Home > Consumer Reviews > 3M Ergonomic Mouse SMALL/MEDIUM

This mouse is great. Better than the EvoulantEvoluent Right-Handed VerticalMouse 3 - Mouse - optical - 5 button(s) - wired - USB - black, silver which doesn't support your hand, you have to squeeze it constantly. Also cheaper (especially on Amazon) than Evoulant, QuillErgonomic Quill Mouse Pc and Mac Left Hand White or Zero Tension Mouse. My wife has one at work and I have them on both home computers. They prevented emerging problems for her and allowed me to work on the computer with my dominant hand before, during and after treatment (O.T.) for hand, wrist, arm, elbow problems. If you don't get an ergonomic mouse that supports your hand, you may be solving only part of your problem. I would recommend it even for people who are not having problems - mousing is so much more comfortable and natural (after the learning curve).

Only negative is not wireless.

The 3M Renaissance mouse was a relief, at first, to my painful mouse wrist and mouse-wheel finger. But after a few months of use the thumb rocker caused severe thumb pain. For the past several months, I have been using the mouse only seldom, until last weekend, when I spent a full day on the computer. Over the last five days, I've used it a few more times, but the pain has returned full strength.

If you buy this mouse, use it until your pain from using other devices subsides. Then try switching between this device and other devices on a regular basis to avoid developing chronic pain. Once the pain appears and becomes severe, this mouse will be of little use in the future.

Two years ago I started having extreme RSI issues in my mousing hand. I tried a number of ergo-mice in our company's ergo room and this mouse was by far the most comfortable. I've been using it for 2 years now and have had almost no problems, yet two working days on any other mouse immediately brings back the pain. A few observations:

1) The key for me is the slight angle of the joystick. I tried some other joystick-like mice that were vertical and they simply transferred the pain to other areas of my forearm. Vertical is NOT neutral. This mouse is a perfect angle for me.

2) Where it can transfer pain is to the side of my palm where my hand rests. Clearly this is caused by my laziness; when I don't rest my hand heavily on the base of the mouse, I have no problem. Even when the pain does creep in, it's transient, disappearing as soon as I stop being so lazy. As far as I can tell (I'm not an MD!) pressure in the side of the hand, while transiently uncomfortable, doesn't cause the same problems as pressure elsewhere on the hand/wrist because no tendons are actively working the pressure area.

3) I've seen complaints about thumb problems caused by this mouse. I haven't had any such problems, but I also have large hands and I have the small version of the mouse. This means my thumb doesn't have to extend at all and sits in a very neutral position on the top of the mouse. Even if you have large hands, I would recommend the smaller mouse. Of course, if you have small hands, this isn't much use to you...

I had hoped to use this mouse for times when I have several days of click-drag-release activities. Because your grip is a couple of inches higher than on other mouses, I experienced much shoulder tension. (I saw this problem mentioned in another review also.) Perhaps with the right desk setup you can compensate.

Also, I find a stationary mouse such as the thumbball or the Logitech Marble Mouse provides more exact mousing for me.

I love this mouse. I thought I was a die-hard user of the usual (flat, palm-fitting) mouse, until my forearm and elbow began aching any time I used my computer. It was kind of a no-brainer to figure out that my hand position on my mouse was all wrong. I needed something different. A better mouse trap? (Sorry.)

What a difference. This mouse brings about near-instant relief for painful mousing. It is just tremendous. And it doesn't take all that long to get used to either. After the second day, I was pretty comfortable with it and now, I just love it.

I see no differences between this and regular (palm) mouses. I miss the scroll wheel, but the functionality of the trigger on this ergonomic mouse (instead of the wheel) is more accurate and you can scroll horizontally on Web pages.

All in all, I highly recommend this if you're at your computer for any length of time, as I am. My job requires me to be here for 6 to 8 hours a day, so you can bet I need everything I can get my hands on (pun intended) to decrease ergonomic stress. Good luck!