{"id":488185,"date":"2022-08-27T14:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T11:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard\/"},"modified":"2022-08-27T14:00:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-27T11:00:24","slug":"i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard\/","title":{"rendered":"#I Cured My Mouse Shoulder Pain With a New Keyboard"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35fc571663a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35fc571663a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard\/#%E2%80%9CI_Cured_My_Mouse_Shoulder_Pain_With_a_New_Keyboard%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;I Cured My Mouse Shoulder Pain With a New Keyboard&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard\/#What_Is_%E2%80%9CMouse_Shoulder%E2%80%9D_Pain\" >What Is \u201cMouse Shoulder\u201d Pain?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard\/#Why_This_Common_Keyboard_Causes_Shoulder_Pain\" >Why This Common Keyboard Causes Shoulder Pain<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard\/#Switching_to_a_Tenkeyless_Board_Banished_My_Pain\" >Switching to a Tenkeyless Board Banished My Pain<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CI_Cured_My_Mouse_Shoulder_Pain_With_a_New_Keyboard%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;I Cured My Mouse Shoulder Pain With a New Keyboard&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-825706 size-full\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ShoulderPain1.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/red-gaming-keyboard-mouse-neon-light-2124642677\" data-credittext=\"Lucas Seijo\/Shutterstock.com\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/red-gaming-keyboard-mouse-neon-light-2124642677\">Lucas Seijo\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For years I had pain in my shoulder from long hours logged at the computer, but I fixed it by switching keyboards. It worked for me, and I hope it works for you too.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_%E2%80%9CMouse_Shoulder%E2%80%9D_Pain\"><\/span>What Is \u201cMouse Shoulder\u201d Pain?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When people think about workplace injuries, they usually think about the dramatic ones like severe injury from an accident with machinery or such. But for lots of people whose jobs entail doing small movements over and over again, injuries more often take the form of repetitive stress injury (RSI).<\/p>\n<p>You end up with shoulder pain not because you blew out your rotator cuff but because you had poor posture and ergonomics at your workstation. And even when you do your best to pay attention to ergonomics, sometimes you still end up with a problem on your hands.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the situation I found myself in with a nagging and persistent shoulder pain, a type of pain I\u2019d later find out is called \u201cmouse shoulder\u201d on account of how extended and poorly-optimized mouse usage leads to the pain.<\/p>\n<p>While the pain tends to be multifaceted\u2014people experience everything from a stabbing sensation in the ball of the shoulder to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> tension and tenderness in the shoulder as a whole to neck stiffness and headaches\u2014it\u2019s the stabbing pain that usually makes most people go \u201csomething is wrong with my shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That stabbing pain in the front of the shoulder which feels like it is coming from just under the anterior deltoid is usually caused by irritation of the bicep tendon. It\u2019s not the deltoid that hurts in that case, it\u2019s the top of the bicep and the related tendon that passes under the deltoid.<\/p>\n<p>Although there are a variety of factors that can contribute to mouse shoulder, including how high or low your desk (or keyboard tray) sits relatively to your body, how long (and how actively) you use your mouse per day, and so on, there is one very overlooked factor that it took me far too long to zero in on.<\/p>\n<p>While I can\u2019t promise what worked for me will work for you, it is my genuine hope that many people reading this article will find relief for their nagging computer-induced shoulder pain the same way I did.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_This_Common_Keyboard_Causes_Shoulder_Pain\"><\/span>Why This Common Keyboard Causes Shoulder Pain<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Over the years, I made a variety of adjustments to my workstation ergonomics in a bid to alleviate whatever was causing my shoulder pain.<\/p>\n<p>First, I switched from a regular mouse to a trackball mouse which did, in fact, help decrease the pain. By moving my hand, arm, and shoulder less\u2014with a trackball, the mouse is stationary and you merely move your thumb or fingers\u2014the degree to which the shoulder was irritated decreased.<\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of great ergonomic mice on the market, but I\u2019m a lifelong devotee to the line of Logitech trackball mice like the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Logitech-Ergo-Wireless-Trackball-Mouse\/dp\/B0753P1GTS\/?tag=hotoge-20\">Logitech MX Ergo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After that, I added an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000YTNKK4\/?tag=hotoge-20\">adjustable keyboard tray<\/a> so I could type and use the mouse with a negative tilt to relieve pressure on my wrists (and hopefully my shoulder too). Again, that helped (it was great for my wrists!), but it merely reduced the pain a little.<\/p>\n<p>I even mixed in a really comfortable and adjustable <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Steelcase-Leap-Chair-Crocus-Fabric\/dp\/B00TYE4ZKY\/?tag=hotoge-20\">Steelcase Leap chair<\/a> so I could ensure my arms were supported at the proper height. The chair proved to be the most comfortable office chair I\u2019d ever owned and helped in so many ways, but it wasn\u2019t the silver bullet for the shoulder issue.<\/p>\n<p>Then one day, almost entirely by accident, I stumbled upon a pain-free way to use the mouse. I had bumped the keyboard to the left-hand side (I\u2019m right-handed), and the mouse was closer to the centerline of my body. I realized there was no twinge-y pain in my shoulder. It was still sore, but it was residual soreness and not fresh irritation from using the mouse at that moment.