Sudden Weak Arm, Mouse Wire and Arm tenseness ruined my aim.

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Lewis Birkett

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Sep 11, 2014
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So I used to play CS:GO actually really good for my rank, but after playing one week of using the shotgun I got some really weird problems.

I will start on the one I have had the longest, my mouse wire dangling over or on the table, When I try to flick my mouse (gun) it swings the long wire and stops the mouse from moving further by moving back and forward and deciding not to move further in the way I want to. If I have the cord over the desk it does this, if I have it on my desk with it wrapped in a circle around an object it does it. if I just lay it on the table it does it. Before you suggest I am not buying a wireless one because I have had bad experiences and they have input lag.

Second problem is after a week I went back to playing it competitively and for some reason I felt like I had a weakness in my arms, they felt all weak and I don't know why.

Third is that now whenever I get in a gunfight my arm tenses up and doesn't let me move my crosshair, not that it matters because for some reason I automatically spray even when I know I shouldn't.

And also one last thing is that my tactics are completely destroyed since I played that week. What has happened to me, Can I really have played this badly in one week even when I was playing the game. I didn't play this bad when I first bought the game so what has happened. Thanks for reading, and please don't delete every question I ask like on reddit
 
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Pinhedd

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Aug 7, 2007
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CS:GO places an awful lot of strain on the muscles and tendons in your fingers, wrist, and arm. As much as I think that CS:GO is a fairly mediocre game, I've played my fair share of it so I know where you're coming from. This is not a new phenomena, I've been dealing with it on and off since CS Beta 3 in 1999. It's quite possible that your symptoms have been a long time coming and nothing to do with your mouse.

Step 1: Take it easy for a while. Your arm needs time to recover. No more competitive gaming for the next couple of weeks. Watch some TV or play some Civ 5 (or whatever your non-strenuous poison may be). You must take a break before your symptoms evolve to full blown carpel tunnel syndrome. If you don't believe me, ask your doctor.

Step 2: Consider buying a new mouse. Modern wireless mice have input latency that is only a few microseconds longer than wired mice. In fact, I'd argue that a good wireless (non Bluetooth) mouse is far, far better than a cheap wired mouse. It's also important to purchase a mouse that is appropriately sized. Mice that are too small can result in excessive cramping, bigger is generally better. I use a Logitech G400 because it fits my hand very comfortably.

Step 3: rearrange your environment. If your arm is rubbing against a surface such as the edge of a desk or mousepad this can result in swelling and cramping. Those ergonomic tutorials aren't a joke. You should also use a chair that has soft arm rests. rotating office chairs are meant for lengthy sittings, table chairs are not.

You may have to shell out several hundred bucks to improve you environment. Chair, mousepad, mouse, table, etc... This is not to improve your aim, it is to ensure that your arm remains functional for the rest of your life.
 
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Lewis Birkett

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Thanks for the long reply this looks like it could help alot, I did not realise how huge of an effect it has It was only 100 hours in 3 weeks. Does this mean I should not play any csgo at all. Also could you recommend a small wrist wrest because I need two small ones for each arm to stop the skin going hard on my wrists. I will try and take a picture of my setup and station so you can see my problems. I only just got my table so no change getting a new one. the arm wrests are pretty low and plastic :L but the one I use at my grandparents (quite often) has soft ones. I am not spending that much money though. My mouse pad is Qck steelseries. My mouse is a logitech that has served me well for three years with no problems. I am not getting a gaming mouse and how many microseconds do you call a few, because ping also slows me by a few microseconds as well, so I would rather use a wired one that has a cord not too long and not too expensive. How much Competitive gaming per week do you recommend because even I have to admit I have been playing it excessively although not so much this past week I have been watching animé instead. About taking a break it's not ideal and my tactics will get worse but it is a price I have to pay to get a working arm. So this problem is common, even competitive csgo players at the highest ranks get it? or do they set a certain playtime. Other than this thanks for your help, I will get back to you with pictures of my setup
 
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Lewis Birkett

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OK here is a lot of pictures showing my setup. Sorry for so many and for the bad quality on some. http://puu.sh/buN2g/f0704b46a0.jpg http://puu.sh/buN5z/67aa70eab7.jpg http://puu.sh/buNck/81becaae91.jpg http://puu.sh/buNdi/11658ad9de.jpg http://puu.sh/buNgd/0117e0ed4c.jpg http://puu.sh/buNeb/2c007fd718.jpg http://puu.sh/buNeQ/d7bc2788f4.jpg http://puu.sh/buNhI/2aebba109c.jpg http://puu.sh/buNiC/adbe8f25e9.jpg
http://puu.sh/buN3s/de8cf87ec6.jpg http://puu.sh/buN54/c73a8067c8.jpg
 
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Pinhedd

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That setup is a health hazard. The rough edge on that desk can and will cause the problems that you describe.

100 hours in 3 weeks is 33.3 hours per week on average, that's just shy of a full time job. No workplace would ever allow a worker to work in an environment like that for liability reasons. I would not recommend more than 8 hours of competitive gaming per week until you can correct that setup.

Anyone who engages in a similar play style will end up with similar symptoms. The use of comfortable and ergonomic equipment can go a long way to mitigating the symptoms, delaying onset of symptoms, and aiding recovery when symptoms present themselves.

I myself use a Logitech G19 keyboard with an included palm rest, an office chair with padded arms, a shag carpet footrest, a desk with rounded edges, a high quality mousepad, and a Logitech G400 mouse which is well suited for my hand size.

Your mousepad looks fine, but that mouse does look like it sits a bit low in your hand. This is not a problem but keep an eye out for different forms next time you're at a computer shop, you may be surprised.

As for wireless mice, yours looks fine so I wouldn't worry about it. However, there are 1,000 microseconds in a millisecond, and 1,000 milliseconds in a second. Therefore, there are one million microseconds in a second. Average human response time is a quarter of a second (250 milliseconds), but competitive players can respond as fast as 100 milliseconds. Typical input processing time for most games is around 16 to 33 milliseconds depending on the way frames are buffered.

A high quality mouse that adds even 50-100 microseconds of overhead and polls 1,000 times per second (once per millisecond) will have no impact on the game's response. It may however have better positional tracking, but since you have a decent quality mouse to begin with I wouldn't worry about it.
 
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gamerk316

gamerk316

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Jul 8, 2008
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Second problem is after a week I went back to playing it competitively and for some reason I felt like I had a weakness in my arms, they felt all weak and I don't know why.
Click to expand...

Probably muscle strain, but you can't rule out something much more serious, such as a possible blockage of blood inside your arms. If it persists, I would get it checked by your primary care physician, just to be safe.
 
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Lewis Birkett

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Sep 11, 2014
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I think I will still stick with my wired mouse but I will buy a mouse bungee, I will also get two wrist wrests, one for my left and right hands. As for the desk edges the glass ones are not sharp and I never come into contact with them and the same goes for the metal ones now that I have stuck tape over them. I had my computer in a different setup before but moved my room around but I still have room to move my setup a few feet backwards and have plenty of side space leeway. To be honest most of my hazards from my setup have come from me leaving the mouse cord underneath the desk too low so that I ended up forgetting and coiling the wire around my mouse and tripping myself up. I am unsure what you mean by mouse being too low in my hand, my thumb and last finger sit slightly elevated if that is what you mean. Thanks for the continuous replies
 
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