Ive seen a lot of people playing with their mouse arm in a > position, I too play like that but lately Ive been feeling a bit of strain in my elbow so I thought on changing how I position my arm (from > to extended, idk), Im not sure if this is the problem, thats why Im asking if you guys know safe positions to avoid RSI or arm strain.
Arm position to avoid RSI
posted in
Q/A Help
Ive seen a lot of people playing with their mouse arm in a > position, I too play like that but lately Ive been feeling a bit of strain in my elbow so I thought on changing how I position my arm (from > to extended, idk), Im not sure if this is the problem, thats why Im asking if you guys know safe positions to avoid RSI or arm strain.
Try to keep as much of your arm planted on your desk as possible, and use your wrist as little as possible. If your mouse is heavy or you have to strain to aim well with it, get a different mouse. Also, I ended up having to switch from 12 inches to 15+ to prevent rsi pain a few years ago. There's a reason cs players are the least likely to suffer from rsi.
Make sure you do nirschl exercises a few times a day; if you're getting tennis elbow, that and changing grip/mouse has helped me the most.
Try to keep as much of your arm planted on your desk as possible, and use your wrist as little as possible. If your mouse is heavy or you have to strain to aim well with it, get a different mouse. Also, I ended up having to switch from 12 inches to 15+ to prevent rsi pain a few years ago. There's a reason cs players are the least likely to suffer from rsi.
Make sure you do nirschl exercises a few times a day; if you're getting tennis elbow, that and changing grip/mouse has helped me the most.
Make sure you do nirschl exercises a few times a day; if you're getting tennis elbow, that and changing grip/mouse has helped me the most.
What kawa said is generally good advice if you like playing with low-sens and are used to making large movements to get things accomplished. If you're more on the higher end of the sensitivity scale there are a few things you could look into.
1. Arm wrests on your chair - if you play with a straighter arm posture an arm rest can be really helpful.
2. Desk height. If you have to raise your arm significantly it can cause problems in your shoulder that - due to pressure on the nerve - spread down your arm. You generally want your arm to be parallel to the floor when using your mouse (with a straighter arm posture).
3. If you have to do a lot of typing tasks you may look into putting padding down for your wrists if you rest them flat on the table.
4. How you sleep. A *lot* of elbow pain can be due to sleeping with the elbow bent under you - applying pressure to the nerve in the elbow your "funny bone" as it were. This can occur if you're a stomach or side sleeper (on the side you sleep on). If this is the case experiment with sleeping with your arm straight and making sure there's no pressure applied to your elbow. This one in particular has been big for me - I used to wake up with numbness in my left hand a lot because i like to sleep with my left elbow buried into my mattress which was constricting the nerve in my elbow.
What kawa said is generally good advice if you like playing with low-sens and are used to making large movements to get things accomplished. If you're more on the higher end of the sensitivity scale there are a few things you could look into.
1. Arm wrests on your chair - if you play with a straighter arm posture an arm rest can be really helpful.
2. Desk height. If you have to raise your arm significantly it can cause problems in your shoulder that - due to pressure on the nerve - spread down your arm. You generally want your arm to be parallel to the floor when using your mouse (with a straighter arm posture).
3. If you have to do a lot of typing tasks you may look into putting padding down for your wrists if you rest them flat on the table.
4. How you sleep. A *lot* of elbow pain can be due to sleeping with the elbow bent under you - applying pressure to the nerve in the elbow your "funny bone" as it were. This can occur if you're a stomach or side sleeper (on the side you sleep on). If this is the case experiment with sleeping with your arm straight and making sure there's no pressure applied to your elbow. This one in particular has been big for me - I used to wake up with numbness in my left hand a lot because i like to sleep with my left elbow buried into my mattress which was constricting the nerve in my elbow.
1. Arm wrests on your chair - if you play with a straighter arm posture an arm rest can be really helpful.
2. Desk height. If you have to raise your arm significantly it can cause problems in your shoulder that - due to pressure on the nerve - spread down your arm. You generally want your arm to be parallel to the floor when using your mouse (with a straighter arm posture).
3. If you have to do a lot of typing tasks you may look into putting padding down for your wrists if you rest them flat on the table.
4. How you sleep. A *lot* of elbow pain can be due to sleeping with the elbow bent under you - applying pressure to the nerve in the elbow your "funny bone" as it were. This can occur if you're a stomach or side sleeper (on the side you sleep on). If this is the case experiment with sleeping with your arm straight and making sure there's no pressure applied to your elbow. This one in particular has been big for me - I used to wake up with numbness in my left hand a lot because i like to sleep with my left elbow buried into my mattress which was constricting the nerve in my elbow.
this is unrelated to elbow pain but just in case anyone else has wrist pain, i realized that my mouse doesn't fit my hand very well, so the palm of my hand is in a highly arched position with mostly my fingers gripping the mouse. turns out this is awful for your wrist so don't be afraid to try different mice if anyone else has this problem
this is unrelated to elbow pain but just in case anyone else has wrist pain, i realized that my mouse doesn't fit my hand very well, so the palm of my hand is in a highly arched position with mostly my fingers gripping the mouse. turns out this is awful for your wrist so don't be afraid to try different mice if anyone else has this problem
Thanks to all for the info
Marxist...
RSI wise, is playing with straighter arm safer than with a retracted arm? (like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ojR_qedzzK8/maxresdefault.jpg)
kawa...
I play with 32cm/360 and I mostly use my wrist to do small movements and arm to do the bigger ones (like most of the people I think), the thing is that I use claw grip with a Deathadder, could that be what is affecting my elbow?
