New research
from Cornell University suggests a new way for computer users to avoid
wrist damage.
A study
conducted by Alan Hedge, a Cornell professor of ergonomics, compared how
people responded in two-minute sessions to a basic Microsoft mouse with
the familiar raised bulge that fits under the palm and a lesser-known
variant called the "Whale."
The Whale
mouse is a $99 device developed by a company called Humanscale in New
York and befitting its name, is at least an inch longer than the
Microsoft mouse and can be extended up to another inch for larger hands.
Hedge said he chose the Whale because it was the largest mouse on the
market, and he wanted to find out if a larger mouse might keep people
from extending their wrist beyond a neutral, relatively flat position.
The answer,
Hedge found, was yes. He analyzed the wrist movements of 12 men and
women. Each wore sensors to track wrist extension-the position of the
wrist when the hand is tilted upward while the lower arm is parallel to
the ground.
Many doctors
believe that carpal tunnel syndrome is exacerbated when the wrist is
continually moved out of its neutral position.
"You have a
problem," Hedge said, "when the extension angle goes beyond 15 to 20
degrees."
People in
the study who used the larger mouse maintained an acceptable wrist angle
of less than 15.5 degrees twice as often as with the smaller one. The
larger mouse required arm movement
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New York Times News Service
Published Monday-January 24,
2000
