Effects on muscular and postural stresses, performance and user preference of different computer mouse and of their desktop position

This study compared muscular and postural stresses, performance and user preference when using a standard mouse and two vertical mice - one with a 35° angle and the other with a 65° angle to the horizontal - placed in 3 different positions on the desktop. Seven tasks were analysed. They are commonly used when searching for information on a computer or during computer-aided design work.
The mouse with a 35° angle to the horizontal seems to give the best combination of posture, muscle load, performance and preference. Placing the mouse in front of the keyboard, rather than next to the keyboard, reduced muscular stress. Performance and user satisfaction were greater when the mouse was freely positioned, unrestricted, on the desktop. However, this free positioning of the mouse requires removing the keyboard, which is rarely seen in daily practice. Re-grasping the mouse after typing was more stressful than the pointing, clicking or dragging tasks.