Ever since the computer industry has evolved so much as to be included in every single field of activity, more and more people have spent their time behind a computer desk, doping their jobs on the computer as a normal everyday task. But using the computer keyboard and mouse for so many hours every day has come to be a demanding job and now results are showing: a lot of people working on computers at work and at home have developed occupational illnesses that are directly related to the use of computer mouse.

You may wonder why the sudden preoccupation for ergonomics, as the computer mouse has been around for about fourty years? Well, the computer mouse was indeed invented in the 1960s and patented in 1971, but it was used only by very few people who worked in research. And even then computer mice were used only at work and only for a very short time every day.

It was in the late 1980s that the computers began to be more popular and affordable and began to spread. Now computers are as common a site at home and at the office as the telephone or the TV set. There is barely one home without a computer in it , except of course the less developed countries.

And, of course, nowadays computers and computer mice are used for both work related things and personal and recreational purposes. And, as you know, everything coming in big quantities is bad. That's exactly what I am trying to say here.

If you use the computer mouse regularly but in decent dosages nothing bad will happen to you. But if you exaggerate, you can get some computer related illness like the Repetitive Stress Injuries. They are : carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, cold hands syndrome, De Quervain's disease, strained wrists and many others. They all affect you pretty badly.

So the question now is what to do to avoid getting hurt and having RSI? Well, the most effective thing would be to stop using the computer mouse. But this is not an option when you work in front of a computer all day long and you get pretty much money for that, too.

Then you should try using an ergonomic computer mouse. There are many different types of ergonomic computer mice on the market, each claiming to be the best. You can choose from: The Evoluent vertical ergonomic mouse, the Quill ergonomic mouse, the pen mouse, the 3M , the Zero tension mouse, the finger mouse and many other models.

They all have one purpose in mind: to make mousing a relaxed and natural movement that won't affect people's health. In fact that's what ergonomics is about: adjusting the objects that people use to fit the user, that is to give the possibility for them to use natural moves and positions. That is why ergonomic computer mice opted for the vertical position lately, as it keeps the hand in a neutral position and no longer puts pressure on the wrist.

The only problem might be the price of these devices, which is pretty high . I guess this is caused by the cost of the research that needs to be done and all the tests and after that the patent for the ergonomic design, which can be rather expensive. So, I think we will continue using non-ergonomic computer mice for a while, until they get a lot cheaper and more popular.