Severe Hand Numbness

[Mark A. Clark]

I know we all have hand numbness issues from time to time but I've got a severe case I'm wondering
if anyone else out there has had a similar experience with.

Mine began last month during Paris-Brest-Paris at about the 900 KM point. The onset actually began
when I woke up after sleeping for about 3 hours. Both hands were quite numb. As the days riding wore
on the numbness became worse and it became more and more difficult to shift. I use Campy levers and
while I could actuate the thumb levers I lost so much strength in the fingers on my left hand that I
had to reach in with my thumb and pull on the shift lever to get on the big ring. OK maybe it wasn't
so smart to press on at this point, but with less than 100 KM to go I had no intention of quitting.

Almost 4 weeks later some strength has returned to my hands but the numbness has yet to subside. I
still can't shift to the big ring without using my thumb.

I had an appointment with an orthopedic and a preliminary exam indicated Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
but she was also concerned that I have other nerve damage in my hands and had a nerve conduction
test done.

The nerve conduction/EMG test indicated the possibility that the source of the problem may be in my
neck. He thinks that I have carpal tunnel problems, but they may be more of a chronic nature and not
the source of the acute numbness.

We had an MRI done and it apparently did not show any problems.

In the mean time a friend of mine got in touch with Dr. Massimo Testa of the UC Davis Sports Medical
Group, and told him about my injury. He has heard of this, although he says it's not very common. He
offered to see me and take a look at the MRI. So I drove into Sacramento, CA to meet with him.
(Fortunately I am only about 25 minutes away in Davis, CA) He didn't see anything of any concern on
the MRI. He feels certain that I will fully recover, but with nerve injuries unfortunately it is
very difficult to predict the time frame. He is very interested in my injury and wants me to keep in
touch on my progress, and when I recover he wants me to come back in with my bicycle and they will
refit me on the bike to try to prevent this from happening again, though I'm going to call an end to
my ultra distance bicycling.

Sorry about the long post but I was wondering if anyone else out there has had this type of injury,
and what the recovery process was like.

Thanks,

Mark Clark

REMOVE "NOSPAM" TO REPLY

 

[Sorni]

"Mark A. Clark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I know we all have hand numbness issues from time to time but I've got a severe case I'm wondering
> if anyone else out there has had a similar experience with.
>
> Mine began last month during Paris-Brest-Paris at about the 900 KM point. The onset actually began
> when I woke up after sleeping for about 3 hours. Both hands were quite numb. As the days riding
> wore on the numbness became worse and it became more and more difficult to shift. I use Campy
> levers and while I could actuate the thumb levers I lost so much strength in the fingers on my
> left hand that I had to reach in with my thumb and pull on the shift lever to get on the big ring.
> OK maybe it wasn't so smart to press on at this point, but with less than 100 KM to go I had no
> intention of quitting.
>
> Almost 4 weeks later some strength has returned to my hands but the numbness has yet to subside. I
> still can't shift to the big ring without using my thumb.
>
>
> I had an appointment with an orthopedic and a preliminary exam indicated Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
> but she was also concerned that I have other nerve damage in my hands and had a nerve conduction
> test done.
>
> The nerve conduction/EMG test indicated the possibility that the source of the problem may be in
> my neck. He thinks that I have carpal tunnel problems, but they may be more of a chronic nature
> and not the source of the acute numbness.
>
> We had an MRI done and it apparently did not show any problems.
>
> In the mean time a friend of mine got in touch with Dr. Massimo Testa of the UC Davis Sports
> Medical Group, and told him about my injury. He has heard of this, although he says it's not very
> common. He offered to see me and take a look at the MRI. So I drove into Sacramento, CA to meet
> with him. (Fortunately I am only about 25 minutes away in Davis, CA) He didn't see anything of any
> concern on the MRI. He feels certain that I will fully recover, but with nerve injuries
> unfortunately it is very difficult to predict the time frame. He is very interested in my injury
> and wants me to keep in touch on my progress, and when I recover he wants me to come back in with
> my bicycle and they will refit me on the bike to try to prevent this from happening again, though
> I'm going to call an end to my ultra distance bicycling.
>
> Sorry about the long post but I was wondering if anyone else out there has had this type of
> injury, and what the recovery process was like.

I had acute hand numbness when I first began mountain biking. My damage was in the Ulnar nerves
(outside of palms), not Carpal Tunnel. (Those conduction tests are...interesting! My
outer-to-middle fingers were so numb I couldn't get my car keys out of my pocket...

