juliettejuliette@mastodon.green
Jul 6, 2026, 12:27 PMI'm getting an ergonomic mouse through work to help with some wrist pain. Looking for reviews of my main two options: vertical mouse or track ball.
Replies
- juliettejuliette@mastodon.greenJul 7, 2026, 8:12 AM
Many thanks to everyone for their input. I have ordered a vertical mouse, and as I wait for it I am testing a track ball.
Also, I slept in a wrong position and my shoulder hurts more than my wrist now, and I wonder if I blamed bad office ergonomics for the natural consequences of being in my 40s. 
Leoniekeleonieke@squilla.vitaulium.euJul 6, 2026, 12:29 PM@juliette I use the vertical one for about two years now, never used a trackbal-version: vertical works fine for me, including when I was battling a frozen shoulder.
Agnès H.tut_tuuut@framapiaf.orgJul 6, 2026, 12:29 PM@juliette j'ai une souris verticale filaire (pour être++ légère) : bonheur et fin des douleurs jusque dans le dos.
f♯ a♯ ∞tsadiq@rivals.spaceJul 6, 2026, 12:33 PM@tut_tuuut team trackball depuis des lustres ici. Seul bémole, j'ai choppé une tendinite du pouce en une semaine après être passé de la Logitech MX classique à la MX "ergo", donc vaut peut-être mieux tester avant et y aller progressivement 😅🙈
Keira (She/Her)keira_reckons@aus.socialJul 6, 2026, 12:35 PM@juliette I use a vertical one and it's good. Only problem is you can't swap hands.
Angela ScholderAngelaScholder@mastodon.energyJul 6, 2026, 4:28 PM@keira_reckons @juliette How does that work? Can't envision it.
I know the trackball.- Keira (She/Her)keira_reckons@aus.socialJul 6, 2026, 8:41 PM
@AngelaScholder @juliette you turn your hand thumb up and rest it in the grove on the right, thumb on the left. Kinda like shaing hands.
- Angela ScholderAngelaScholder@mastodon.energyJul 6, 2026, 9:06 PM
@keira_reckons @juliette But then, do you move it like a regular mouse? Only holding differently?
- Keira (She/Her)keira_reckons@aus.socialJul 6, 2026, 9:09 PM
@AngelaScholder @juliette yep, it moves like a normal mouse, and has buttons where yiur fingers naturally sit. The scroll wheel is there too.
- Keira (She/Her)keira_reckons@aus.socialJul 6, 2026, 9:10 PM
@AngelaScholder @juliette apparently the angle is less stressful on the wrist and fingers. I got one after getting a bunch of nerve problems like carpal tunnel. It didn't fix it, but it's much better.
- Angela ScholderAngelaScholder@mastodon.energyJul 6, 2026, 9:23 PM
@keira_reckons @juliette I guess I would really need to hold one and feel it as for now I'm lacking the imagination to build the picture.
Actually that is an interesting experience... 
Jul 6, 2026, 12:39 PM@juliette anecdotal obviously, but I switched to a trackball like this a few years back and it seems to have helped a lot. Did have a bit of a learning curve though!
Jul 6, 2026, 12:44 PM
PepijnPepijn@mastodon.onlineJul 6, 2026, 12:48 PM- Jul 6, 2026, 12:50 PM
- juliettejuliette@mastodon.greenJul 6, 2026, 12:54 PM
@wylan that looks cool, but is not on the pre-approved list to order from work, and I do not have the energy to go through the paperwork for an exception...
- Jul 6, 2026, 12:54 PM
@juliette ahh yeah that definitely sounds like a pain!
Jul 6, 2026, 1:06 PM- juliettejuliette@mastodon.greenJul 6, 2026, 1:07 PM
@fataqe 100% taking the wrist pain.
Jul 6, 2026, 3:04 PM
Jean Luc am Grimmstendatenhalde@nrw.socialJul 6, 2026, 3:51 PM@wylan
I own and use the Kensington SlimBlade Pro (the HAL picture above) at home and used to work with the Logitech trackball in the OP.The latter broke down recently (a defect in the camera, uh, optical sensor, I suppose).
What I like with both:
You don't shift your arm/wrist all the time.What I dislike:
You cannot make use of your arm movement (though I played Outcast with keyboard/ trackball, and it worked almost as good as with a real mouse)Both are good. Switch often!
@juliette
Jul 6, 2026, 12:57 PM@juliette I have used a trackball like the one pictured for decades, I love it (but I don't have rsi etc. (as far as I know))
the ones with the ball in the center that you move with your fingers always strained my wrists after a while - the thumb ball lets me rest my hand in a very natural position
your experience may vary, I suspect things like how big your hands are, what your workstation setup is like, etc., are big factors
rhempelrhempel@cosocial.caJul 6, 2026, 12:58 PM@juliette I bought three of these when they were on clearance 15 or 20 years ago - still have one unused in a sealed box and love it!
By that I mean I am working on mouse #2 and haven't had to crack the third box open yet.
irrational methodIrrationalMethod@social.coopJul 6, 2026, 12:59 PMI have the trackball shown at work, it came with a wedge that makes it more vertical if you want. There's three levels of adjustment with that. I have found it to help with some hand pain, but I am not sure how much was in my wrist.
As a computer pointing device, I'm quite happy with it.
That said, it may depend on what type of work you do. I have found trackballs to be less efficient for CAD/graphics work, but much prefer them for everything else.
