If you are diagnosed with trigger finger, your choice of mouse can play an important role in reducing your condition.
The best finger trigger mouse should reduce or eliminate the force or movement required to press the large buttons on the mouse.
There are some pointing devices that have the buttons arranged so that you can use your other fingers to press them.
Start the Finger and its Symbols
Trigger finger or stenosing tenosynovitis occurs when the tendon sheaths around the affected finger become inflamed. As a result, it becomes difficult to bend and straighten the affected finger.
Symptoms include:
- Stiff fingers, especially in the morning
- A pop or click sensor when you move your finger
- Tenderness under the affected finger
- Locking the finger in a bent position
Computer users are at high risk of developing trigger finger due to the repetitive movements required to press the mouse buttons. Sitting and holding a mouse can also make you more susceptible to developing this ergonomic disorder.
The RollerMouse Red is placed in front of your keyboard so you can easily reach it with both hands. By scrolling the roller bar and moving it right to left, you can get the same precision as a mouse. Customize the button panel and choose between 10 cursor speeds to maximize your comfort. You can even adjust the tension settings to make it respond to the lightest touch.
The RollerMouse encourages a variety of postures and allows you to use both left and right hands to mouse. By spreading the repetitive movements to different fingers and hands, the strain on your affected fingers is greatly reduced. In addition, this assistive device does not require holding.
In terms of performance, it works flawlessly even when working with multiple monitors thanks to a DPI of up to 2800. You can easily adjust the speed with a button.
If the mouse doesn’t fit well relative to the size of your hand, you unconsciously try to make it fit by gripping too hard or extending your fingers too far. For users who suffer from trigger finger, this can make your situation worse.
The iClever is a versatile mouse that fits most average (medium to large) hands. Because of its horseshoe shape, you can decide how firm you want it to be. Also, the area where your palm meets the mouse has grooves to prevent slipping.
The buttons take little effort to press, which is a plus if you have a trigger finger. There are two thumb buttons – the page back and page forward buttons – which can reduce the clicking you have to do with your index finger.
The Evoluent 4 has an aggressive vertical form factor that comes in different sizes and left and right hand designs. The shape keeps your hand and wrist healthy with an almost perfect handshake.
To prevent or reduce the trigger finger, you can customize 6 buttons. For example, if your index finger is starting to lose inclination and flexibility, you can set the thumb button to right-click. The buttons are also decently sensitive so you’ll have to use less force.
Another great thing about the Evoluent 4 is its central button. By default, using it to click links will open them in a new tab in the background. That’s CTRL + left click or right + left click if you’re doing it manually. What else you can do is to make another multi-step command if needed, reduce the number of clicks you make while you mouse.
A touchpad like the Peripad eliminates harmful factors such as grip and finger fatigue due to clicking. You just have to hover over the touch pad area and tap lightly to click. It also supports multi-touch gestures such as zooming in and out, tapping and dragging, and double-clicking.
To prevent your dominant hand from getting tired, you can use the other hand to work it. You can even change the primary and secondary buttons from the system settings if it’s convenient for you. If you have problem with mouse sensitivity, just go to mouse settings in Windows and adjust it to your liking.
Peripad is a wired touchpad so you won’t have to worry about running out of juice. It also comes in two sizes so choose the one that suits your space.
Finally, the Kensington Orbit, a trackball mouse that you can use with both hands, palm, and fingers. This means that it can effectively balance the type of shearing on different parts of both hands, reducing the trigger finger. There is also no holding required as you just need to rotate the dynamic sphere.
It comes with a detachable concrete surface for your hand to rest when using the mouse. This hand support makes it less ergonomic than touchpads.
Scrolling works best with the scroll ring next to the trackball. The Kensington Orbit also comes with downloadable software that will allow you to assign different functions to the two buttons. The buttons on each side are very sensitive to the touch, which is great if you want to reduce strain on your finger.