Left wrist

[Terry McGee]

Although, the aesthetics of a wooden curve would be so much better. Or maybe a Delrin tube curved that way to match an otherwise blackwood flute. Can Delrin be bent that way? Or would it have to be injection molded or 3D printed in some other material?

I'm wondering 3D printing, at least for a prototype to prove or disprove the concept. But on that topic, my ignorance is unsurpassed...

[Terry McGee]

I have a similar problem in my left wrist. For me, I believe it is the combination of a few problems. Not only is my wrist bent but my fingers are short forcing me to stretch the fingers with a bent wrist. Either one is not the problem but the combination is.
Since the finger spacing can be helped but not eliminated all I can do is try to straighten the wrist as much as I can. I am no longer comfortable playing a single body flute as I once was. I play a flute more often now in which the body is in two pieces. I turn the left handed piece more inward and have the right hand piece where it is a more natural grip as well. The bad part is that my keyed flute is a Nicholson type with a one piece body. Even when we find the right flute it is not always the best permanent fit.

It would be interesting if you can try out a Siccama flute to see if would solve the stretch issues. But probably won't do much for the bend issue.

[jim stone]

Two realizations about keeping my wrist straight. First, I've been playing with the thumb hole on keyless flutes. I think using the thumb hole bends my wrist. No more Thumbhole. Second , A long stretch to the L3 hole bends the wrist. If my wrist is straight it's hard to reach the hole. Fortunately I have a Siccama Flute where the hole is much closer in. As a PostScript, the voice-activated software seems to be helping.

[Terry McGee]

Two realizations about keeping my wrist straight. First, I've been playing with the thumb hole on keyless flutes. I think using the thumb hole bends my wrist. No more Thumbhole.

Woah, interesting!

Second , A long stretch to the L3 hole bends the wrist. If my wrist is straight it's hard to reach the hole. Fortunately I have a Siccama Flute where the hole is much closer in.

OK, keep us in touch with whether that helps.

As a PostScript, the voice-activated software seems to be helping.

Ah, again very interesting.

It's tempting to think that, if playing the flute presents a problem, that the problem arises from playing the flute. But if the problem is also or partially caused or exacerbated by other activities, we need to know to be able to advise others.

[jim stone]

The physical therapist has explained the anatomy to me, and shown me charts and diagrams. There are muscles in the forearm that turn into tendons as they approach the hand. These tendons pass through the wrist through Sheaths, and then on to the fingers. The tendons and the sheaths become inflamed through overuse. The wrist is a busy place. If it is bent the problem can become worse.

It occurs to me that if you play the flute a couple of hours a day, and then type a couple of hours a day, as I often do, you can imagine how much the tendons and the sheaths in the wrist can be overused. That's my idea, anyway. I'll see if it really helps.

[david_h]

I saw a physical therapist a few years ago with left wrist pain after playing much more than I normally do. We worked out it was probably related to a minor childhood injury - she isolated just the spot that reminded me of pain after a fall. So not tendons in my case. Amongst other things she recommended a wrist brace and as the problem subsided I discovered that I could play the flute with the brace on and it stopped me doing what made it hurt. I occasionally wear it still if I feel a twinge.

If your physical therapist thought it was OK I wonder if it would help in finding a non-bent wrist position where you fingers could still do their job.

[Terry McGee]

As a PostScript, the voice-activated software seems to be helping.

Hmmm, perhaps we need voice-operated flutes? "Flute. 'Trim the Velvet', at breathtaking speed, then into......"

[Terry McGee]

OK, got a bit of intelligence to share. I made a "Bent Barrel". Imagine a normal flute barrel but with a single sharp 45 degree bend in the middle of it. I made it simply by cutting a normal barrel in half with the saw guide set to 22.5 degrees. Reunite them and they are still straight, but rotate one of them halfway round and they now sit at 45 degrees. I just glued the two ends together at that setting. Audacious, eh? (Don't try this with a fully lined barrel!)

And putting it on my flute in place of the normal straight barrel doesn't seem to weaken the tone or produce any odd effects.

And holding it to the lip confirms that it takes all the stress away from the left wrist. You can experience that yourself just by holding your flute in front of you with the head going up just grazing your left cheek and the flute body at around 45 degrees to vertical. The left wrist is perfectly relaxed.

The downside (and I suspected that this would happen) is that the force you need to press the embouchure into your lower lip and chin now has much more leverage, and rotates the flute body against your will. A Boehm Crutch would probably solve the problem, but might introduce more!



I tried tying a length of cord around the stopper end of the flute, passed it over my left shoulder and used it to counter the lip and chin pressure. Very effective, and again allowed even further relaxation of hands and arms. And I felt, improved the tone I could get. But I'm not sure we're quite ready for flute straps yet!

You can experiment with that approach on your own flute by getting someone else to press the cap towards your left shoulder, or using your right hand to do so, and just playing the left hand notes. It feels very secure!

So the Bent Barrel might not be the final solution, but the experiment does seem to suggest that it should be possible to come up with an approach that works.

[GreenWood]

One way to drill a curved bore...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_contin ... e=emb_logo

[busterbill]

I am curious how it is going for you.

As I was reading through the thread I was glad to see you were going to consult with an OT. PTs are great, but as mentioned in a previous post, OT's focus of expertise is best to help you crack this particular nut. If you found your particular OT was not that helpful I'd recommend reaching out to players the the wind section of an Orchestra near you if there is one, or a college. Professional players have hand and wrist issues often, and will figure out the best practitioners in their area. Their livelihoods depend on it.