You’ve assumed correctly… I’ve read this actually quite long time ago when I bought the whistle.
I must say I allways thought I was holding everything allright - but all this thing just got worse with time, that’s why I’m starting to address it.
Yes, something is wrong, that is for sure. That article fearfaoin posted looks helpful.
Unfortunately, I do not know what is wrong. I do not know enough to know what your problem is, even if I saw you. Everyone’s hands are different, the holes on a whistle are not placed comfortably for everyone’s hands. Your have “horrible” thumb pain and you also have hand stiffness. So you have taken the first step of acknowledgeing that something is wrong. Good for you!
If you keep having thumb pain and that stiffness, even with trying to relax, taking frequent breaks, warming up, doing the exercises (if thumb pain is not present) I would try to do one of two things.
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If there is a doctor you could see who would send you to someone who specializes in hand injuries in musicians, that would be the greatest. That person will be able to spot what you are doing and have some help for you. Hand injury is a very big deal for many musicians and there are even websites about it. They are not too helpful in terms of specifics—because they cannot diagnose an injury without seeing it—but they might help you find someone in your area to help you. You can type in “musician hand injury” and you will get many hits.
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If you cannot find a doctor who deals with injuries of this sort, I wonder if you could arrange a lesson from someone who plays a similar instrument. For example, maybe a recorder instructor would be able to spot tension and help you with it. I say recorder because there are no whistle teachers in my area and I guess the recorder would be closest to the whistle. I don’t know if you would have any piping instructors in your area but it is very important to have a relaxed grip on the chanter. But any good wind instrument teacher might be able to help you with the tension. It is an issue for every instrument. I would call and explain the problem and ask if they would be willing to work with you for one or a few lessons on tension problems. The worst they can say is “No”.
I am considering both these options if my problems come back. You just cannot continue to practice with hand pain.
cynth! Thanks a big bunch 
This is very helpful, although kinda stressing also …
I will try for starters to ease tension and: “Start paying attention to tension!”
I’ve started to move the thumbrest again, put it back to my right thumb - the PVC whistle is just slippery and actually hard to play without it ;/
Will repost about developments or not…
Thanks alot alot alot,
Philip
You could try some Grip Tape where your thumb would go, instead of
the thumbrest. It should be sold in sports stores for tennis rackets and
hocky sticks.
Didn’t 19thC fluters glue shark skin to their flutes to help with grip?
now where was that shark I was going to skin earlier…
Me too! They are great to stop them from rolling. I find they generally interfere with playing the whistle and recorder, though on sax and clarinet I need them.
I must try this leather sling on a low whistle idea. Enquiring minds …
I recently tried to play without the thumbrest on the Susato - the whistle is just falling off my hands - the slippery PVC whistle is hard to grip.
And to add on that - everyone’s saying don’t squeeze the whistle - even then I’m having thumb pain.
I’m starting to get worried about getting a metal whistle without a thumbrest to be honest 
I love holding the low whistle almost at 80-90 degrees with ‘earth’.