It’s a posture I frequently see when doing workstation assessments, but one that few people are aware of adopting: raising the middle finger from the mouse while using it. It seems to be a basic instinct; my young daughter has always done it instinctively when using the mouse. I think it stems from people being careful to not accidentally press the right hand button on the mouse. However, spending long periods of time with the middle finger held off the mouse can lead to discomfort in the back of the hand / forearm.
What can you do?
- You may find that a different style of mouse helps you by putting your hand into a different position; there are a wide range available – do contact us if you want some advice.
- Learning (even a few) keyboard shortcuts is a great way to reduce the amount of time that you spend with your hand on the mouse. Not only does this help avoid the tension in your hand / forearms from sitting with your middle finger elevated, but it also keeps your mouse hand closer to your body; see our blog post about short keyboards. A list of keyboard shortcuts is at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_keyboard_shortcuts among other places on the internet.
- Remember to take your hand off the mouse regularly, and you may find that stretching your fingers / rotating your wrist is helpful.