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Re: Osteoarthritis problems in the hands: how to alleviate them when playing the flute?


 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Hi Nancy, hi Fernando, Amanda here. I am from the US, and I am a 24 year player of orchestral western concert Flute. Unfortunately, I don't have any solutions, but maybe sort of moving your hands will loosen the muscles. I'm not sure if that will help. My apologies. Your English is very good Fernando. If you'd like, anyone on the group can private message me via email if they would like.
Amanda

On Apr 5, 2025, at 10:40?AM, Nancy Niemi via groups.io <nancyjniemi@...> wrote:

?Hi Fernando, I am also an amateur flutist, struggling with arthritis in my hands. I am writing just to add some support, I really have no solutions, sadly. I have one crooked finger in each hand, the middle one in each. This finger, especially the right one, has to do a special little maneuver to hit the keys correctly. I have asked a physical therapist about this, and, short of surgery, she had nothing to offer. I do have plugs in my keys which helps! I wish you luck and solutions, which I hope you will share with us ?

My best,
Nancy?



On Apr 5, 2025, at 6:37?AM, Fernando Ariznavarreta via groups.io <fernando@...> wrote:

?

(versi¨®n en espa?ol al final)

Good morning to all

This group seems to be a bit stalled, let's see if there are still flute players listening.

I am an amateur musician from Spain (original message in Spanish at the end). Let's see if you can help me or give me some ideas.

I have been having problems in my hands for a year now, pain in my fingers and wrists. I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my fingers, which has been getting worse and causes me problems and pain for many things, also when playing the flute.

The finger that is worse is the left index finger, the knuckle joint. Also the right index finger bothers me and the middle finger, but more at the level of the metacarpal joint, although the knuckle also bothers me.

Bending the left index finger at a right angle to press the key is painful and makes my fingering difficult. I have tried to alleviate this by moving my finger away from the key, so that I don't have to bend it so much, using one of those silicone thumb rests. With this, my index finger at metacarpal level rests on the silicone insert and I don't have to bend it so much. I have also used the thumb insert for the right hand.

But this affects the locking of the keys, I don't press the D and E keys with my right hand properly and sometimes it sounds dull or wrong, as if they don't lock properly. In the left hand, I manage to press the B key better, but I end up pressing too much on the index finger and it hurts my metatarsal joint quite a lot.

Thanks in advance for any advice or idea. Regards Fernando


Buenos d¨ªas a todos

Este grupo parece estar un poco parado, vamos a ver si todav¨ªa hay flautistas a la escucha.

Soy un m¨²sico aficionado de Espa?a (mensaje original en espa?ol al final). A ver si me pod¨¦is ayudar o proporcionar algunas ideas.

Llevo un a?o con problemas en las manos, dolores de dedos y mu?ecas. Me han diagnosticado artrosis en los dedos, que ha ido a peor y me provoca problemas y dolores para muchas cosas, tambi¨¦n al tocar la flauta.

El dedo que est¨¢ peor es el ¨ªndice izquierdo, la articulaci¨®n de nudillo. Tambi¨¦n el ¨ªndice derecho me molesta y el coraz¨®n, pero m¨¢s bien a la altura de la articulaci¨®n del metacarpo, si bien tambi¨¦n el nudillo me molesta.

El doblar el ¨ªndice izdo en ¨¢ngulo recto para presionar la llave me resulta doloroso y ello dificulta mi digitaci¨®n. He tratado de paliarlo alejando el dedo de la llave, de forma que no tenga que doblarlo tanto, usando un suplemento de esos de silicona de sujeaci¨®n del pulgar. Con ello mi dedo ¨ªndice a la altura del metacarpo se apoya en el suplemento de silicona y no tengo que doblarlo tanto. Tambi¨¦n he usado el suplemento del pulgar para la mano derecha.

Pero ello afecta al cierre de las llaves, no presiono las llaves del re y mi con la mano derecha de forma adecuada y a veces suena sordo o mal, como si no cerraran bien. En la mano izda, consigo mejor presionar la llave de si, pero acabo presionando demasiado sobre el dedo ¨ªndice y me duele bastante la articulaci¨®n del metatarso.

As¨ª que he tenido que quitar esos suplementos.

Ahora he puesto un suplemento usando cinta de doble cara sobre la llave de s¨ª, de forma que pueda cerrar la llave sin tener que doblar tanto el dedo.

Parece que me va mejor, pero es un tanto chapucero y la cinta resulta pegajosa y demasiado blanda.

No s¨¦ si existe alguna soluci¨®n m¨¢s profesional en silicona o similar que se pueda colocar sobre la llave.

?Alquien ha tenido problemas similares? ?Qu¨¦ soluci¨®n hab¨¦is encontrado?

Soy m¨²sico aficionado, he empezado de mayor, no toco tantas horas al d¨ªa como para tener estos problemas, no acabo de entender que me ocurra esto en un plazo tan corto de tiempo.

Gracias anticipadas por cualquier consejo o idea. Saludos Fernando

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