STRAIN FROM USING THE MOUSE

starting to notice discomfort in my elbow from intense mouse use, caused mainly by editing long sessions of voice over thinking about getting a trackball mouse to replace the normal mac mouse i'm using any thoughts on this ??? cheers

love my trackball. especially with the scroll wheel around the ball. Also, the assignable buttons. I have them doing something different on almost all applications. THey're great. You might also get one of those pads to sit at the bottom of the trackball. Kensington gives you one that attaches to the mouse, but its not that great. They have some pretty nice gel models that support your wrist while using the mouse.

2nd thumbs up for the Kensington trackball with the scroll wheel around the ball. Can't remember the model #. It has not only relieved some of the discomfort of the mouse, after a few days, your productivity will increase big time. M

Kensington "Expert" Mouse Pro. I have had no problems since using this.

Do any of you "Kensington Expert Mouse" trackball users (the black one with the scroll ring) have any issues with the scroll ring? Mine moves in small "jumps" no matter how I set the preferences -- seems to be a physical limitation of the device rather than a pref setting. Nice for getting to the bottom of a page quickly, but not so good when using it to zoom in PT or for scrolling when zoomed in close. I really don't like the Mighty Mouse, but I love how smoothly the ball scrolls, and how effortless it it to scroll sideways. I've actually considered moving back to a mouse just to have smoother scrolling. Actually, now that I think about it, I have two other gripes.....if I move too quickly, I can actually click on something (like a fader for example) and roll the trackball before it "grabs" the fader. This seems odd to me. Also, I get a bit of discomfort after using it for long periods (though that could be resolved with an aftermarket wrist support - currently I have to bend my hand backwards a bit to use the trackball). Ironically enough, I never had any discomfort using a mouse, I just don't have a lot of desk space for a mouse. Does anybody have any insights, fixes, recommendations, etc?

Wrist angle can make a huge difference so try to have the mouse or trackball on a pullout shelf instead of on top of the average height desktop.

I'm in your boat -- my main meat is editing VO and dialog in a big hurry. Albee's totally correct about the height issue. Same thing applies to the modern Mac keyboards -- they're all designed to be ergonomically optimal at pull-out-shelf height, not 30" tabletop. I'm a Kensington big-ball fan, and my favorite is the big, heavy ADB version. You need to get an ADB to USB adaptor, but they're sooooo smooth -- none of the gritty feel of the newer ones. I also use a big, honkin' gel wrist support pad in front of it. Even so, by 2 in the afternoon I have to slap my right hand on my thigh a few times to get the blood back in it. Technology sucks.

I was having a lot of pain in my arm and shoulder and I asked my buddy who did internet research for a living about it and he said,"get a trackball" Not only did it work, but it worked in a day or two! No more pain!

Might want to see the doctor as well. I've been going through some physical therapy for this. Started with the wrist, then the top of the elbow, then the shoulders.You HAVE to take breaks, and learn to use the other hand a bit. You also can not stretch your arm out to use the mouse/trackball, or bend your wrist down or up, it needs to be pretty straight. I noticed that when I wasn't even using the trackball, my hand was still laying on top of it, which is a bad habbit. Make sure your desk is the right height, as well as the chair. I saw a lot of people in the therapy office that had to have surgery, and not just for Carpel Tunnel. This is serious stuff, and I don't wish this kind of agony on anyone. It also helps to ice your wrist/arm or get heat on it. I see too many dialogue editors with a wrist brace on each hand. It only gets worse over time if you don't start correcting it NOW!