like forward-thinking. That's what caused me to buy (after using one for almost two years at work) my first Mac – the SE, with a whopping 20MB hard drive and 2MB of RAM – in December of '89. For the same reason, after seeing what their designers and engineers had come up with, I bought my first Saturn in 1994. Some of things they did back then was great. That GM eventually wound up killing the Saturn (I still drive one), while shocking and disappointing to me, came as no surprise, after having done the same with their electric car, the EV1, introduced in 1996 (they actually bought back every one that had been sold and crushed them).

Back to present day, check out Mobee Technology's other neat stuff:

http://www.mobeetechnology.com/
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.