Numb fingers??????

[C'ya]

Hi..I am new to all of this cycling. Only been doing it a few months now.

I have a question...have any of you experienced numbness in your fingers? I hardly "grip" the bars..and I have gel gloves..but by the end of my ride my fingers are tingling.

Any suggestions? Thought?

 

[MGSuarez]

Supergo sells a Cinelli Gel bartape $20 this might help.

http://www.supergo.com/itemdisplay.asp?parentid=21308&secid=24&subid=1517&compflag=1&company=Cinelli

I also use the Easton carbon bar. This helps cut the vibration. If that is what is causing the nubness. Hope this helps.

 

[RalleighOke]

I also had a similar experience. I had a lot of my weight distribution on my hands and arms and with the rough road surface (vibrations) my hands were also tingling afterwards. I just changed my weight distribution and it went away.

Also have a look, maybe your gloves are a size to small.

 

[C'ya]

Thanks for your suggestions...I will check them both out and see what helps!

 

[annah]

I had this problem and just had to loosen my gloves, I think I got a size to small!

 

[big_h]

There is a condition, the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I kno too little of it to say specificaly where and how but what I know is that your bike setup must be correct to alleviate undue pressure from this nerve. Constant pressure can cause problems and eventually the only help is surgery. A previous issue of Ride Mag had an article of this. For back issues or copies contact them at www.ride.co.za.

Keep those wheels spinning!!!!

Big H

 

[ewep]

Had the same problem, and as Big_H said, I changed my bike setup (My saddle was to far to the back!). Problem gone! Just remember, don't overdo the changes (I changes 5mm at a time)

 

[muchamotion]

Hi! I had numbness in my hands for years on. I was told I needed to drink more water to keep myself more hydrated. then
I started having problems at work too. I had carpal tunnel syndrome in boths hands and eventually needed surgery. It is fine now. I had to give up biking for a few years. I just started riding a recumbent bike. You don't lean on your wrists and it is great.

When I was having the numbness on my rides, I would shake out my hands until the numbness weas gone. The water also helped. Now I use a weight-lifters glove to give my wrists extra support. Hope this helps. Mine was an extreme case so don't get discoraged.

There are wrist and finger stretching esxcercises that help too

 

[kathybeast]

My cycling buddy had the same problem with her fingers too, loosening the wrist strap fixed the problem.

 

[bjoanne2000]

I have the same problem, and on one of my bikes I have had for years, that didnt happen, i thought maybe it was caused by age, then as someone said I loosened the gloves, that didnt work, so I moved the seat forward just a little, that helped some, but the symptoms just take longer to show...I believe I am leaning to far into my bars and I do weigh quite a bit more than I did 18 years ago..but the tingling and numbness suck..still working to alleviate the problem, and it may very well be carpletunnel.
Jo Anne

Originally posted by C'ya
Hi..I am new to all of this cycling. Only been doing it a few months now.

I have a question...have any of you experienced numbness in your fingers? I hardly "grip" the bars..and I have gel gloves..but by the end of my ride my fingers are tingling.

Any suggestions? Thought?

 

[Spin baby]

Hi.

I was having alot of pain and numbness/tingling in my fingers as well. Research into carpal tunnel informed me that 80% of carpal tunnel pain can be alleviated by simple supplements. Specifically, B6 and Bromelain.

I began taking both of them every day, and within weeks, the ache and other symptoms were gone. I highly recommend that anyone try this first before letting the doc dig around in one's wrist as I believe the surgery is almost as damaging as the syndrome.

This is one site I found although a lot of sites also recommend B2 ? (riboflavin).


http://www.wholehealthmd.com/hc/carpaltunnel/supplements/1,2106,,00.html


My fingers still go numb when riding, but shifting my hands and doing some hand shakes and stretches on the road bring the blood back right away.

 

[bjoanne2000]

Originally posted by Spin baby
Hi.

Hi,
I will try the vitamins...I take a good multivitamin but it has no iron, and maybe that is why I am so tired..they say women over 50 don't need iron?? I am beginning to wonder...anyone here over 50 still take iron?

Jo Anne





I was having alot of pain and numbness/tingling in my fingers as well. Research into carpal tunnel informed me that 80% of carpal tunnel pain can be alleviated by simple supplements. Specifically, B6 and Bromelain.

I began taking both of them every day, and within weeks, the ache and other symptoms were gone. I highly recommend that anyone try this first before letting the doc dig around in one's wrist as I believe the surgery is almost as damaging as the syndrome.

