Evaluating the Impact of Mouse Curvature Design on Hand

Ergonomics and Comfort in E-Sport Players Through EMG and

3D Kinematics Measurement Methods

Wen-Tzu Tang

Graduate Institute of Athletic and Coaching Science, National Taiwan Sport University, Wen-Hua 1

Rd, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Keywords: Mouse Design, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Gaming Mouse, Wrist, EMG, Kinematics, Clicking Rate.

Abstract: This research compares the impact of two different mouse curvature designs on comfort parameters, wrist

muscle fatigue, and E-sport performance. Sixteen elite male right-handed E-sport players participated in the

study, testing five different mouse models. Click performance, muscle activation signals, finger pressure, and

3D motion data were recorded. The testing involved five different mouse models (BenQ Zowie, FK1, FK1+,

FK2, S1, S2) to compare hand ergonomics and comfort, with peak position and length as the parameters.

Click performance was tested. Analysis revealed no significant difference in click performance between

mouse models, but FK1 showed reduced fatigue after 60 seconds of clicking. Different curvatures resulted in

varying wrist angles and fatigue levels. The results showed that bigger length and height on the back for

symmetrical mouse did not provide a performance advantage, with the back tall design exhibiting higher

fatigue. The mid-tall design showed less fatigue and could potentially reduce wrist extension and stress on

the carpal tunnel. This study provides insights into the impact of mouse curvature on hand ergonomics,

comfort, and muscle fatigue in E-sport players, aiding mouse design improvements and consumer guidance.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the past, there were few studies on the impact of E-

sports equipment parts on the human body. For

example, mice designed for shooting-based e-sports

have specific requirements. In addition to considering

factors such as Hz, DPI, FPS, G-force, and IPS, which

are important indicators for identifying the level of a

mouse, the selection of mice for such esports is

influenced by the prolonged duration of gameplay.

This prolonged duration is associated with fatigue in

finger control, which affects the coherence of elbow

and wrist movements and subsequently impacts

performance (e.g., a CS: GO match lasts

approximately 40 minutes). With long time use on the

E-sport with gaming mouse bring some

uncomfortableness on wrist. One side is that the

symptoms of Mouse Elbow can be chronic muscle

fatigue and/or soreness, persistent muscle tension that

won't subside with rest. In the other hand, size down

and light weight become an important issue to fit

moving fast in the game. However, the downsize can

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1364-9509

be negative or positive effect on the consumers are

still unknown. From the perspective of human

biomechanics, it is crucial to understand the impact of

different types of mouse designs on finger control and

the coherence of movements between the hand, wrist,

and elbow. Empirical research on related product

designs is also essential in this regard. To help users

to define a suitable and comfortable game mouse in a

good size in design through biomechanics

measurement method may help to clarify this issue.

Thus, the aim of the research is to compare two major

mouse back type and slope with height and length sub

changes on the tail design and the parameters which

is related to comfortableness and muscle fatigue on

the wrist and E-sport performance, thereby to

understand how the curvature can influence the

performance and the finger movement and wrist joint

tension in order to provide some reference for mouse

design and also help to give some advice for

consumers to choose for specific purposes.

Tang, W.

Evaluating the Impact of Mouse Curvature Design on Hand Ergonomics and Comfort in E-Sport Players Through EMG and 3D Kinematics Measurement Methods.

DOI: 10.5220/0012190400003587

In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support (icSPORTS 2023), pages 169-172

ISBN: 978-989-758-673-6; ISSN: 2184-3201

169

2 MATERIAL AND METHODS

2.1 Subjects

Sixteen well-trained male right-handed elite E-sport

players (age: 21.5±3.1 yrs.; hand size: 19.08±0.99cm)

volunteered to participate in this study. All

participants gave their consent before the experiment

and had no history of lower extremity pain within the

last half year. All participants were fully informed of

the benefits and risks of the investigation before

signing. The research design was approved by the

Institutional Review Board of Fu Jen Catholic

University in Taiwan.

2.2 Instruments

2.2.1 E-Sport Mouse

The testing mouse mode were BenQ Zowie FK1,

FK1+, FK2(mid tall), S1, S2(back tall) to compare the

Hand Ergonomics and Comfort effect of length, mice

back, mice back slop, front height(FH), middle

height(MH) of 5 mouse (Table1, Figure 1).

Table 1: Two types of curvature of E-sport mouses with

sub-variations.

