Ergonomic Evaluation of New Wrist Rest on Using Computer Mouse

Literatures reviewing showed that excessive computer use, particularly mouse usage might be an occupational risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the wrist rest on EMG activities of forearm muscle and wrist postures while using computer mouse. Thirteen participants applied the computer mouse to play the FreeCell game for ten minutes on four conditions of usage wrist rest (wrist band, wrist pad, wrist belt with pad, no wrist rest). Electromyography activities of the pronator teres muscle groups and wrist postures were recorded by Biometric data acquisition system. Results of ANOVA showed that there are not significant differences in EMG activities between four conditions. Further, using computer mouse with wrist rest reduced significantly the wrist deviation and dorsiflexion. There are the largest ulnar deviation and dorsiflexion while using computer mouse with no wrist rest. Although mouse pad could decrease the dorsiflexion, ulnar deviation did not control. Thus, the wrist belt with pad could keep the wrist on neutral posture and the better comfort rating.