This is one site I found although a lot of sites also recommend B2 ? (riboflavin).


http://www.wholehealthmd.com/hc/carpaltunnel/supplements/1,2106,,00.html


My fingers still go numb when riding, but shifting my hands and doing some hand shakes and stretches on the road bring the blood back right away.

 

[Spin baby]

Bjoanne....

Before you take iron suppliments... you might want to look into aqueous liver extracts.

http://www.modernherbalist.com/products/aqueous.html

Which reminds me... I should probably get started on a bottle. ; )

 

[bjoanne2000]

thanks for the site.. I was on a ride today and was stung by a hornet "on my tongue" I was in the middle of nowhere and my water was hot, tongue swelled just enough after about 30 minutes to gag me, then I was sick..and couldn't muster the energy to get back on my bike, so I walked about a mile in cleats till I found a "down hill" and rode the rest of the way home...lets invent a water bottle that stays cold!!!
Jo Anne

 

[Spin baby]

Oh My Gawd Joanne...

You were lucky, lucky, lucky...!!!

Man. I have been stung by hornets (we had a nest of them in a log house I lived in.... you pull on your pants, and wham. Or pick up a paper and there is another one. They crawl into EVERYTHING. I use to check the john every time. LOL) and I know how much they burn.

I've had bugs fly into my open yap while riding, ususally when I am gasping for air... but luckily, so far... no stinging ones.

I'm glad you made it home okay.

And the water bottles?? I have frozen one solid, and within an hour it is pith warm. So, I am with you on the self cooling water bottle.

Something that happened to me yesturday when I was coming home from a ride, was that a man in a mid size pickup crossed over into my lane with the seeming intent of hitting me. I could see it all over his face. Don't know if it was because I was female or because I was on a bike. I didn't go after him to find out, and I didn't get his licence to report him.

Now... giving him more humanity than the asshole is due... I am sure that he wouldn't have actually hit me... but ..... it was a terrible moment when I saw him coming at me, and I am even more freaked out about vehicles than ever.

Man... some people think they own the road.

 

[bjoanne2000]

You be careful, he may very well have wanted to hit you, I had to stop my 40 mile ride to Ashland because people would veer into the bike lane where I ride or when there was no bike lane they would try to force me into the dirt, in which my "city bike"wont handle. I have felt the mirrors from trucks whizzz past my ears...there are some places you need to go that dont have a lane or a path, and there is 7 miles on that ride that scare the **** out of me, so I ride elsewhere now, it isnt as far nor as challenging, but I might live through the ride, providing I dont gasp for air when hornets are checking my teeth
I am so glad it didn't hit me in the throat, behind my tongue, might not have survived that.....tongue was bad enough
What has happened to people to make them hate bicycles so much, when I was growing up there was a lot of courtesy toward bikes and toward cars...has the world really gone crazy? sometimes when I am driving and I see people cut the corner on blind turns, into the bike lane, I cringe and pray no bicyclist is there. I was behind a motor home not to long ago, he made ever right curve, entirely in the bike lane, you could not see if there are a cyclist there or not, and had there been he probably could not have reacted in time to avoid them.
Jo Anne..............ps, scale said 169 this morning!!!

Originally posted by Spin baby
Oh My Gawd Joanne...

You were lucky, lucky, lucky...!!!

Man. I have been stung by hornets (we had a nest of them in a log house I lived in.... you pull on your pants, and wham. Or pick up a paper and there is another one. They crawl into EVERYTHING. I use to check the john every time. LOL) and I know how much they burn.

I've had bugs fly into my open yap while riding, ususally when I am gasping for air... but luckily, so far... no stinging ones.

I'm glad you made it home okay.

And the water bottles?? I have frozen one solid, and within an hour it is **** warm. So, I am with you on the self cooling water bottle.

Something that happened to me yesturday when I was coming home from a ride, was that a man in a mid size pickup crossed over into my lane with the seeming intent of hitting me. I could see it all over his face. Don't know if it was because I was female or because I was on a bike. I didn't go after him to find out, and I didn't get his licence to report him.

Now... giving him more humanity than the asshole is due... I am sure that he wouldn't have actually hit me... but ..... it was a terrible moment when I saw him coming at me, and I am even more freaked out about vehicles than ever.

Man... some people think they own the road.

 

[Spin baby]

Yeah. I have also seen too many potential disasters for cyclists.

We have Ironman here. So every summer we have as many as 2000 athletes training in the valley. There are "share the road" signs everywhere... but inevitably... someone gets hit almost every year.

