> And then there is the issue with holding 3d pointing devices for prolonged amounts of time. This is taxing upper body strength if you do. The weight of the headset itself is also straining the neck muscles.

You could use a real mouse and keyboard, if you're presented with some kind of virtual workstation. And even for navigation outside the workstation, of your broader "environment", 3D video games have been using a mouse & keyboard to navigate complex interfaces & environments for a long time, with more than a little success. Granted that means you still need a surface of some sort, but I think non-touch-typing text input inside a VR space would be kinda hellish anyway, so you're at least gonna want a real keyboard regardless.