Vibration White Finger

Westerberg

Can cycling cause VWF? My fingers have been turning white and numb recently. I work in an office! But I do cycle a fairly harsh alu bike on a regular basis. Any thoughts?

hopper1

I doubt theat cycling would cause 'white finger'. I don't think even the harshest of rides would create enough resonance in the bars to be of concern.
Could be the extreme cold, or maybe you need a differerent pair of gloves...

rake

its a really odd feeling. i used an angle grinder for a long spell and when i stopped my fingers felt as they were still holding it. a really odd sensation when i touched the ends of my fingers together allmost metallic type feeling.

eltonioni

MTFU ?

Westerberg

eltonioni wrote:

MTFU ?

yeah, like, errr..thanks a million.

Westerberg

rake wrote:

its a really odd feeling. i used an angle grinder for a long spell and when i stopped my fingers felt as they were still holding it. a really odd sensation when i touched the ends of my fingers together allmost metallic type feeling.

it's more the whitness and numbness thats so odd, not so much of a vibration feeling. Think I'll get it checked at the docs.

RonB

For your own piece of mind that's not a bad idea. Some of my colleagues have recently had occupational health checks done for this and I might be able to provide some up to date info on the subject. Via PM if that's OK.

Buckled_Rims

No, unless you've worked with pneumatic drills and tools like that it's not VWF. It could be Carpels Tunnel Syndrome if you type or write a lot. If it is CTS, then go and see a doctor. Once set in it's a surgery job on the wrists.

rokkala

Is it both hands or just one? And which fingers?

Had a couple of my fingers going completely numb at some point last year, thought it was due to taking up cycling. The doctor seemed to think i had just trapped/pinched a nerve at some point. So it could be a nerve in your arm or neck that is affecting your fingers. Mine disappeared after a few months.

Extralight

For my sins, I'm a Health and Safety Advisor, and other contributors are right to suggest that it's unlikely to be vibration white finger, as this is normally associated with frequent use of vibrating power tools for extended periods of time (read up on it here if you're interested: http://www.hse.gov.uk/vibration/index.htm). However, you should still seek medical advice for a diagnosis - if it is hand-arm or even whole body vibration syndrome, then this can cause irreversible damage that can be extremely debilitating. Circulation to the extremities (e.g. fingers and toes) is adversely affected by prolonged exposure to the cold, and the wet is likely to make this worse. It's more likely that you have Raynauld's phenomenon which is usually far less of a concern - look here for more info: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Raynauds-p ... ction.aspx.
I could go on and make suggestions about your workstation setup in your office and the duties of your employer, but that's far too boring, so instead I'm mmoving across to the 'girls in lycra shorts' thread instead...

leedsmjh

+1 on maybe Raynaud's phenomenon

oldwelshman

Its probably not .
I have it, but nt too badly, having worked in coal mine and used drilling machines and punchers in wet coal faces and headings.
When using these tools for first time your fingers can tighten and lock as you not used to the vibrations of the tools, same as muscles tightening druing climbs when not fit
My father has it bad and he has difficulty picking up items which are small and had little feeling in his finger tips also.

chrisw12

oldwelshman wrote:

Its probably not .
I have it, but nt too badly, having worked in coal mine and used drilling machines and punchers in wet coal faces and headings.
When using these tools for first time your fingers can tighten and lock as you not used to the vibrations of the tools, same as muscles tightening druing climbs when not fit
My father has it bad and he has difficulty picking up items which are small and had little feeling in his finger tips also.

Did you work in any of the Welsh mines back in the day?

Sorry to go off topic.

oldwelshman

chrisw12 wrote:

oldwelshman wrote:

Its probably not .
I have it, but nt too badly, having worked in coal mine and used drilling machines and punchers in wet coal faces and headings.
When using these tools for first time your fingers can tighten and lock as you not used to the vibrations of the tools, same as muscles tightening druing climbs when not fit
My father has it bad and he has difficulty picking up items which are small and had little feeling in his finger tips also.

Did you work in any of the Welsh mines back in the day?

Sorry to go off topic.

Yes worked in Windsor in Abertridwr (filling senghenydd shafts in due to gas) Nantgarw for 8 years and Penallta for fireman training, it was the fittest I have ever been