Best mouse or equivalent after hand surgery or injury?

jap200

I am going to have surgery on my right hand in a few weeks time (carpal tunnel decompression) and I am a freelance medical writer, so need to be able to use my computer again as soon as possible so as to keep on track with my current committments as far as possible.

Can anyone recommend a mouse or equivalent thing that would be possible (and comfortable) to use with limited finger and wrist movement. The surgical incision will be on the base of my hand, next to the big thumb muscle, so I imagine that it won't be too comfortable for that part to press on anything hard for a while.

googler

Am I missing something? At no cost and minimal effort.....

Move the mouse from one side of the desk to the other, and operate it with your other hand. Optionally, switch the mouse buttons via Control Panel to be a mirror of their current setup.

fwor

It depends how much movement you have in your thumb, but you might like to try out a Logitech trackball.

These just require thumb movements, not the whole hand. I've had 2 of these for several years now and they work very well - except for some games, where some specific movements (e.g. long steady moves in one direction) can be hard to achieve.

jap200

googler wrote: »

Am I missing something? At no cost and minimal effort.....

Move the mouse from one side of the desk to the other, and operate it with your other hand. Optionally, switch the mouse buttons via Control Panel to be a mirror of their current setup.

I have thought of this (and tried it out), but would prefer a solution that allows me to use my left hand for typing and the right hand (which won't be up to typing for a while) for the mouse.

jap200

fwor wrote: »

It depends how much movement you have in your thumb, but you might like to try out a Logitech trackball.

These just require thumb movements, not the whole hand. I've had 2 of these for several years now and they work very well - except for some games, where some specific movements (e.g. long steady moves in one direction) can be hard to achieve.

I haven't ever seen a trackball or tried one out, so don't really know how they compare to using a mouse. It looks as if it would be ideal for a CTS sufferer so I will investigate them further.
Do you always operate the ball with your thumb? There seem to be other models (from a quick look on Amazon) with the ball in the centre, so how would that work?

The Logitech one is over £50, so a cheaper option might be better initially.

RussJK

Try using the other hand for awhile OP, duh.

gonzo127

the trackball mice are a good idea for someone with limited hand movement and was soemthing i was going to recommend

my other thought was if something like this might be of use http://www.amazon.co.uk/Multi-Touch-Gesture-Touchpad-Trackpad-Windows/dp/B004GWZ4HW/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1304434405&sr=8-15

please note i do not have one or know anyone who does so dont have any idea if they are any good

Chris55_2

I use the Logitech track ball (with the ball under the thumb) all the time and find them very good. I have two, one on each of the computers in front of me. One of the track balls is ancient, so they are robust. The newer design is easier to keep clean (by popping out the ball).

They are much more comfortable on the wrist because you keep you hand still when using them. I've never been tempted back to a mouse!

I've not tried the ones with a smaller central ball. I assume you use this with your middle finger, so you wouldn't be using your thumb at all.

John_Gray

Perhaps talk to AbilityNet?

MilkyJoe

RussJK wrote: »

Try using the other hand for awhile OP, duh.

Didn't know Ryan Stiles was a complete wa...

RussJK

MilkyJoe wrote: »

Didn't know Ryan Stiles was a complete wa...

haha bit like Hugh Dennis too.