I learned to stop "death gripping" the handlebar, and also relax my shoulders and neck. The symptoms
gradually lessened, although I still get some tingling from time to time.

Just bought my first road bike 6-7 weeks ago, and found I have to consciously change hand positions
a lot to avoid problems. Also got some Specialized Body Geometry gloves, which have a nice little
pad right on the outer palm, but only use 'em for long rides.

Sure sounds like you did everything possible to diagnose/treat the condition (I'm with an HMO so no
MRI for me!); my guess is that it will gradually get better (especially with any fit mods and/or
easing your grip pressure).

Good luck!

Bill "numbness hurts, doesn't it?" S.

 

[John Grossbohli]

"Mark A. Clark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I know we all have hand numbness issues from time to time but I've got a severe case I'm wondering
> if anyone else out there has had a similar experience with.
>
> Mine began last month during Paris-Brest-Paris at about the 900 KM point. The onset actually began
> when I woke up after sleeping for about 3 hours. Both hands were quite numb. As the days riding
> wore on the numbness became worse and it became more and more difficult to shift. I use Campy
> levers and while I could actuate the thumb levers I lost so much strength in the fingers on my
> left hand that I had to reach in with my thumb and pull on the shift lever to get on the big ring.
> OK maybe it wasn't so smart to press on at this point, but with less than 100 KM to go I had no
> intention of quitting.
>
> Almost 4 weeks later some strength has returned to my hands but the numbness has yet to subside. I
> still can't shift to the big ring without using my thumb.
>
>
> I had an appointment with an orthopedic and a preliminary exam indicated Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
> but she was also concerned that I have other nerve damage in my hands and had a nerve conduction
> test done.
>
> The nerve conduction/EMG test indicated the possibility that the source of the problem may be in
> my neck. He thinks that I have carpal tunnel problems, but they may be more of a chronic nature
> and not the source of the acute numbness.
>
> We had an MRI done and it apparently did not show any problems.
>
> In the mean time a friend of mine got in touch with Dr. Massimo Testa of the UC Davis Sports
> Medical Group, and told him about my injury. He has heard of this, although he says it's not very
> common. He offered to see me and take a look at the MRI. So I drove into Sacramento, CA to meet
> with him. (Fortunately I am only about 25 minutes away in Davis, CA) He didn't see anything of any
> concern on the MRI. He feels certain that I will fully recover, but with nerve injuries
> unfortunately it is very difficult to predict the time frame. He is very interested in my injury
> and wants me to keep in touch on my progress, and when I recover he wants me to come back in with
> my bicycle and they will refit me on the bike to try to prevent this from happening again, though
> I'm going to call an end to my ultra distance bicycling.
>
> Sorry about the long post but I was wondering if anyone else out there has had this type of
> injury, and what the recovery process was like.

Mark,

I've had some experience with this... some bicycle related, some computer related, some auto
accident related. After an obscene number of medical visits after the auto accident (300+) I gave up
on the medical profession's recommendation to be a passive participant in my care and recovery--"let
us help you," cha ching, cha ching, cha ching... $$$$$

I started a self directed, aggressive, ever changing, regimen designed with an eye towards
increasing flexibility, strength, and endurance while dealing with chronic muscle spasms and knots.
The regimen included working out with dumbbells, stretching, Chi Gung, acupuncture, long walks,
bicycling, etc. The carpel tunnel pain and numbness disappeared pretty quickly as I gained strength
and flexibility. In regards to my hands and wrists, the real problems were in my neck and shoulders
and there was referred pain and numbness in my wrists and hands. I've still got chronic lower back
problems, and there are some pretty bad flare ups that keep me up at night, but at least my hands
work again!

John

 

[Deegan]

I had something pretty much like it, and it went away but it took a couple of months. I basically
spent the recovery finetuning the bike so that i had minimal weight on my hands and that has worked
great now for over a year.

All these things were a matter of millimeters and tenths of millimeters but it made a huge
difference.also i take alleve one hour before I ride.

I had a custom stem made so that my hands weren't so far forward. I went through a couple of
versions before i hit one that was just right. you have to find a lbs who has a salsa stem-sizer, go
on a midweek day and work with it for about an hour and you will dial in something that probably
will feel better than the one you use. the device lets you adjust length and rise.

I took a little seatback off, moved it closer forward.

