"About four years ago, after a 12 year hiatus from playing, I began practicing my oboe again, and joined the Medical Arts Symphony in Kansas City. After the first year of playing I began to notice an insidious pain in the right wrist (the one that holds the weight of the instrument), present at times even when I was not playing, but which seemed to generally increase as I practiced more. I decided that it was probably due to the weight of the instrument on the wrist and thumb and my fellow musicians' advice was to 'bite the bullet' and ignore it.
As months wore on, the pain slightly increased. After consulting with several more musicians, and coming up with no satisfactory solutions, I was on the verge of quitting, when I tried a simple neck strap, made for the clarinet, and sold by Luyben's Music in Kansas City (816-753-7111). This solved the problem immediately. The strap is made partly with elastic, which allows the oboist to main full movement of the instrument while playing, while it takes weight off of the wrist. I have been playing painfree ever since I put it on.
I write this letter because there are doubtless many people playing in discomfort. Also, there is evidence that the condition can become serious with prolonged playing with the pain. A back issue of Double Reed has an article about a woman whose oboe career (and life) may have been ruined by ignoring the type of pain I am describing. Further, I have recently noticed several oboists in Kansas City wearing very elaborate mechanisms made to relieve the pain of this wrist pressure. If caught in time, it appears the condition can be put to rest by a simple, cheap, and effective neck strap."
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