3M Ergonomic Mouse, EM500GPL, Large

I am on my computer all day long at work and using a traditional mouse contributed to tennis elbow (the doctor called it "mouse elbow" since that is one of the common causes) in my right arm. My boss suggested I try to find an ergonomic mouse to help alleviate the problem. I tried both this 3M mouse and the Evoluent VM3R2-RSB Vertical Mouse. I have been using both for nearly a month now. I work from home much of the time and I have one in my home office and the other at work. Both are great at maintaining a neutral hand position and I can now work for hours without additional arm/elbow pain. This 3M mouse provides a more normal, comfortable hand and arm position for me - somewhat like a joystick at an angle. Unlike a joystick, it is fixed - it does not bend but slides on a desktop/mousepad like any optical mouse. The only think I miss is the scrolling wheel. It has a button that acts much as a scroll lock to allow movement to other areas of a worksheet but it seems cumbersome and I have not gotten used to it. The Evoluent Vertical Mouse is very much like a standard mouse tipped on its side and does include a scrolling wheel. The drawback for me is that the angle is a bit too vertical to feel natural or neutral for my hand and arm. Both the 3M and the Evoluent mouse definitely make long-term mousing more comfortable and I can recommend them both.

This mouse is not without it's flaws but it does work as advertised. It takes pressure off your wrist by putting it in a natural position. It absolutely relaxes the wrist. For this, it is worth it, especially if you don't have to do lots of precise clicks in your work.. as moving the mouse with arm movements can take getting used to. It can be just as precise but there is a very long learning curve to fine-movements with your arm. The top button is a left click or right click pivot button and is a bit finicky. It is very easy to click it too long and have it drag-select instead of click. It took me a day to figure out the reason the button was acting funny was because when I was clicking it in the middle it would register as both a right and left click. Once I figured out the top button was a pivot button it worked great. The finger button is a scrolling button. My hand is quite big, I'm 6'2" with a 8" from wrist to middle finger tip and my hand easily rests on the bottom pad and the size of the grip is good. I have to hold it a bit back on my finger tips, but my wrist is fully rested, so it works. It takes a bit of getting use to, but I like it, and I'm going to use it as my main mouse at work. A good ergonomic keyboard is the microsoft natural 4000, if you are looking for something to pair with this for an ergonomic setup. Hope that helps!

I purchased this 3M Ergonomic mouse and the Evoluent Vertical Mouse2 at the same time to compare. I really enjoyed the feel of the 3M mouse, but it is limited in what it can do. I need to scroll often with my kind of work. The 3M mouse does not have a scroll wheel it has a scroll button. When you push the scroll button, you then have to physically move the mouse up and down to scroll. The Evoluent Vertical Mouse2 is pretty comfortable. It seems a bit light at times, so it takes a while to get used to it. I really enjoy the scroll wheel and the 5 programmable buttons; Left, Right, Middle, Wheel button (for your fingers) and a Back button (by the thumb) and the scroll wheel. Of course you can program each one to do what you want. You might want to visit Evoluent's web site to get the most up to date driver. Although the 3M is slightly more comfortable then the Vertical Mouse2, with my type of work I need the functionality of the Evoluent Vertical Mouse2. If 3M had a scroll wheel I probably would have kept it, but I'm going to stick with the Evoluent Vertical Mouse2.