I lowered my seat a bit, because when i used to pedal to full extension i would throw my weight
forward a bit with each rev and that would increase forward and downward forces on my palms. You
don't want to go too low, obvioulsy for you knees, but again it is just a matter of millimeters

That made a big difference but on long rides it was still getting a little numb now and then. So
then the most radical - i decided to stay out of the drops. So, without going into the drops, and
with a new stem geometry, i figured what the hell and had titus make me a custom ti straightbar,
yanked the road handebars off, got new brake lever/shifters and the bike has been great to me.

Anyway, i've sort of figured out that once you start changing the stem geometry, especially if you
shorten it which it sounds like you might need, the bike gets twitchy with the drops on so going to
a straight bar has some safety advantages too.

Obviously a custom frame would be an option too if money is not an object, then you can keep
your drops.

The only problem i have now is the occasional impulse to jump the bike since it has a mountain
cockpit, but i must say i really love it now, riding flat bar, 130 psi, 34 miles an hour for some
sprints, and no hand pain.

 

[Bruni]

As a carpal tunnel sufferer, the advice that worked best for me was to keep my wrists straight. On a
bike this meant using my thumb as a hook to bear weight, rather than bending the wrist to make a
shelf with the palm. All the higher bar stuff is SOP. Tom

--
Bruni Bicycles "Where art meets science" brunibicycles.com
410.426.3420 deegan <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I had something pretty much like it, and it went away but it took a couple of months. I basically
> spent the recovery finetuning the bike so that i
had
> minimal weight on my hands and that has worked great now for over a year.
>
> All these things were a matter of millimeters and tenths of millimeters
but
> it made a huge difference.also i take alleve one hour before I ride.
>
> I had a custom stem made so that my hands weren't so far forward. I went through a couple of
> versions before i hit one that was just right. you
have
> to find a lbs who has a salsa stem-sizer, go on a midweek day and work
with
> it for about an hour and you will dial in something that probably will
feel
> better than the one you use. the device lets you adjust length and rise.
>
> I took a little seatback off, moved it closer forward.
>
> I lowered my seat a bit, because when i used to pedal to full extension i would throw my weight
> forward a bit with each rev and that would increase forward and downward forces on my palms. You
> don't want to go too low, obvioulsy for you knees, but again it is just a matter of millimeters
>
> That made a big difference but on long rides it was still getting a little numb now and then. So
> then the most radical - i decided to stay out of the drops. So, without going into the drops, and
> with a new stem geometry, i figured what the hell and had titus make me a custom ti straightbar,
yanked
> the road handebars off, got new brake lever/shifters and the bike has been great to me.
>
> Anyway, i've sort of figured out that once you start changing the stem geometry, especially if you
> shorten it which it sounds like you might
need,
> the bike gets twitchy with the drops on so going to a straight bar has
some
> safety advantages too.
>
> Obviously a custom frame would be an option too if money is not an object, then you can keep
> your drops.
>
> The only problem i have now is the occasional impulse to jump the bike
since
> it has a mountain cockpit, but i must say i really love it now, riding
flat
> bar, 130 psi, 34 miles an hour for some sprints, and no hand pain.

 

[George Mackenzi]

May I ask what SOP means?

"Bruni" <[email protected]> writes:

> As a carpal tunnel sufferer, the advice that worked best for me was to keep my wrists straight. On
> a bike this meant using my thumb as a hook to bear weight, rather than bending the wrist to make a
> shelf with the palm. All the higher bar stuff is SOP. Tom

 

[Mark Wolfe]

Standard Operating Procedure.

George MacKenzie wrote:

>
> May I ask what SOP means?
>

--
Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6
8C71 "... being a Linux user is sort of like living in a house inhabited by a large family of
carpenters and architects. Every morning when you wake up, the house is a little different. Maybe
there is a new turret, or some walls have moved. Or perhaps someone has temporarily removed the
floor under your bed." - Unix for Dummies, 2nd Edition

 

[G.Daniels]

my left hand went numb from a long ride pressing in some heat. Forgot to lift off on it. The
numbness went on unabated for a week than an ergo bar arrived in the mail. I forced it on and rode
six miles...and the nerve problem faded! amazing. but i carpenter and it seems that over time,
riding every day with a foamed ergo bar reflexive hand grasping ability that is not explicity
consciuos reduces over time-the time Ive spent riding. This observation may be an age factor and not
riding but extensive riding over the usual schedule results in lessend grasping coordination.
typetype...