Abstract
Two-button computer mouse users may exhibit sustained lifted finger behaviors to prevent inadvertent activations by avoiding finger pressure on the buttons, leading to prolonged finger extensor muscle loading. One hundred graduate students were observed during normal computer work in a university computer facility to qualify and quantify the prevalence of lifted finger behaviors and extended finger postures, as well as wrist/forearm support, during specific mouse activities. The highest prevalences observed were 48% of the students lifted their middle finger during mouse drag activities, and 23% extended their middle finger while moving the mouse. In addition, 98% of the students rested their wrist and forearm (77%) or wrist only (21%) on the workstation surface. These findings indicate that two-button mouse users do lift and hold their fingers during computer work, while supporting their wrist/forearms. Potential applications include ergonomic design strategies to reduce exposure to risk factors that may contribute to hand/forearm musculoskeletal pain.
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