I received this mouse on September 17th. It is now December 19th, so I have given it three months of use before writing this review. Before purchasing this 3M mouse, I was using just your average, typical, mouse with a scrolling wheel in the center. For work I am on the computer around 13 hours a day. Recently my right wrist, forearm, and shoulder started to ache and eventually became very painful because of the unnatural position my mouse held my hand/arm in. Also I use the scrolling wheel very often and my middle finger (which I used to scroll with), started to swell and experience pain in the joints, with a hard, painful bone-like spur on the underside. After using the 3M Ergonomic mouse, the swelling/pain in my finger joint went away immediately, and the bone spur also dissipated. However, while it did alleviate the pain in my wrist, it actually caused more pain in my forearm and shoulder, and now the bonus of the entire thumb area of the hand - from the wrist up to the tip of my thumb. After a week of looking at the design and messing around with folded towels under my arm, it finally dawned on me why this mouse caused so much pain.... Though I purchased the 'small', the hand shaft is still too long, and with the toggle button at the top of it, it holds the thumb in an unnatural upward position thereby putting strain on that entire bone. When you lay your arm down on a table, with palm facing inward, in the relaxed position a thumb is NOT sticking upwards, but instead it naturally lays level with the index finger. Hence the hand shaft is too tall. The shaft cannot be cut down obviously, so the 'deck', the part that the hand rests upon, had to be raised. To to do this I took a few sheets of paper towels, folded them to the thickness that would give the best height for my hand, then wrapped sturdy packing tape around it, to keep it folded (and makes it easy to wipe clean). Then I made a 'collar' out of paper towel to go around the base of the hand shaft, to which I taped the front part of the folded paper towels to, it helps keep it from shifting. I then put a large piece of rolled tape on the rest of the 'deck' which holds the rest of the folded towels onto the deck. Did it work? Yes, it did. The paper towels have conformed perfectly to the shape of my hand, and is very comfortable. It stays rather clean because of being wrapped in packing tape, which I periodically wipe clean with rubbing alcohol. More importantly, it has elevated all pain in my arm, shoulder, and thumb area. It holds my hand and fingers in a very natural position. So while it is not perfect, and I shouldn't have to make padding for it, I gave this mouse 4 stars because I do like it, even though I had to make adjustments to make it work. It glides smoothly on a mouse pad. The toggle button is smooth, as is the scroll button. It does take some time getting used to scrolling this way, but once I got the hang of it, it's second nature to me now. Some tips: * I found myself 'gripping' the mouse like a joy stick because I was so not used to a mouse of this shape, which makes the four fingers hurt after a while and would make me hit the scroll button inadvertently. I had to keep reminding myself to relax my hand. No need to 'grip' it, it's not going to take you on a 'white knuckle' ride! * Does not move well on thin or hard surfaces. I had a very, very thin mouse pad and it would not glide well on it. I purchased a thicker pad and now it moves smoothly. * Because the hand shaft stands so far up, I have knocked this mouse right off my desk a number of times, my arm would hit it, or walking past my desk my sweater would catch it. So when not in use keep it away from the edge of the desk. At least I know that this mouse can take a beating!

I felt the difference in my right wrist instantly. According to websites, "Ergonomic design keeps the arm positioned for natural, comfortable movement. It is clinically proven to reduce muscle strain and discomfort associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and repetitive stress injury. The 3M Ergonomic Mouse is compatible using any USB port computer." Ever notice that Gamers don't have carpel tunnel syndrome like most typists even though they likely spend more time at the computer? Well, 3M noticed! Your wrist sits on this ergonomic mouse like it does on a video game joystick. The weight of your hand is no longer carried by your wrist. Rather, your hand is relaxed on the mouse. The relief in pressure on your wrist is instant. The cost may seem high, but it's less than a chiropractic appointment. Comes in 2 different sizes (small/medium and medium/large). This is a RIGHT handed mouse. You can program the left/right clicks if you are left handed, but the "joystick" is angled, so it's not as wonderful if you are a lefty. Added note: The above review was written 2 years ago. It has been 3 years that I have been using this mouse. My wrist pain is completely gone. This mouse is so worth it. That being said, it is a P.O.S. as others have mentioned: the mouse does not travel well (it breaks if not protected in your computer bag) and breaks when dropped on hard surfaces -- I put a carpet under my desk and bought a glue gun to cut down on mouse costs. After gluing them back together, 3 have acquired the "double click" disease. Even with these drawback, I still feel that this mouse is worth it. I have purchased 8 over the past 3 years - I now keep one at work, one on my desk at home, and a "floater" for my home laptop that moves from room to room but does not leave the house unless carefully wrapped in it's original box. For "daily travel", because the 3M mouse has helped my wrist heal, I am now able to use a regular mouse, so I now keep a regular mouse in my backpack.