<\/p>\n<p>The only problem was, now, the keyboard was so hopelessly off center that there was no way for me to use the mouse in the less painful location and also type on the keyboard without contorting my body in a way that was just going to cause new pain somewhere else.<\/p>\n<p>The keyboard I had\u2014the same keyboard millions of people around the world have\u2014is what as known as a \u201cfull-sized,\u201d \u201c100%,\u201d or \u201c104-key\u201d computer keyboard. Full-sized keyboards have the standard set of letters, numbers, and basic keys, plus the home key and arrow cluster and then a complete calculator-like number pad on the end. Giant keyboards have been the standard format for over forty years.<\/p>\n<p>The everything-and-the-kitchen-sink <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach leads to a board width of around 18 inches. The distance from the center of the home row finger placement (the gap between the G and the H key) to the edge of the board ends up being around 13 inches.<\/p>\n<p>With those distances, practically, the closest a person using a standard right-hand-side number pad 104-key keyboard can get their right-hand-side mouse to the center of the keyboard is around 16-20 inches depending on whether they used a trackball or standard mouse and how much space they need to use it.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, most people using such a large keyboard are forced to cock their arm away from the centerline of their body by approximately 10-15 degrees. That doesn\u2019t seem like much, but the ideal angle would be zero degrees out of alignment, with your arm positioned in a neutral position 90 degrees relative to the plane of your torso. The further you rotate your arm away from the centerline, the more pressure and discomfort you feel in your shoulder while using the mouse.<\/p>\n<p>So millions of people around the world are using a keyboard setup that forces them to hold their arm out at a slightly over-extended angle that significantly increases their chance of computer-related injury and pain.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Switching_to_a_Tenkeyless_Board_Banished_My_Pain\"><\/span>Switching to a Tenkeyless Board Banished My Pain<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ve talked about what causes mouse shoulder. We\u2019ve talked about how the majority of people around the world\u2014myself included, for many years\u2014are using a really wide keyboard that isn\u2019t ergonomic. What\u2019s the solution?<\/p>\n<p>The solution is to ditch the number pad and swap your bulky 104-key full-size keyboard for a shortened model, known as a tenkeyless keyboard or 87-key keyboard.<\/p>\n<p>A tenkeyless keyboard is 80% the width of a 104-key keyboard and is essentially the same design in every regard except the missing number pad. Dropping the number pad reduces the length of the board by about 4 inches and allows you to pull the mouse in tighter. Pulling the mouse in tighter relieves the strain on your shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>It sounds too good to be true, but after years of the same persistent shoulder pain when I switched from a full-size keyboard to a tenkeyless keyboard, my pain vanished.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t get physical therapy, do any fancy stretches or exercises, or anything beyond switching to a keyboard that allowed me to move my trackball mouse in tighter and reduce the angle of extension from that 10-15 degrees down to more like 0-3 degrees. What shocked me the most was that the pain resolved itself almost im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely. Within days of making the adjustment, it went away and never came back.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box  \">\n<div class=\"product-img product-img-noaward\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/HyperX-Alloy-Origins-Core-Customization\/dp\/B084GYSFDT\/?tag=hotoge-20\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41u5Ely4NpL._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" width=\"150px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Now while I\u2019ve spent all these years banging away on a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Code-87-Key-Illuminated-Mechanical-Keyboard\/dp\/B07MP1PV5B\/?tag=hotoge-20\">WASD Code Keyboard<\/a>, you don\u2019t have to shell out $150+ for a tenkeyless keyboard\u2014though I have nothing but good things to say about the Code.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of really reasonably priced tenkeyless mechanical keyboards on the market for under $100, like the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/HyperX-Alloy-Origins-Core-Customization\/dp\/B084GYSFDT\/?tag=hotoge-20\">HyperX Alloy Origins<\/a> or the incredibly budget-friendly <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Redragon-K552-Mechanical-Keyboard-Equivalent\/dp\/B016MAK38U\/?tag=hotoge-20\">Redragon K552<\/a>. I would never have thought a mechanical keyboard under $40 would be worth it, but the K522 is a great value.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, you couldn\u2019t pay me to go back to using a full-size board. If I really needed a number pad, I\u2019d sooner buy <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Mechanical-Numeric-Backlit-Desktop-Computer\/dp\/B07FFLNF5C\/?tag=hotoge-20\">a detachable one<\/a> and learn to use it with my left hand rather than go back to having persistent shoulder pain. And hopefully, after reading this, you\u2019ll give tenkeyless keyboards a chance and enjoy the same shoulder-pain free experience too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/825652\/i-cured-my-mouse-shoulder-pain-with-a-new-keyboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I Cured My Mouse Shoulder Pain With a New Keyboard&#8221; Lucas Seijo\/Shutterstock.com For years I had pain in my shoulder from long hours logged at the computer, but I fixed it by switching keyboards. It worked for me, and I hope it works for you too. What Is \u201cMouse Shoulder\u201d Pain? When people think about&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":488186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ShoulderPain1.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-488185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}