Hello all of the heavy Solidworks users. I use Solidworks for long periods of time. Recently I have had difficulty because all the small mouse movements and mouse clicks has given me a sore right wrist. I have done some research and even purchased a few different types of mice trying to find something that isn't going to hurt my wrist/arm. I recently purchased the SpaceNavigator from 3Dconnexion as well as a Vertical mouse from Evoluent. I still have minor pain but was curious what other devices Solidworks users have tried and if they found them effective in decreasing any pain/injury.
Thank you for your help.
I have a client who uses one of the vertical mouses (?) and swears by it.
But I use a Logitech MX-Revolution mouse, with the speed cranked up high. I hardly move my mouse at all. Get a good, slick mouse pad (they make thin hard plastic round pads for ~$8--the sort with the fine texture on them) and it will feel like the mouse is gliding on ice. They wear out in about a year if you really use them, so shell out for another when it gets even close to "sticky" again.
Something important most people don't consider when this sort of thing happens is whether the rest of their posture is correct, since lots of issues can emanate from way up in the neck/back and shoulders with symptoms showing up down in the wrist.
So--I use an old Herman-Miller Equa chair set at the right height so my forearm isn't at an angle with the desktop when approaching the mouse (straight wrist, chair arms form support). The wrong chair is the most common type you can possibly purchase in office-supply stores. The ergonomics are terrible on >90% of everything I've seen. Stick with someone who knows what they're doing in furniture and you'll do well. (I bought my chair down at the river bottom next to a hub cap store (!), cheap.)
I've also started using computer glasses, and that's helped my eye strain issues and--believe it or not--improved my posture.
The stupid feet on the back-side of keyboards should be permanently disabled. Propping up a keyboard--on the back side--will destroy your wrists. It should lie flat or be propped up on the front side (side toward the user). I use a cordless very-low-profile Logitech keyboard (S 510) and love it.
Meanwhile, I've also got a Space Navigator, but I really don't use it. This depends on your work-style with SolidWorks. I use my keyboard for fast navigation, so it's not the best thing for me (albeit quite cool). But nothing compares to the Navigator when using something like Google Earth--highly recommended for that or if you navigate with the middle mouse button or spinny SolidWorks icon to rotate/zoom/pan your models.