Thanks Malcolm for a very interesting article. I for one will definitely be looking to Switch rods for my salmon fishing from now on.
Flytying too is becoming a bit difficult when needing to grip materials correctly i.e. wet fly and dry fly wing slips. Due to arthritis I am unable to hold feather slips correctly, and the slips now have a habit of twisting sideways towards me instead of being parallel with the shank axis.
Your article is most pertinent,  with tennis elbow in my casting arm and painful arthritis in both hands with makes gripping the rod difficult at best.
Judging from bankside conversations with fellow flyfishers, and there are many of us it seems (mostly of the older generations) who share these physical trials and tribulations, and any advice to ease our pain and keep us happily casting away is most welcome.
I am reminded of my flyfishing mentor, the late great Jack Blackman, who, in the days of split cane and fibre-glass rods (some rods were split cane for butt and centre piece and solid glass for the top piece as per my first trout rod), recommended his pre-trout-season exercises to strengthen wrist, arm, shoulder and back muscles.
Starting with a half-brick or similar weight in each hand and after a week or two progressing to a full brick (4lb?) in each hand, Jack would go through full arm stretch and back exercises in preparation for the season ahead.
I have tried several arthritis panacea’s;  Glucosamine and Chondroitin tablets work for some but not for me. However I can thoroughly recommend Holland & Barrett’s Glucosamine Gel which I massage into my hands at night, as and when required.
This treatment I find is most effective, almost to the point of the long rod not being too burdensome, however I will try a Switch rod and appropriate setup and look forward to painless casting and Salmon fishing in the future.
Thank you Malcolm.