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carpel tunnel issues
Last Post 12/27/2021 08:50 PM by Orange Crush. 8 Replies.
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Dale

Posts:1767

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12/26/2021 03:02 PM
Occasionally my hands would go numb on longer rides but I've been able to shake them and get the feeling back in pretty short order.

Early this year I did a 100 mile super rough road gravel ride and my hands went totally numb. Ever since it's been a bigger and bigger issue. Wearing splints at night help some but it's to the point of interfering with riding.

Anyone had surgery? What's the off the bike time, issues post surgery, etc?

My annual physical in in a few weeks and it's on my list of things too discuss.
longslowdistance

Posts:2886

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12/26/2021 03:40 PM
Distribyof numbness or other symptoms is essential in understanding the location of the problem. If you’re well beyond that part of the work up I’ll be quiet.
longslowdistance

Posts:2886

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12/26/2021 03:40 PM
Posted By Frederick Jones on 12/26/2021 03:40 PM
Distribution of numbness or other symptoms eg which fingers is essential in understanding the location of the problem. If you’re well beyond that part of the work up I’ll be quiet.


Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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12/26/2021 04:56 PM
Haven’t had more than the occasional numbness and typically on road rides where I ride gloveless but since I do longer gravel rides it got me curious. There’s a fair amount of reading material on the subject. This was a good read and provides a number of diagnostic angles.

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Cyclist%27s_palsy


Agree w LSD properly understanding problem is key, I went through that when I had severe back issues a decade ago. Once I figured the problem and the fixes it’s never returned.
79pmooney

Posts:3189

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12/26/2021 08:15 PM
I've never gone to the doc but I have had numbness both during and after rides. I addressed it by playing with the brake lever position and handlebar rotation. I noticed early on that rotating the handlebars forward and down helped. Likewise sliding the levers down the handlebars. So I kept doing both until the numbness stopped. Now the tops of my rather traditional levers are horizontal or past and the handlebar flat noticeably past. My hands love it. (I upped my stem some to compensate for the added reach and drop.)

Dale, you might try some bare bar rides (no tape; just enough electrical to keep the cables in place) and riding with all the stem, bar and brake wrenches. (No promises other than it will cost less than the doc.) For me it was a matter of finding a wrist angle that worked. My hands seem to like my thumbs rotated forward, pinkies back.
smokey52

Posts:498

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12/26/2021 09:51 PM
My hands went numb a few times and would not recover with periodic shakes or flexes. I eventually realized that my glove straps were too tight, and the affliction diminished when I went looser.

Dale, what handlebar is on your gravel bike? The short flat bars don't allow for more varied hand positions than are available on drop bars.

Answer to your question on surgery: No.
Dale

Posts:1767

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12/27/2021 02:51 PM
I don't believe it's a bike fit issue or handlebar selection. I'm pretty comfortable on the bike and haven't had to change much in 20 years other than adding a 10mm spacer under the stem every 5 years or so
Gloves when I'm on the mbt bike that fit slightly loose- no binding on the wrists, padded scaphoid area.
The only time I have a death grip on the bars is when I'm on a rough downhill section.

There are two issues:
1) The usual overall hand numbness that shows up for most of us on a longer ride. Giving the hands a vigorous shake seems to rejuvenate them and on a road bike of smooth section of gravel sitting up and riding hands free for a couple minutes.

2) The walking up in the middle of the night with the thumb and index/ middle/ ring fingers completely numb. More on the right hand than the left. Pinkie finger never goes numb.

Running a chainsaw, string trimmer, hedge trimmer, or pushing the lawnmower brings on the #2 symptoms.

Wearing splints at night helps.




smokey52

Posts:498

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12/27/2021 06:57 PM
Another approach is to check some off-the-bike issues. If middle of the night is an issue, maybe evaluate your mattress and hand/arm positions while you sleep.
Do you run the motorized equipment with vibration dampening gloves?
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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12/27/2021 08:50 PM
Even if bike fit is perfect one of triggers per link I posted above could simply be fatigue leading to a deterioration of posture on bike during a very long ride, leading to increased weight bearing on arms and hands triggering the issue. The article also noted that the source of numbness could be anywhere from shoulder to hands and provided some methods to assess this. Perhaps you’ve already gone through all those steps. If not perhaps worth considering.

My endurance gravel bike has a lot more relaxed fit than road bike. So even with extreme fatigue I’ve never noticed added pressure on arms or hands.
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