scho047 said:Hi,
I just wanted to know if there is a way to maybe reduce the chances of getting numb hands while cycling or is it just something that i need to get used to??
any advice would be much appreciated.
thanks
Doesn't that require a lot of arm muscle strength to maintain? I note that locking the elbow straight may lessen the requirement on arm muscle, but with all the road shock, it really strains the elbow joint and makes it sore after.pixelmill said:Look at pro riders who avarage 200km a day - they all have their arms loosely bent at the elbow - eben on the hoods or flats the have their backs lower than most
sogood said:Doesn't that require a lot of arm muscle strength to maintain? I note that locking the elbow straight may lessen the requirement on arm muscle, but with all the road shock, it really strains the elbow joint and makes it sore after.
scho047 said:thanks alot for those advice.... i really appreciate it... ive tried to constantly have my arms loose and try to work my core to support the weight when i went out for a ride today and it certainly have helped as my hands did not go numb as much and by simply changing the position of the hand constantly helped....
thanks a lot everyone
but i thnk i need to strenghten my core lot more !!!! ant tips on that??
The most common cause of numbness in the hands for cyclists, according to my father (who sees this all the time as he's an orthopaedist), is pressure on the ulnar nerve, which provides both motor control and sensory feeling for the hand. When you put pressure on the fat pad on the base of your hand (on the palm where the hand and the wrist meet), you can put pressure on this nerve's various branches that innervate parts of the hand. I tend to have a numbness or tingling in my pinkie finger after long hours spent in the saddle (yesterday I rode a century, and am still a little tingly today), and to avoid that, I try and shift my hands as much as possible, as you yourself have been doing. I also try to grip the bars- and especially the drops- with the gap between my thumb and the rest of the hand, and not to put pressure on the base of my palms. When I have to put my weight on the crossbar, I try to do so with the fingers or the fat pad at the base of the fingers/top of the palm. That said, I still get a little numbness... so my riding position is still a work in progress.scho047 said:thanks alot for those advice.... i really appreciate it... ive tried to constantly have my arms loose and try to work my core to support the weight when i went out for a ride today and it certainly have helped as my hands did not go numb as much and by simply changing the position of the hand constantly helped....
thanks a lot everyone
but i thnk i need to strenghten my core lot more !!!! ant tips on that??
If the numbness is limited to the ring and little fingers, which is the most common, then it has nothing to do with the carpal tunnel. As was7g correctly pointed out, that numbness is caused by pressure on the ulnar nerve, which does not go through the carpal tunnel. The problem with most cycling gloves is they do not go far enough down towards the wrist to releive this pressure on the ulnar nerve. Using the abdominal muscles instead of the hands to support the weight of the upper body and moving the hands frequently is the best way to prevent numbness.carbonguru said:Numb hands in general is caused by a pinched nerve in either the shoulder region or the wrist region [i.e. carpal tunnel]. Gloves may help a little, but over all, I think it will boil down to a nerve pinching issue. Try changing your hand position on the bars every 10-15 minutes. [Hoods, Drops, Top Flats of the Bar etc.] This helps me keep loose during longer training rides.
RickF said:If the numbness is limited to the ring and little fingers, which is the most common, then it has nothing to do with the carpal tunnel. As was7g correctly pointed out, that numbness is caused by pressure on the ulnar nerve, which does not go through the carpal tunnel. The problem with most cycling gloves is they do not go far enough down towards the wrist to releive this pressure on the ulnar nerve. Using the abdominal muscles instead of the hands to support the weight of the upper body and moving the hands frequently is the best way to prevent numbness.
Ride a lot!!!scho047 said:but i thnk i need to strenghten my core lot more !!!! ant tips on that??
Just to add to the discussion, does a carbon fiber bar help? The bar stem combo I ride is very stiff and I love it when I'm sprinting or climbing, but I get soreness and numbness from time to time and I've considered going with CF. Do the tiny vibrations from the road add to the numbness, or does it really just have to do with not changing hand positions?artemidorus said:Ride a lot!!!
I'm not joking, many/most people simply will not carry out a prescribed programme of exercises, just as many/most people won't take a course of medication properly. If you simply ride, paying some attention to keeping the arms relatively relaxed and elbows bent, you will be strengthening the relevant muscles, and doing something that (presumably) you like. Don't try to take all the weight off your arms, it is appropriate for them to bear some of it.
There is no easy answer to this question. Severe vibration certainly is known to cause numbness, and permanent nerve injury if the insult is sufficiently large and chronic (ie jack-hammer operator). Most cyclists with alloy bars do not get vibration-induced numbness.PeterF said:Just to add to the discussion, does a carbon fiber bar help? The bar stem combo I ride is very stiff and I love it when I'm sprinting or climbing, but I get soreness and numbness from time to time and I've considered going with CF. Do the tiny vibrations from the road add to the numbness, or does it really just have to do with not changing hand positions?
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