Home > Consumer Reviews > Optical Ergonomic Mouse, Small/Medium, USB and PS/2, Graphite

I've had carpal for several years. A ergonomic keyboard helped some but my mouse arm was still a burning, numb, and worthless appendage about 2-3 times a month. I got this mouse after a colleague (also a Certified Professional Ergonomist) recommended it. It took a week or two to get used to the form, but it has been a big help. I still move to a traditional mouse for gaming but for work and day to day activities it is a blessing. The mouse fits my hand perfectly thought you should make sure you measure for your personal fit. The one thing that I miss a lot is the scroll wheel, but most applications work OK with the middle click (the squeeze button the the vertical face) that sets windows to allow for scrolling up and down until another button is clicked.

I love this mouse/joystick. I suffered with tendonitis in my right thumb due to repetitive use of a mouse (I do a lot of typing and data entry). I tried several different types of "ergonomic" mice, but this 3M mouse/joystick works the best. I haven't suffered from tendonitis since! The only problem is that it doesn't work for left-handed people. Maybe 3M makes one for left-handed folks now, but I'm not sure (check their web site).

This is really a great ergonomic mouse. I use mine frequently and I'm very happy with it. There are some downsides, though. 1) There's no software to improve the precision of the mouse. Since you're using larger muscles to move the cursor around the screen, it is hard to aim precisely. I would have liked some software to move the cursor more slowly when the arm is moving more slowly -- the built-in Windows options for this sort of thing do not work well. 2) The mouse is optical, rather than mechanical, and so there is a lot of uncomfortable friction moving it around on the desktop, especially with the weight of the arm pressing down on it. I would have preferred an old-school style rolling-ball version. 3) The mouse buttons (click click click) feel uncharacteristically cheap and flimsy.

The optical ergonomic mouse saved me! Using a conventional mouse was causing such pain in my wrist and hand that I could barely tolerate it. The ergonomic mouse is shaped like a joystick and takes a short time to adjust to, but it has freed me of wrist and hand pain. The difference between a conventional mouse and the ergonomic one is that you grip the joystick and move the whole arm instead of using only the muscles in your hand and wrist. If you're experiencing pain using a conventional mouse, this may be the answer for you.

This mouse helped me get over pain in my wrist and fingers. This mouse is really very useful for those who work a lot.