Thanks to all for the info
[quote=Marxist]...[/quote]
RSI wise, is playing with straighter arm safer than with a retracted arm? (like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ojR_qedzzK8/maxresdefault.jpg)
[quote=kawa]...[/quote]
I play with 32cm/360 and I mostly use my wrist to do small movements and arm to do the bigger ones (like most of the people I think), the thing is that I use claw grip with a Deathadder, could that be what is affecting my elbow?
[quote=Marxist]...[/quote]
RSI wise, is playing with straighter arm safer than with a retracted arm? (like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ojR_qedzzK8/maxresdefault.jpg)
[quote=kawa]...[/quote]
I play with 32cm/360 and I mostly use my wrist to do small movements and arm to do the bigger ones (like most of the people I think), the thing is that I use claw grip with a Deathadder, could that be what is affecting my elbow?
msphiRSI wise, is playing with straighter arm safer than with a retracted arm? (like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ojR_qedzzK8/maxresdefault.jpg)
I think what he meant was having your arm parallel to the table or the ground (i.e. not having it slanted at an upward angle if your desk is too high)
don't think it much matters if you're sitting diagonally and don't have your arm completely perpendicular to the edge of the table
ive had to sit diagonally like the guy in that image with my keyboard in my lap and have found it's really hard to have proper posture and not strain my left wrist (the keyboard hand)
my problem is that my chair has wrist rests but they're too low and so I can't rest my arms and also reach the surface of the desk to use my keyboard, and if I have my keyboard in my lap they just get in the way or I have to put my wrist at a super awkward angle tilted downwards
would definitely recommend (if you have the ability to; my dorm came prefurnished so i don't have much of a choice) getting a proper desk/chair so you don't have to strain your wrist super hard
[quote=msphi]
RSI wise, is playing with straighter arm safer than with a retracted arm? (like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ojR_qedzzK8/maxresdefault.jpg)
[/quote]
I think what he meant was having your arm parallel to the table or the ground (i.e. not having it slanted at an upward angle if your desk is too high)
don't think it much matters if you're sitting diagonally and don't have your arm completely perpendicular to the edge of the table
ive had to sit diagonally like the guy in that image with my keyboard in my lap and have found it's really hard to have proper posture and not strain my left wrist (the keyboard hand)
my problem is that my chair has wrist rests but they're too low and so I can't rest my arms and also reach the surface of the desk to use my keyboard, and if I have my keyboard in my lap they just get in the way or I have to put my wrist at a super awkward angle tilted downwards
would definitely recommend (if you have the ability to; my dorm came prefurnished so i don't have much of a choice) getting a proper desk/chair so you don't have to strain your wrist super hard
RSI wise, is playing with straighter arm safer than with a retracted arm? (like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ojR_qedzzK8/maxresdefault.jpg)
[/quote]
I think what he meant was having your arm parallel to the table or the ground (i.e. not having it slanted at an upward angle if your desk is too high)
don't think it much matters if you're sitting diagonally and don't have your arm completely perpendicular to the edge of the table
ive had to sit diagonally like the guy in that image with my keyboard in my lap and have found it's really hard to have proper posture and not strain my left wrist (the keyboard hand)
my problem is that my chair has wrist rests but they're too low and so I can't rest my arms and also reach the surface of the desk to use my keyboard, and if I have my keyboard in my lap they just get in the way or I have to put my wrist at a super awkward angle tilted downwards
would definitely recommend (if you have the ability to; my dorm came prefurnished so i don't have much of a choice) getting a proper desk/chair so you don't have to strain your wrist super hard
Although the question refers specifically to RSI from mouse usage, if you do a lot of typing a natural keyboard layout will help reduce the stress on that wrist as well. Mechanical versions are very hard to find though.
Although the question refers specifically to RSI from mouse usage, if you do a lot of typing a natural keyboard layout will help reduce the stress on that wrist as well. Mechanical versions are very hard to find though.
GentlemanJonAlthough the question refers specifically to RSI from mouse usage, if you do a lot of typing a natural keyboard layout will help reduce the stress on that wrist as well. Mechanical versions are very hard to find though.
While they're not natural keyboard layouts exactly, ergo/split keyboards are all the rage in the mech scene right now (and imo better than the natural keyboard layout anyway, if you're going to angle your arms inwards you may as well go all the way be able to move it and angle it in the best position for you). If you're feeling some strain in your typing or would like to have your mouse more centered, an Ergodox (among other, usually more odd layouts like a split Planck) might be a good investment.
[quote=GentlemanJon]Although the question refers specifically to RSI from mouse usage, if you do a lot of typing a natural keyboard layout will help reduce the stress on that wrist as well. Mechanical versions are very hard to find though.[/quote]
While they're not natural keyboard layouts exactly, ergo/split keyboards are all the rage in the mech scene right now (and imo better than the natural keyboard layout anyway, if you're going to angle your arms inwards you may as well go all the way be able to move it and angle it in the best position for you). If you're feeling some strain in your typing or would like to have your mouse more centered, an Ergodox (among other, usually more odd layouts like a split Planck) might be a good investment.
While they're not natural keyboard layouts exactly, ergo/split keyboards are all the rage in the mech scene right now (and imo better than the natural keyboard layout anyway, if you're going to angle your arms inwards you may as well go all the way be able to move it and angle it in the best position for you). If you're feeling some strain in your typing or would like to have your mouse more centered, an Ergodox (among other, usually more odd layouts like a split Planck) might be a good investment.
Please
sign in through STEAM
to post a comment.