[WendyMann]

[quote=Sal;318617]:laugh:Hi Wendy........I have found that when I rest my hand on the desk as I use the mouse I have to stop every so often.Your warning about being careful not to overdo things is very timely. Thank you so much for that...SAL

Hi Sal and anyone who is interested.
Yes, dropping your wrists while you type or use the mouse is definitely a big part of the cause of RSI, and the other part is sheer repetition of movement over many weeks/months (e.g. typing, mouse clicking (especially in RPGs or shooting games), etc). The ergonomicists say one must type or use a mouse with arm and hand in a straight line, not with wrist dropped.

Quite some time ago I bought a special mouse pad (one for work and one for home) called a "gel mouse pad". They are not very expensive. The gel-part that you must place/turn to underneath your wrist area, is a raised pad of covered gel that helps prevent you from dropping your wrist altogether, so when you feel your wrist touching the gel-pad, you are reminded to lift your wrist - or at minimum, it stops your wrist dropping all the way to the desk. It took me about 2 weeks to get used to using it, and now I would not be without it (for the last few years). In S.A. you can buy it at a good stationery shop, or at a good PC shop, so I presume it would be the same where you are.

One can also get a long gel strip-pad (it is called a gel keyboard wrist rest) to put parallel with and touching the bottom of the keypad, to serve the same purpose when typing i.e. to prevent you dropping your wrists too far. I always use one of those too, both at work and at home. Don't use it as a wrist rest, but try to keep your wrist slightly higher, not actually touching it. It definitely reduces the RSI risk and strain, but does not altogether stop it because the other cause of RSI is sheer continuous repitition of movement.

Best wishes
Wendy