I'm on the computer all day and am starting to get a lot of pain in my wrist from using the mouse for hours at a time. Would switching to a trackball be better?
If you are having consistent pain from using the computer for extended periods of time, you should visit your doctor for an evaluation. Repetitive stress injuries from overuse of the mouse, keyboard or other input devices is all too common and can cause damage to your hands, wrist and arm. The doctor may recommend a visit to a specialist or someone who deals with ergonomics.
Performing special exercises, taking frequent breaks and setting up your workstation with ergonomically correct wrist-rests and other equipment may help. Some people have found that trackballs and other input devices like digital pens are more comfortable than using a mouse, but check with a specialist.
Alternate input methods like trackpad gestures (like those used by Ap ple hardware and software) and touchscreen navigation (available on some new Windows 8 machines) may help get you off the mouse. Speech recognition, built into both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, can also take the pressure off your hands, as can speaking your searches out loud to Google with the voice command feature of the Chrome browser.