First, this product is very difficult and impractical to use. Whatever speed you can work with on a regular mouse, this is 4-5 times slower (for example, if a task takes 1 second on a regular mouse, it will take 4-5 seconds on this mouse). It is so slow and impractical that you will abandon it after a few minutes of use. Second, I purchased this product thinking the joy stick has a joint and you keep the mouse in one, idle positions and push the stick in different direction and move it (like those helicopter commands). There is no moving joint. It is FIXED so you have to move the entire actual thing around. It is not a light mouse to move. Third, moving around is not so much the problem. The real problem is HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO MOVE IT just to move the mouse pointer across the screener. You will have to get an Extra-Large mouse pad because will not fit on a regular mouse pad; it has to be moved at least 8 inches just to move the pointer across the screen. Fourth, it feels really awkward and unnatural to use. Fifth, 3M does not even offer a specific driver for this mouse. It does not come with a CD and all sorts of Google searches did not yield a legitimate driver software so 3M has not released one. CONCLUSION: In short, you will be moving this mouse over large distance just for simple tasks. It takes 4-5 longer to use than a regular mouse to use, both because of the distances and because it is awkward and unnatural. It's also over-priced relative to what you get. I really don't recommend it at all.

I was having hand pains from using a mouse, and had previously been using a different erg mouse that was shaped like a regular mouse except rotated so that your thumb was facing up. Anyway, my friend was using a joystick mouse and raved about it so I thought I'd try it out. I was shocked to see that a lot of joystick mouses were $100+! But also glad to find this 3M one that was significantly lower priced. I purchased it and was glad I did. It initially takes a little time to get use to using and you may get a few inquiries from your co-workers, but the grip is significantly easier on your hand and since I've been using this mouse I do not get any hand pains. I have had this mouse for about 6 months now and have not had any issues with it. (which I cannot say the same about the prior erg mouse I bought, which I had to replace after a few months). If you're worried that the shape is a little strange, once you get use to it it feels a lot more natural than a standard mouse. Yes, it costs a little more than a standard mouse, but it is totally worth it. The only downside is that the scoll feature is a little finicky. Whereas in a standard mouse you can roll the wheel at the speed you want and stop it at precisely where you want, for this mouse you squeeze the "trigger" button and drag up and down. You can scroll faster or slower this way, but it's not as precise as a wheel.

update: I ended up tossing mine in the junk drawer. It was just too difficult for me to use comfortably. | I've been using this mouse for about a week now. I use a mouse all day long. I've used lots of different kinds of mice to alleviate finger pains. I didn't buy this one to alleviate any carpal tunnel pains rather I bought it because my index finger was really sore at the last knuckle from left clicking all day long. Here's what I really like: the single button at the top of the stick that does both left and right mouse clicks with the thumb is pretty slick (no more sore knuckle). What else do I like? Not much, by comparison to a regular mouse. Not having a roller wheel is practically a deal breaker. Instead of the wheel, there is a pistol grip style button that is hard to reach and awkward to squeeze. Reaching for the joystick style pointer takes a little re-training, too, because it's taller. Finally, using this as a pointer takes a lot more movement. I wouldn't be able to use this with a mouse pad because it takes a lot of space to maneuver the pointer. Occasionally this sticks to the desktop. If you don't do a LOT of computer usage and are experiencing a lot of pain because of a mouse, this is probably a tool worth trying. It is definitely a pain relieving tool for me. There is a lot of downside to making this a workable replacement over a standard mouse. I am trying still to decide if I can live with what I don't like.