I’ve have just found out that I have the first symptoms of repetitive strain injury and they say I have to stop making the KerryPro handbuilt whistles.
I’ve been suffering from shooting pains on the inside of my left arm for a short time and now there are some pains in the muscles around my left pectoral .
If I stop now they say that it will improve and probably abate so I’m completly devastated at the prospect of not being able to do the job I love.
Of course all the factory whistles will continue as normal but the Kerry Pro range will have to stop.(long pause)
If anyone has any info about RSI please let me know.
I’ve have now been making Low whistles for nearly ten years from the early days with Colin and then as Kerrywhistles and I thought I had a few more years left in me.
So if this is to be I’d like to take a moment to thank all you great people who have used my hand built whistles in the past and I hope you have many more years of enjoyment with them.
Thanks a Million
Phil.
[ This Message was edited by: DaleWisely on 2002-01-07 21:44 ]
Best of luck to you, Phil. For what it’s worth, it’s not impossible you will recover enough to resume hand-making whistles down the road, at least on a limited basis. Medical opinions do vary on these things. Get some good competent physical therapy. Best wishes,
Tony
I’d also say that it is probably to soon to let all your hopes go, Phil. I’m sure there will be a way to built your life around whistlemaking, in whatever form this may be. All the best for you.
Christian
Dear Phil,
I understand how devestating this must feel, but I encourage you not to give up hope. Last spring I was writing my senior thesis and typing every day, as well as playing whistle and flute constantly. My forearms, wrists and hands began to ache extremely painfully and I sometimes lost feeling in my left hand. I was extremely scared that I was going to have to quit playing. What I did was to just put the flute, whistles and keyboard down for a couple of weeks and let my arms, hands, wrists, fingers recover. Every day I stretched them, meditated, practiced deep breathing and yoga, drank LOTS of water, and tried to get other kinds of excercise. I bought a great book called The Athletic Musician, which was really helpful as well. Before too long I was able to go back to playing with very little problem at all. Ocasionally it hurts a bit, but I’ll stop, rest, stretch and it will get better. I find that the worst thing is combining lots of typing with playing. If I type a lot it’s not a problem and if I play a lot it’s not a problem, but when I combine them it becomes very problematic. Anyways, what I’m saying here is that you shouldn’t lose hope yet. The Athletic Musician is fully of stories about musicians who developed repetitive motion based injuries and misdiagnosed and mistreated and told they’d never be able to play again. They were able to play again. They just needed to know how to do it. I recommend you check out the book. It can be found on Amazon. Phil, once again my thoughts and prayers are with you. I bought one of your Kerry Pro low-Ds this Fall and I truly love it.
All the best,
Chris
Phil,
Hang in there and don’t give up hope. About 10 years ago, I lost 95 percent of the feeling in part of my hand due to RSI. My upper arm was in continuing pain. After a year of diagnostic work, they did simple surgery. I now have about 95 percent of the feeling back in the hand and no pain in that arm. I do a lot of hand work at a keyboard now and have worked with a therapist to not only return full function, but to learn ways to keep from re-injuring the hand and arm. So there is hope, keep working with your neurologist, orthopedist, and therapists.
Mine was a simple injury that never healed properly. The neural problem (pain and lose of feeling) was caused because Repetitive stress activity cause a bunch of scar tissure to develop instead of the simple injury healing properly. When they removed the scar tissue and gave the arm time to heal properly the problem was resolved. Repetitive stress has not posed a problem since. I still follow the therapist’s preventive measures. Each RSI is different but mine is certainly a success story.
So here’s hoping that your healthcare professionals can help you find a solution. My doctors where great with me, (Johns Hopkins Professors in Orthopedics and Neurology).
Here’s hoping that things get better and you have many more years to work and play and …
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2001-11-21 12:52 ]
Phil, I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with an RSI but I am glad that it was caught at an early stage. My understanding is most people who are diagnosed with RSI’s in early stages and who recieve proper medical treatment recover fully.
I make my living mostly programming new media so as you can imagine I spent an obscene amount of time at a keyboard. About a year ago I (stupidly) got myself into a situation where I had to work about 70 hours a week for nearly four months straight. About 1/2 way through this period my wrists and forearms began to ache, were stiff and swollen, and towards the end of it they became nearly numb. My doctor diagnosed it as an RSI and precribed a course of treatment that involved a bit of rest, medication, special excercises, and minor changes in my work habits. I followed his advice and I am now RSI-free! To be honest Phil, I though my career was over because I could barely do my work (and it was painful).
I am not a doctor so I’m in no position to give medical advice, but my doctor told me that most early-stage RSI’s are very treatable. He also told me that a patient’s success often depends on the his willingness to participate in rehabilitative therapy and examine their habits to see how they could be changed. Apparently, some patients think that RSI’s need only be treated with surgery or medication and are unwilling to participate in rehabilitative therapy or examine their habits to see if the repetitive movements that caused the injury in the first place can be reduced in frequency and duration (or eliminated all together). Anyway, following sound medical advice worked wonders for me - I hope it does for you too!