I think all highways should be a minimum of 3 lanes... 2 for the cars... and one for the bikers.

LOL... in my dreams.


Soooo.... 169 eh? You going up or down...?? LOL ; ) Regardless... the goddess is alive and well in you methinks.... so let her shine ...

 

[bjoanne2000]

hahahaha
up and down, but first time i have seen anything below 170 in several years

Originally posted by Spin baby
Yeah. I have also seen too many potential disasters for cyclists.

We have Ironman here. So every summer we have as many as 2000 athletes training in the valley. There are "share the road" signs everywhere... but inevitably... someone gets hit almost every year.

I think all highways should be a minimum of 3 lanes... 2 for the cars... and one for the bikers.

LOL... in my dreams.


Soooo.... 169 eh? You going up or down...?? LOL ; ) Regardless... the goddess is alive and well in you methinks.... so let her shine ...

 

[bjoanne2000]

Was that man coming at you head on??? or from behind, not that it makes a difference had he hit you, but if he came head on I would have definitely reported the SOB They always come at me from behind, and I cant hear very well as I am deaf in left ear and not a whole lot better in the right. so when I ride, I am always looking into my rear view mirror...
As far as water bottles are concerned, I use saddle bags on my city bike and I put freezer packs in them and I can actually carry 8 water bottles if needed, but usually 3 cold will do. It adds a lot of weight to the bike and also make for a harder ride, but when ya stop for a cold drink its there they will keep drinks cold for about 4 hours depending on how hot it gets, upper 90's i can have cold water and gatorade for 4 to 5 hours... yesterday I had bags on my other bike and just didnt think I would need cold water, but i was wrong, it was in the 100's. and after hornet stung me I would have loved to have one of those freezer packs
it keeps food cold also..bye the way, when you take the saddle bags off the bike!!! it is VERY MUCH LIGHTER makes you feel stronger
Jo Anne

Originally posted by bjoanne2000
You be careful, he may very well have wanted to hit you, I had to stop my 40 mile ride to Ashland because people would veer into the bike lane where I ride or when there was no bike lane they would try to force me into the dirt, in which my "city bike"wont handle. I have felt the mirrors from trucks whizzz past my ears...there are some places you need to go that dont have a lane or a path, and there is 7 miles on that ride that scare the **** out of me, so I ride elsewhere now, it isnt as far nor as challenging, but I might live through the ride, providing I dont gasp for air when hornets are checking my teeth
I am so glad it didn't hit me in the throat, behind my tongue, might not have survived that.....tongue was bad enough
What has happened to people to make them hate bicycles so much, when I was growing up there was a lot of courtesy toward bikes and toward cars...has the world really gone crazy? sometimes when I am driving and I see people cut the corner on blind turns, into the bike lane, I cringe and pray no bicyclist is there. I was behind a motor home not to long ago, he made ever right curve, entirely in the bike lane, you could not see if there are a cyclist there or not, and had there been he probably could not have reacted in time to avoid them.
Jo Anne..............ps, scale said 169 this morning!!!

 

[Spin baby]

Originally posted by bjoanne2000
Was that man coming at you head on??? or from behind, not that it makes a difference had he hit you, but if he came head on I would have definitely reported the SOB

Yeah. It was a guy, around 30ish coming at me head on. He definatly had a "tude" about something, cause from the look on his face... I believe he actually didn't care for a few seconds whether he hit me or not.

Just enough to scare the **** out of me..

Amazing what you see when things slow down eh?

As to reporting him... by the time I had made it around my sheltering car ... and looked back in shocked outrage... he was too far and I was too scattered. I thought for a sec about turning around and trying to get it... but the thought that sprang into my head was that he would probably stop the truck and pound the **** out of me.... or try and run me down again. No. when it comes to raging bad boys... I tend to go in the other direction.

Chichen **** way of doing it in one respect... but in the other... I tend to get a little slack about being aware of my surroundings while biking in the city... and this just drove the point home.

They always come at me from behind, and I cant hear very well as I am deaf in left ear and not a whole lot better in the right. so when I ride, I am always looking into my rear view mirror...

Lordy Joanne..... you are one determined gal. Good on you that you don't let your decreased hearing stop you from doing what you love. I hope you manage to get some relaxing rides... ; )


Yeah. They have the insulated bags that go on the top of the rack that really keeps things cold. And of course.... we always need what we left behind... ; )

..bye the way, when you take the saddle bags off the bike!!! it is VERY MUCH LIGHTER makes you feel stronger
Jo Anne

You noticed that to eh? LOL