Name

Length

(mm)

Mice

Back

Mice

Back

Slo

Front

Height

(

)

Middle

Height

(

)

FK1+ 128 low small 27 38

FK1 128 low small 27 37

FK2 124 low small 27 36

S1 126 median media

29 39

S2 122 median media

29 38

Figure 1: Two main types of E-sport mouse from side view

and top view and structure lines for S1, FK2, Fk1 and Fk1+.

Figure 2: Passive markers setting and EMG attachment and

pressure sensors.

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2.2.2 EMG and 3D Motion System

The click performance was tested for 30s. The highest

click rate is calculated. The muscle activation signals

of the triceps, biceps, wrist flexors, wrist extensors

were recorded in the right arm with the Delsys-16

EMG system (Delsys Inc., Natick, MA, USA) at 2000

Hz as well as the 3D motion analysis system and

pressure sensor system (Figure 2). The pressure

sensors were used to measure finger pressure for

clicking (60Hz). The Motion Analysis System with 9

high-speed cameras (200Hz) were used to collect

motion data and processing with Cortex7.1. Twenty-

nine reflective markers attached on the participant

according to the manual guideline.

2.3 Procedure

After a 5 min standardized warm-up consisting of

practice to ensure they familiarize themselves with

the process and the environment, two maximal

isometric voluntary contractions (5-s duration) were

then performed with 2 min rest between them.

Participants performed clicking task 30s as fast as

they can for two times as pre-test and post-test to

examine fatigue resistance. E-sport in height-

adjustable desk and chair (Figure 3). EMG data were

filter band-pass-filtered (20–450 Hz, telemetry device

property) and derived median frequency every 5 s.

Figure 3: The environment setup and participants on testing.

2.4 Data Analysis

The finger angle and wrist angle were derived from

the position of the markers (Figure 4).

Figure 4: The joint angle derived from the marker position.

2.5 Statistics

One-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to test

the different mouse on the selected biomechanical

parameter. When the main effect size was significant,

the Bonferroni method was used for the post hoc

comparison test.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The players have a very high click performance (>6

clicks/s). Although there is no significant difference

between mouse models with different curvatures

(6.35~6.37 clicks/s, p>.05). However, for the fatigue

resistance test, FK series with low back and small

slope FK1+ with high middle height has shown

significantly reduced after 30 s maximum clicking

speed (Figure 5A and 5B). It seems different

curvature with slight changes can result in fatigue

risk. FK series have flatter back curve relative to S

series, which may due to the low back design to make

the wrist low and more palm up to have the finger

more comfortless position and gravity load to reduce

the click performance. S series with median slope

showed better performance fatigue resistance.

Maximum wrist angle is not significantly

different between mouse during 30 s clicking pre-test

task (p>.05), but Fk 2 have smallest maximum wrist

angle during 30 s clicking post click task compared to

FK1 and S2 (p<.05) (Figure 6). For the comparisons

of different mouse on EMG fat igue of finger flexors

and wrist extensor muscles during click task, only

wrist extensor showed significantly difference: S2

and F1 is lower than S1 (p<.05)(Figure 7). The

results showed that low or median back type and

slope can be advantage in muscle activity economic

as long as the back height is not too high to force

higher wrist extension. Back tall design (S1) with

higher wrist angle has higher fatigue may due to

higher wrist extension. In the other hand, mid-tall

design (FK1) has less fatigue.

Evaluating the Impact of Mouse Curvature Design on Hand Ergonomics and Comfort in E-Sport Players Through EMG and 3D Kinematics

Measurement Methods

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(A)

(B)

Figure 5: The average clicking performance over 30 s

between mouse and pre-test and post-test.

Figure 6: The wrist angle of average clicking performance

over 30 s during mouse post-test.

Figure 7: The EMG amplitude of wrist extensor between

mouse types and pre/post-task.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The subtle changes on longer length and flat and

middle peak location could possibly avoid the high

wrist extension for long term, and reduce the stress on

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, though not so advantage of

Engaging in prolonged periods of high-intensity

mouse clicking. This study also provides an

evaluation of comfort and click performance as

factors in mouse design from a human ergonomics

perspective.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks for all the E-sport elite players participated in

this study.

REFERENCES

Majid, N., Ismail, M. A. E., Masar, M. L., & Sitti

Syabariyah. (2022). Mobile Games among University

Students: A symptom and functional severity for Carpal

Tunnel Syndrome. Environment-Behaviour

Proceedings Journal, 7(20), 255-260.

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