Just wondering if anyone has any advice or ideas on hand positions while playing games? I’m left handed and usually have left on mouse (the right way to use it 
) and right hand on keyboard (wasd keys) but I’ve noticed after a while of playing my fingers get crampy. I know I have low grade arthritis as I can’t play bass guitar for long periods either anymore. Just curious if anyone else has had this issue and if they found a work around or something that alleviates it.
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I think it’s just the nature of the beast, on faster paced games my hands cramp like crazy (I’m a righty 
). I’ve been using gaming to exercise those joints and reflexes. I’ve found that keeping my arthritic parts active makes it better. No pain, no gain (as I said in my running days)
That being said, I grab my controllers whenever possible. Nothing like gaming on the big screen TV.
Anyone have other ideas?
I’m a lefty, too. I mouse with my left hand 
and use the keypad for movement.
I use to use the keypad for movement but playing ESO I have to run around, look with the mouse and hit the number keys for skills.
I’m thinking I might just have to take more breaks.
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I had that same issue with hand/finger cramping during long work or gaming on a computer. Decades ago I switched to using a gaming keypad for one hand and a thumb trackball mouse on the other hand. (Yeah, those are hard to flip for a lefty - though more things are being made ambidextrous these days.) I went from the venerable Nostromo N52 to the Razer Orbweaver to a Logitech G13 and now back and forth between the last two depending on the game type. I set the WSAD controls to be the left hand thumb stick as a 4 way hat or as a true joystick using the G13 if games support that. I can’t imagine playing a character or ship based action game on a keyboard using WSAD keys anymore, my fingers cramp just thinking about it. 
That’s also why I’ve started incorporating using an old tablet as a hotkey gaming device - and I don’t have to remember what key is what because I can set the hotkeys as pictures with text labels!
https://i.imgur.com/jcxi6vR.jpg
For the mouse I’ve in the last few years gone back to a gaming mouse because you simply can’t get the DPI accuracy of a gaming mouse using a trackball. I’ve taken the time to train myself to use a lighter palm grip instead of a claw or fingertip grip, both of the later tending to cause more finger cramping for me.
I’ve been seeing this thrown around a lot on the interwebs lately. (Proably because it looks so odd.) Might be worth checking out.(Definitely watch the review - his final verdict was a thumbs down, for now.) Fine Latvian engineering! And it comes in right and left hand versions.
Interesting. I’ll have to look into these two things. Thanks @Talos and @Myth. I’ll try the palm grip and see if that helps. I’m pretty sure I currently do the finger grip… definitely not the claw.
I have a feeling I may end up doing a trackball or a vertical…if I can find a nice lefty one.
I ended up buying a left-handed vertical mouse. I used it for about an hour today and could already tell the difference. I’ll definitely have to get used to it but it seems like it should help.
Thanks everyone for all the different ideas.
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I’m right-handed, but I play with the mouse in my left hand and a game pad (G13) under my right. I had to switch mouse hands years ago due to bad ergo practices wrecking my right arm.
If you don’t want to use a game pad of some kind, you might also try a fully split keyboard, which would enable you to map everything to the right half and move the left out of your way to keep your hands in a more natural position. Also, a keyboard without a numpad is much better for you ergomonically, no matter which hand you mouse with, because it doesn’t displace your mouse hand as far.
I use a Kinesis Edge keyboard, which I love. I’ve been a big Kinesis fan for going on 20 years. However, they’re quite pricey and you can probably find much cheaper alternatives that will get the job done.
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Just an update.
The vertical mouse has definitely helped and rarely do I get any cramping or pain in my left hand anymore.
I still use the wasd on the keyboard for movement/skills but unless I’m running back to back to back dungeons it doesn’t really bother me.
I might try one of the gaming keypads in the future though as it seems like it might be more convenient and spread my fingers out more.
Thanks again everyone for your insight and suggestions.
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