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"Go Left, he said": How Jeff Tucker Saved My Life

By Stephan Kinsella, Esq.

Or at least, my arm. I've noted before his nuggets of wisdom--his Rules of Thumb for Living. The lates

t concerns mouse usage.

I've always had a bit of skepticism about people who whined about "carpal tunnel" syndrome. But over the last year my right arm has gotten worse and

worse, from typing and mouse manipulation. Jeff told me to switch to my left arm for mouse usage. I briefly tried it, about 6 months ago, and gave up. But the problem got worse; Jeff told me again recently to switch to the left hand, and that his switch was one of the best things he's ever done. So the last few days I've tried it, and have largely switched. At first I would give up and switch to the "good" hand when I got frustrated. But now I'm almost exclusively left-hand mouse. Still slower, and it's frustrating, but already I'm feeling better. And one advantage: your right hand can do the arrow keys while left can do mouse at same time. Jeff: I love you, man!!!

Update: Jeff also highly recommends this task chair.

Followup: some replies:

If you ever get tired of using the mouse with your left hand, I would suggest a different solution that worked for me. Try a wireless optical or laser mouse, and use it on a book or other surface that you can put on your lap. This way you can keep your arm at your side and your hand resting comfortably on your lap. I used to get pain in my right arm, and this solution made it go away in about a week. Just a suggestion.

and

Use two mice, and make your right-hand one a rollerball.

Full post as published by KinsellaLaw Web Log on October 09, 2006 (boomark / email).