soreness from trackpad usage?

[karohan]

I have a unibody macbook pro. I have heard that using a trackpad is not recommended because it could cause finger soreness and potentially lead to arthritis. I'm not sure how legitimate this concern is in the first place but I can attest to the fact that trackpads can lead to mildly sore fingers after a while.
Now with the macbook pro, I love the trackpad and even prefer it to a mouse. The gestures (especially with BetterTouchTool) are so convenient that it would be worse to move back to a mouse, but I don't want to put myself at getting arthritis in the future by using the trackpad. Any opinions?

 

[angelwatt]

I don't think there's anymore issues with the track pad than a mouse. If you're use to a mouse it may take a while for your hand muscles to adjust to the different movements needed for the track pad for prolonged usage. There's some things I find easier with the mouse and others with the track pad.

 

[karohan]

Well I think one difference is the that there's more bending of joints in your fingers with a trackpad. However, with a mouse, sure there's a little wrist bending but thats minimal and you just move around your arm/hand. So I think its conceivable that trackpads can cause these problems, but I honestly haven't really had any soreness with trackpad usage. I just don't want it to show up as an irreversible infliction later on (i.e. arthritis or something).

 

[miata]

I still think the trackball is the best for extended use. I've been using one since my first mac PowerBook 170 back in the early 90's and have no issues.

 

[Resist]

I have heard that using a trackpad is not recommended because it could cause finger soreness and potentially lead to arthritis.

Any repetitive task can cause soreness. But there are many activities that require much more extreme finger movements than using a laptop trackpad, that don't cause arthritis.

 

[smallnshort247]

If anything, Apple's trackpad feels the best compared other computer's trackpads..to me at least. A very large surface so your hand wont feel cramped.

 

[karohan]

If anything, Apple's trackpad feels the best compared other computer's trackpads..to me at least. A very large surface so your hand wont feel cramped.

Oh yeah I totally agree. I don't feel uncomfortable using the trackpad at all, but I just don't want to experience any unforeseen consequences in the future.