Sorry to hear of your injury and RSI diagnosis. The whistle world will be lessened for it. Have you considered taking on a dedicated apprentice to continue the line? The Guild system of training in Europe lasted for hundreds of years with secrets intact. Your eyes,your brain but the hands of an apprentice(?)
Wish you well and a speedy recovery!
Thomas Hastay.
Hello Phil:
So sorry to hear about your condition. Don’t have any advice, as I don’t have experience with this problem. Please know you will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Please know I play one of your instruments every day. You give joy to many, many people who either get to play, or have the opportunity to listen to music made on your instruments.
Thank you for touching so many lives.
All the best,
Mark Sackett
I saw on the TV news recently that Rick Parfitt cancelled a Status Quo world tour because of RSI. There was every indication though, to him from his doctors, that the muscles and nerves that had been damaged would repair themselves with rest. I’m sure that this will be the case with you. I do wonder though (perish the thought) that maybe you should even consider cutting down your playing time, to help the recovery along. Horrible thought, I know, but it might help in the short term.
I’ll be back should I get more information (I’m surrounded by folk who should know these things).
All the best
Steve
[ This Message was edited by: StevePower on 2001-11-21 17:53 ]
I suffer from RSI – spend all day working at my computer – and I do YOGA to counteract it. My yoga instructor actually did a study on yoga as a treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. I was not someone who would have believed that yoga could help all the arm and wrist pain, so I was amazed at the results. I recommend you look for a yoga instructor who follows the B.K.S. Iyengar method of hatha yoga.
DO NOT GIVE UP!!! I can still type, and you will be able to continue making whistles.
Well Phil, I second the suggestion of taking up an exercise that ultilises intrinsic energies, or chi (its called different things depending on what you practise), to complement whatever therapy you are undergoing. The benefits are great. That may be taking up yoga, qigong, tai chi, or meditation (but not aikido). Make sure you find a competent instructor/master, not a bogus-new-age person who learnt everything he/she knows from a book and some videos.
Hi, Phil. I’m sorry to hear about your injury. It IS devastating to get news like that, but it’s not the end of the world. The hardest part is just not knowing absolutely what’s coming up next, and how you’ll feel about it or what the future will hold. It’s downright scary. If you stick with the folks that are supportive and empathetic, that’ll help, and stick with folks that have been through it before you and recovered. For now, you’re still able to get through metal detectors at the airport!
Hi guys,thanks for all the info and support.
I think the way forward is to take some time off building and relax.I have practiced meditation for many years and will add yoga to this on a regular basis.
Many people will not know that building whistles is a very labour intensive job with much physical effort involved.I’m hopeing that in time I might be able to build again but for now a rest is in order.
I’ll spend some time writing and recording some new tunes and get out in to the country a bit more.I’m also thinking of starting some whistle classes for low whistle so this will keep me busy.
I have great support from my wife Bruny and my daughter Hannah and I’m sure they will not let me sink.
Thanks once again for all your kind words and lets hope in time this can be overcome.
All the best
Phil.
Phil,
I use Condrosulf for the arthritis condition I have and the reason I mention this is because in my case,as a musician, RSI symptons and the associated pain were the first indications I had a problem.Condrosulf (Chondroitin sulphate)dramaticaly relieved my symptons in a few days after years of frustration and pain.There are no side effects(in my case)and is non-addictive.My friend,a guitar maker suggested I try this as it did wonders for his knee(he does not have athritis)so as a guitar and whistle player I’m recommending this to you.Peace,Mike:)
Phil - I’ve always found that you need to seek out and find the people who are really good with whatever your specific problem is and who relate well to you; then almost anything is possible. Wish you all the best. You are an intrinsic part of this community.
Moral of the story, kids: If you’re doing something and something starts to hurt, stop doing whatever it is you are doing until the pain goes away completely.
The mother of a friend of mine suffers from RSI after spending years sewing in a factory under cold air from a nearby air condtioning vent (bad bad bad bad for joints) and she has NEVER recovered completely because she continued to work for months after the onset of pain.
Take care of yourselves people! Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. Never ignore it until it becomes too big of a problem to ignore!
Argh. pout
I really do hope you get better. Just find the most competent doctors and physical therapists you can afford and I pray you can make your lovely whistles again soon!
Best of luck to you, Phil. I know from experience that you can have some relief from RSI depending on what it is and how far it’s gone… I had some very bad problems with my arm and particularly my right wrist, causing me to have to lose at least a month a year to pain and lack of feeling. I took the time to learn to sit properly, type with a dvorak keyboard layout, and do some other work, and now I’m fine, I haven’t lost a day in the last 3 years.
