Uncomfortably numb. Riding and hand nerve damage.

[mountainbaker]

MB, same here, I think that was where the initial damage was done. Do I have to stop taking the p--- out of aero bar users now?

I think you have to stop. I rode with only Jones bars, and I wish I had used aeros now. They do look dumb though. But seeing my mate Morgan fly down the rail trail in the aeros was the first time I'd wished for them. Then the endless washboard of NM.

[evilgoat]

Dunk090 - your condition sounds exactly like mine.

I was getting numbness and pins & needles in first fingers. wrist pain etc. Had carpal surgery on my right wrist 2 1/2 years ago, it has relieved it a lot.

Previous work went to a penguin mouse and full ergo keyboard. that helped enormously, changed jobs, went back to standard mouse and started getting problems again. After a small battle with IT got them to buy me an evoluent vertical mouse 3. it's brilliant. I think better than the penguin. but both are great.

As for bike stuff i ditched the ergon grips I used for several years - i think they make carpal issues worse. I now use esi chunkies, far better. I find more bar sweep is better, mary bars are the best i have used but I think too narrow. got salsa bend 2's on my main mtb but for me they haven't got enough sweep as still get a bit of numbness (oddly very early in a ride but then disappears once i adjust myself.) So may invest in some jones bars.

i don't have any road bike issues even on long rides with an sp dynohub. But I constantly change hand positions on the road bike.

Other things to try- get some wrist supports and sleep in them after a long ride. you may be sleeping on your wrists or putting your hand in an unnatural position in your sleep which exacerbates the problem or slows recovery. Also may be worth cheking your shoulder position or tension in your shoulders. Median nerve runs right through so pressure in shoudlers could cause sensation of pain in wrist or fingers.

I am not a doctor but suffered for a few years at this so did a few things to address it.

James - drop me an email if you want to discuss further. pigdogfreewheel at googlemail dot com.

[jameso]

Median nerve runs right through so pressure in shoudlers could cause sensation of pain in wrist or fingers.

Really .. the only other discomfort I can get on both bikes is a tightness/pain in the base of my neck between / just above shoulder blade level. Takes 12hrs or more to get to that point and a quick break fixes it but it's fairly predictable. A longer reach bike solves that but usually has other more problematic issues after similar periods.

[HaYWiRe]

I dont know if anyone else has pointed this out already, but surely all handlebars and grips are going to cause the same pressure, you're looking at it all wrong!

Learn to ride no-handed! Or better yet, a UNICYCLE! No bars, no weight on hands, problem solved


There's actually a guy local whom rides a custom unicycle built around 4" surly nate fat tyres, I bet he doesn't get the problems you guys do