Elizenery🔻lisettedeboer@mastodon.socialJul 6, 2026, 1:00 PM@juliette I tried a tracking ball in the past and found it awkward and tiring for the thumb, so I'd recommend first trying a vertical mouse. Another option to consider is a pen tablet (Wacom is a common brand, but there are many) to alternate with a vertical mouse or use for certain tasks.
Arnd Layeriamlayer8@mastodon.socialJul 6, 2026, 1:01 PM@juliette
I’ve has a track ball in the living room for a while. It still requires you fingers to move and I’d expect this to contribute to wrist pain. So I’d pick the ergonomic mouse.
RensRensBloom@zug.networkJul 6, 2026, 1:09 PM@juliette People around me with some wrist pain in the past are all using the vertical mouse and are satisfied with it.
I know when I was a kid that some people used a mouse with trackball, and I didn't like using that because then I didn't move my hand at all. I feel moving is better than having your hands frozen on the same position all the time.
Lau Klau_kjs@col.socialJul 6, 2026, 1:15 PM@juliette I had to change to a left-handed vertical mouse since I have tendinitis in my right hand. I mention it just in case this could be useful to you too.
- Jul 6, 2026, 1:16 PM
@juliette not in your options list, but anyway:
In the 1990s I tried all pointing devices I could get gold of and only the TrackPoint worked well for me.
Then Apple came with their trackpad and that works well for me too (regular PC trackpads - built into laptops or external - gave ghosts movements because of where my thumbs rest).
Since the late 2000s I made the switch from ThinkPad to MacBook Pro as IBM ditched the 7-row keyboard and high resolution screens. Still happy with that move.
Jul 6, 2026, 1:18 PM@juliette I have tried both and the vertical mouse did not help me at all but a trackball completely solved my issues. But I guess it depends on your exact issues.
- juliettejuliette@mastodon.greenJul 6, 2026, 1:47 PM
@mshdk where did you feel pain before? I'm hearing different feedback depending on if the strain was in the wrist, elbow, shoulder or back.
- Jul 6, 2026, 2:31 PM
@juliette wrist and shoulder
Fredrik Graverfgraver@hcommons.socialJul 6, 2026, 1:53 PM@juliette My work gave me a trackball a few years ago—not Logi, but I forget the brand—and I never loved it. Then I bought the Logi vertical for home, and loved it. Convinced my work to buy me one there too (yay!). But from talking to people who use them, it seems to mainly come down to personal preference.
Flakiflaki@flaki.socialJul 6, 2026, 3:36 PM@juliette switched to a Logitech Lift (just like the one pictured) a while back after using various Logitech Anywheres and it took me a couple minutes to get used to it. I deliberately went with the "cheap" option "to try" and... I just stuck with it ever since because it just works.
alsteralsternerd@akkoma.alster.spaceJul 6, 2026, 3:41 PM@juliette If you like the hand more like the vertical mouse, but still don't want to move the hand as much, get the MX Ergo S.
I got experience with the Logi Lift (picture left), the MX Vertical¹ and the MX Ergo (precurser of the S)².
I do like to switch between the Trackball at work and the vertical or the older Performance MX at home. The Lift is neat, because it does not have hearable clicks.
The only problem with the trackball is that the ball needs cleaning now and then.
My suggestion is: If you already have a normal mouse, get the trackball with a few more degrees, so that you can have the hand slightly upright and a ball.
¹ https://www.logitech.com/de-de/shop/p/mx-vertical-ergonomic-mouse
² https://www.logitech.com/de-de/shop/p/mx-ergo-s-wireless-trackball-mouse.910-007260
wibblewibble@ohai.socialJul 6, 2026, 4:10 PM@juliette Many years ago I got tenosynovitis and thought a trackball might solve it. Which it didn't. At least not directly.
Until I realised it was built for either left- or right-handers and had reprogrammable buttons. And so (a bit awkwardly for the first day or two) I switched to the other hand.
Since then, I've been a pain-free and ambidextrous mouser. It mightn't work for everyone, but sometimes a rest is as good as a change.
oscarfalconoscarfalcon@mastodon.socialJul 6, 2026, 4:15 PMI own both kinds and after some time with them I can say with confidence that if you have a cramped workstation then the trackball works marvels; if you have space around the keyboard the vertical mouse does reduce strain but you must consider a wrist pad, it will help.
JustDude 🙋🏻♂️🫶🏼🕊️justdude@mastodon.nlJul 6, 2026, 7:35 PM@juliette @larsdejong Vertical, works weeks on one charge. No issues with my wrist, used to it in minutes.
Jul 7, 2026, 1:54 PM@juliette it CAN be both
Emily KingemkingmaJul 7, 2026, 8:16 AM@juliette the biggest change I made for mouse use, early in my professional career, was switching from using my mouse with my right hand, to using it with my left hand. I was a bit inefficient for about a month or so, but after a year, I could do graphic layout stuff using my left and I had far less RSI in my right shoulder and wrist, and rarely (in comparison) get it on my left side.
I am right handed for most other things, but this has really helped me.
Janeishlyjaneishly@beige.partyJul 7, 2026, 8:42 AM@juliette I bought a vertical mouse a couple of years ago but got so cross at constantly knocking it off the desk that I just gave up. After 30 years of using a normal height mouse it was impossible to learn to bring my arm in an inch higher (but my thumb problem went off too, if it had persisted maybe I would have as well).
Jul 7, 2026, 9:10 AM@juliette I bought a vertical mouse 15 years ago, and never looked back. All the wrist and index finger pain disappeared - it's a torsion thing.
