Arthritis Heaters Warm Ergonomic Mouse Tails!

Some of these odd shaped designer computer mice are cute to look at and may look charming on the desk, but using a designer computer mouse everyday can create problems.... serious, painful hand injuries! Overuse of the computer mouse can create Repetitive Strain Injury or Cumulative Trauma Disorder to your mouse hand. It's important to use an ergonomic computer mouse. See the image below. Our top recommendation:

The ValueRays Heated Computer Mouse is shown above. The USB Heated Mouse is ergonomic. The shape of the mouse fits nicely in the palm of anyone's hand. Plus, the big advantage of the ValueRays Computer Mouse is its carbon fibre heating element. Built inside this ergonomic shaped computer mouse is an infrared heating element to generate therapeutic heat to the mouse hand while using the computer. Whether your hands are cold or you have sore muscles from overuse, an infrared heated computer mouse is the solution.

Infared heat penetrates deep through the skins layers to muscle tissue relieving stress and strains. The infrared heat helps improve blood circulation and helps to rid the blood of unwanted toxins. If you are considering a new designer computer mouse, wrap your hand around the ValueRays Heated Computer Mouse. It's a warm mouse you'll want to hold whenever your hand needs a little TLC.

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Don’t let that mouse get you by the tail
by Corporate Massage Therapy

It may be one of the smallest things on your desk, but your computer mouse is also one of the most likely to cause you pain and injury.

I’ve had many clients come to me complaining of “mousing” pain. Despite the recent focus, it may be one of the smallest things on your desk, but your computer mouse is also one of the most likely to cause you pain and injury.

I’ve had many clients come to me complaining of “mousing” pain. Despite the recent focus in the workplace on ergonomics, the fact of the matter is that computers just weren’t designed with the human body in mind. The way a mouse is used, with arm stretched out in front of you, moving to and fro, isn’t kind on the body, particularly when this posture is held for several hours a day.

Though many people are now using ergonomic mouses, these really don’t do much good if they are improperly placed within the workstation. Usually, the mouse is placed on a pad on the desk, which means that to reach it, you reach or lean forward. This posture places stress on the joints and muscles of the neck, shoulder, arm, wrist and hand, as well as irritating the mid and lower back. This reaching posture also results in a forward rotation of the shoulder joint. Often, if a mouse is placed too high or too low, weight is transferred onto the shoulder and arm of the side with which you use the mouse, which places an increased pressure on those joints and muscles, often resulting in imbalances which cause pain and discomfort.

In my experience, symptoms of improper mouse use are many. Obviously, pain is usually worsened by computer use, and discomfort is often felt in the hand, wrist, forearm, shoulder or neck. Stiffness, muscle soreness and other symptoms may be present in the shoulder, neck or back.

Whether or not these problems sound familiar, it is important to think about how your workstation is set up. There are some simple changes that can be made which will greatly reduce the chance of mouse-related injury and which may help decrease symptoms if they are already present.

1. Try getting a platform for your mouse, similar to the ones many people use for keyboards. If you already use a keyboard tray, make sure the mouse is on the same level; don’t position it so you need to reach up and beyond the keyboard to use the mouse.

2. Keep the mouse as close to the body as possible. Your arm should be relaxed and your elbow close to your side. Avoid reaching forward or up for the mouse. In order to do this, the arms on your chair may need to be adjustable.

3. Instead of using your wrist to move the mouse, which can cause irritation and injury in the joint, allow movement to flow through the shoulder and arm.

4. Pay attention to the hand that is on the mouse. Often, people spend hours at a time with a hand gripping the mouse tightly … relax! Gently placing a hand on the mouse instead of grasping it tightly will help avoid fatiguing the hand and forearm.

Staying relaxed and comfortable at work isn’t always easy, but proper positioning and mouse use will help you avoid injury, and manage current problems, which is a step in the right direction. Give these tips a whirl, and happy mousing!

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Painful arthritic hands need to take care when using the computer. There are products available to help relieve the pain and create an infrared heat therapy treatment when using the computer. A website Warm-Mouse-Heated-Keyboard.com provides USB Infrared Heaters for a cost-effective and energy-efficient ergonomic work station. Infrared heat is soothing and helps tense inflammed joints relax. About 20-30 minutes of infrared heat therapy daily improves blood circulation to aching, cold hands. For more information, visit ValueRays.com.

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Arthritis may be exacerbated by computer use
Medical Condition News

According to researchers in the United States using a computer can have an impact on those suffering from arthritis. Even though computers have become increasingly common in daily life, little is known about how their use on a daily basis might affect those with arthritis; it is estimated that as many as 56% percent of the workforce use computers at work and 62% of households own one.

Arthritis is a leading cause of work disability, and those with the disease may have difficulty performing physically demanding jobs, and may opt for jobs that appear less strenuous but require intensive computer use.

Computer use is a known risk factor for pain and musculoskeletal disorders and arthritis sufferers are more at risk because of difficulties performing tasks due to pain, restricted movement, muscle weakness, or fatigue.

A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has examined this topic in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA) and fibromyalgia (FM).

The study involved 315 arthritis patients who completed a specially-designed survey that contained questions on computer use, discomfort experienced while using a chair, desk, keyboard, mouse and monitor, and problems associated with each piece of equipment.

The results showed that many people with arthritis experience both discomfort and problems that could lead to work limitations: 84% of respondents reported a problem with computer use attributed to their underlying disorder and 77% reported some discomfort related to computer use.

Of the three categories of disease, significantly more respondents with FM reported severe discomfort, more problems and greater limitations related to computer use than those with RA or OA.

Nancy A. Baker who led the study says because those with arthritis may experience pain and discomfort even under ideal circumstances, it is not surprising that the prevalence of respondents reporting discomfort with computer use is considerably higher than the general population of computer users.

The problems experienced included finding a comfortable position while using the computer and in manipulating the keyboard and mouse.

The researchers say it was expected that those with RA and OA would have more problems manipulating the keyboard and mouse than those with FM because of their restricted movements but in this study those with FM reported more problems.

The researchers suggest this may be due to a number of reasons - people with FM may have increased clumsiness due to abnormalities in sensory processing or fatigue, they have diffuse rather than localized pain that may affect manipulation, or because those with movement limitations, such as RA and OA, have found it easier to adapt their environment than those with unpredictable diffuse pain, such as FM.

The researchers say in recent years, numerous products have been designed to reduce discomfort and problems during computer use, such as adjustable chairs and monitors and adapted keyboards and mice, and providing people with arthritis with appropriate strategies and equipment to prevent computer problems, may significantly reduce work limitations and prevent those with arthritis from discontinuing computer use.

They also suggest that computer use in the home appears to have a greater potential to place people at risk for upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders, since most people do not set up their home computer environment to reduce risk factors - those with arthritis should therefore have both their work and home computer set-ups evaluated to ensure that problems are minimized.

The team point out that as the ability to use a computer is one method of preventing work limitations and eventual disability, as well as a vital tool for both work and home activities, health professionals must work with people with arthritis to identify problems experienced during computer use and implement computer workstation modifications to ensure safe, effective, and comfortable use of all computer equipment.

The study was published in the May issue of Arthritis Care & Research and was funded by the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

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Why should you use a Warm Mouse by ValueRays? Not only will it keep your mouse hand warm, it will add healing and help prevent the onset of computer related hand injuries.