Expert Commentary: Peter Snitovsky, M.D. - 11/09/2009

Hand pain and mouse clicking

Have you ever felt pain in your arm and elbow while you were using your mouse to surf the internet?  You may have also felt a slight weakening in your arm or discomfort around your fingers.  If these symptoms sound familiar, then mouse clicking may indeed be related to your hand pain. Numerous people complain about how painful it can become to just click a mouse. Even if at first it sounds a bit ridiculous, you have to admit that there is a clear relationship between the two events. I will explain how mouse clicking can lead to hand pain.

First, mouse clicking is an important part of our computer work.  You click the mouse to select your friend in your e-mail list, to select the address bar and to go to your favorite website.  Even though there are shortcut keys on your keyboard, using them to perform these actions sometimes can be frustrating and are much easier done using your mouse. Especially, when using software for photo editing or graphic design. However, the prolonged use of the same muscle or tendons can lead to tendonitis (an inflammation of the tissue) or small tears in the tendons. If all you do all day is click and type, you can expect symptoms to surface at some point.

The unfortunate part is, there is little you can actually do to prevent these types of problems.  You can soothe your pain by taking pain medications or doing hand exercises daily so you stretch out these tendons and muscles.  Avoiding prolonged use of the mouse is the best solution.

Hand pain and keyboard use

Excessive keyboard use resulting in hand pain has been around much longer than the mouse-induced pain.  This pain was around in the mid-90s when large amounts of ergonomic keyboards were being manufactured.  The strange thing is that most people thought it was a marketing gimmick and few of those keyboards were sold.  Unfortunately, laptops and desktops generally use the standard keyboard layout and with prolonged use can lead to problems such as finger and palm pain and fingertip numbness. 

Hand pain, due to keyboard use, generally occurs because the performed actions are repetitive.  These repetitions are constant micro traumas to the tendons and soft tissues of the hand.  The more you type, the more difficult it becomes for the hand to recover from the accumulation of these traumas. Therefore, in time, your hands and fingers can feel very sore.  Occupational therapy and hand therapy can be a great solution; so are exercises that include hand and finger stretches.  Another option may be to use an elevated hand pad in front of your keyboard so your wrists are kept out of extension and into a more neutral position while you are typing.

The extended use of your computer, resulting in hand pain, is very common. If this is a problem for you, consider work station modifications, frequent breaks, or exercising/therapy for your hands.  In some cases, you may need to consult with an orthopaedic hand surgeon.  You may also have an underlying degenerative or major traumatic condition.  Your hand surgeon can determine your specific diagnosis and discuss about other possible solutions, such as splinting, cortisone injections and even surgery to relieve your pain.