Recently I’ve been encountering some soreness in my wrists and forearms when playing the whistle. I’ve checked my grip and posture and I’m fairly certain those aren’t to blame. More likely it stems from the fact that I play a lot of whistle. Twice a day in the music hall, outside if it’s nice, and air whistle between classes or in the dorms. The problem seems more pronounced with thinner whistle than a thicker one; that is to say, my Blackbird is less comfortable to play than my Susato after a while. Does anyone do stretches before/after playing? It feels much more like a muscle soreness issue than say, carpal tunnel or tendonitis.
Be aware that medical advice is off limits on these boards.
Your not playing too much, in my experience, but ask yourself how you feel after running ten miles or so if you don’t do that every day. You’d be sore right? It’s all about conditioning to a great degree but their can also be mechanical concerns if you do too much.
What’s the old saw? It hurts when I do… So don’t do it.
Stretching? It’s music. Play the tunes. Have a cup. Play some more tunes. Stretch if you feel you must. But maybe you’re being too serious about this.
Some people do have issues between narrower or fatter instruments. I’m an old codger. I have joint issues. If I play my slender Copeland flute too long I get cramped so I play my chubby (relatively speaking) Copely flute and I’m fine. That fatty Tipple flute can be handy at times too.
If a narrow bore high D feels bad try a low G for a while. Variety is the spice of life. Keep loose. Have fun. Don’t work too hard. Change your socks. Remember it’s called “playing”.