[Yoni]

Originally Posted by jdunn

When mixing with a mouse, here's a few tips to help avoid carpal tunnel syndrome, or just hand pain in general. I really hate that pain in the arch of my hand, just behind the knuckles, which comes from too much mousing.

Don't keep your hand constantly perched in one position above the faders, or especially on a mouse. When you're not making fader/mouse moves, try to relax your hand, straighten it out, lightly make a fist, spread your fingers out, change positions, turn your wrists up occasionally, etc...

If your hand starts cramping up or feeling sore, stop mixing for a bit. This may benefit your ears too, keeping them fresh for longer.

Set your workspace up so that you're comfortable before you start mixing. A few hundred bucks on a decent workdesk makes a huge difference. I suppose I could use a decent chair myself.

Use a mouse pad and a good cordless optical mouse such as Logitech or Kensington. The mouse weight may make a difference too. I've got a regular sized mouse and a mini mouse. The mini mouse is so small that I have to cup my hand slightly to use it. For this reason I haven't mixed with it yet, I just use it with my armchair/laptop setup. The regular sized mouse allows my hand to stretch out a bit more. Again, just don't keep your hand in that position constantly.

Another good tip is to get a trackball mouse, definitely the way to go IMO. Most professionals I know that work in graphic design, music engraving and other mouse intensive fields use them. It feels a little weird at first but once you get used to it you'll never go back. I love it and my hand never cramps.