Home Business

Manufacturer: ErgoRest http://www.ergorest.com
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price: $129.99
Street Price: approx. $90

---

Editor's Review - As a longtime sufferer of intermittent wrist and finger pain when using a computer mouse, I've purchased or devised a variety of methods over the years to combat the pain of RSI (Repetitive Stress Injuries) whenever it flares up. So I was very interested in reviewing ou latest ergonomic product, the ErgoRest Arm Rest.

The manufacturer states that the product was designed to alleviate neck, shoulder, and back pain resulting from poor posture while using a mouse. The ErgoRest consists of an articulating arm that clamps to your desk and features a padded surface upon which you rest your mousing forearm. It keeps the elbow elevated at the proper height recommended by ergonomic experts, ostensibly combating RSI in the hands by creating a "neutral posture," meaning your wrist is not kept in a constantly bent position.

The arm articulates in a full 360 degrees of motion, but the ErgoRest does take some time getting used to at first, especially if you're one of those users who likes to "hang" your elbow below your desk while using your mouse (which is terrible for RSI, by the way). I can see some users disliking the "feel" of using a forearm support and never getting used to it at all.

After using the ErgoRest for about a week, my mouse hand did not experience the same familiar numbing, aching sensation that typically occurs after long sessions at my computer. Pain did return after many straight hours of computer use, but it was of a milder variety--not incapacitating--and took a noticeably longer time to get to that point.

Most likely this was due to the fact that my wrist was kept in a straighter position than before I used the ErgoRest. I imagine using it for a period of time longer than a week could increase its beneficial aspects, which could accumulate over months or years of use.

I've personally not had back or shoulder pain resulting from using a mouse, so I won't comment on the product's effectiveness in that area. I suspect a good chair would be a better remedy for that sort of thing, but sufferers of back and neck pain may find the Ergorest does indeed reduce tension in those areas. You should make sure to adjust the arm rest carefully to match your torso height and arm length.

If you have to use the computer for very long stretches of time (you do hours of data entry work or play lots of computer games), then the Ergorest is a good bet. If you don't suffer from significant RSI but you're of the mindset that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," then you may find the Ergorest to be helpful.

Otherwise if you're tight on funds and need to make hard choices when it comes to products to buy, I would recommend going with an ergonomic keyboard and well-designed ergonomic mouse instead.

---