🚀 go-pugleaf

A colleague has been unable to work for 3 months because of pain in the
hand, wrist, and arm related to programming. I have begun to feel some of
the early symptoms. After a couple off hours I feel as if I had been hit
with a stick on my side, hand, wrist, and forearm. I get some relief by
practising Tai Chi which serves to relax and get some circulation moving,
however I think the problems are coming from the mouse.

 I do writing and editing using MS Word and FrameMaker, WYSIWG programs
that require extensive use of the mouse to move around the screen, place
the cursor accurately (between two letters), and to move teh cursor between
two points in order to select a range of text. The mouse also serves to
give commands and make selections on pop-up or other boxes, control scroll
bars, etc. All of these motions require fine precision control coupled with
sweeps of greater speed and less precision except at the end points.

The problems I have been able to identify--and some ideas for solutions-- include:

posture, partly a function of chair and table; however this is only a part
of the problem. My colleague has purchased one of the best & very expensive
ergonomic chairs but working at the computer quickly becomes painful.

the angle of attack between arm, wrist, and mouse. On a flat, horizontal
surface the wrist must break in order to make the angle, this makes for
stress. I have partly overcome this by raising the near side of the work
surface a few degrees, lessening the difference in angle between my arm and
the mouse platform.

the need to grip the mouse while also making precisely coordinated & timed
motions with the finger, i.e., to click or to hold down the key while
dragging or selecting. The need to use the index finger introduces a need
to tense muscles and forcing a tighter grip on the body of the mouse.

A pen or pencil is good for a precision grip and precise movement or
placement. The mouse is large enough so we are using more of a power grip.
It seems hard to do both a power grip and a precision grip at the same
time.

We can do better at certain precision tasks if we involv e the whole body.
My father was an artist and he used to demonstrate that a straight freehand line was
made by moving the whole arm (and upper body), rather than with the
fingers. Working in a seated position with the mouse seems to create a
hinge wetween the arm and the torso, perhaps accounting for stresses and
pains in abdomen and back.

I used to find working at an old-fashioned work desk while standing was a
good alternative to working seated. Perhaps this would        work with a
computer as well, using a drafting stool or just standing.

The original Xerox Star -- an early, now-primitive and outmoded workstation
-- which probably preceeded the Lisa/Mac line -- used a small joy-stick for 
cursor control.

I have looked at joy sticks but need advice on how to develop an interface;
all the joysticks I have seen are for games and fit a different port. Does
anyone have any idea how to find and/or adapt or build a joy stick for
document preparation? 

I have used a trackball, however it generates a different set of strains
and does not fully solve the ergonomic problems.

What is the possiblity of using a light pen?

What about a graphics pad? 

I have fantasies about an electromagnetic field that would sense my hand
motions so that I could point at the screen and thus control the pointer.

I am hoping for bibliographies, specific off-the-shelf solutions, personal
experiences, any ideas from do-it-yourselfers who have already solved this
problem. Possibly it is a FAQ but I haven't seen it. 
-- 
Jerry Halberstadt	New Technology Publishing, Inc.
POB 9183: c/o Mailboxes Etc.(#110)
955 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02139 USA
617-661-3851		halberst@world.std.com


-- 
Jerry Halberstadt	New Technology Publishing, Inc.
POB 9183: c/o Mailboxes Etc.(#110)
955 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02139 USA
617-661-3851		halberst@world.std.com