Rt Hand numbness

dudge

I have started getting proper numbness in my right hand while out riding. I am fine for the first 10 miles or so but when it comes on It is pretty severe and results in me having to drop my arm off the bars and shake the arm to get feeling back but it will then come back again. It makes no difference whether I am on the top, hoods or drops.

I had a snowboard accident a couple of years ago which ended with some twisted muscles in my rt shoulder which were taken care of with a quite a few sessions of physio. Is there a trained physio out there that can tell me if he/she thinks the numbness might be coming from the shoulder of do you think there might be a problem with my set up on my bike causing it?

It is taking the fun out of my rides ....but more importantly I am a semi pro Bass player and I don't like anything that puts the use of my fingers in jeopardy.

Cheers all.

sungod

one possibility...

are you tending to lean on the handlebars? that can cause numbness/pain

a light touch and relaxed grip is all you need most of the time - if the bars are too low and/or the stem too long it can lead to you putting too much weight on your hands

dudge

Not that I am aware of..I try and keep my grip relaxed most of the time. I have been playing with the bars..different angles etc and have come to the conclusion that they are not quite the right shape for me..but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I thought i might try pulling the shifter/brake lever back towards the bar in case I am leaning too far forward.

ut_och_cykla

I'm not a physio or other kind of medic but my hubby fell very heavily on his shoulder a few years ago and that affected his hands/fingers - pain sometimes, numbness other times - for many months afterwards.

He was told that it was an inflamed nerve either in his neck or shoulder. It did eventually get better - but it took more than a year. Using a computer mouse made things flare up again, as did jarring jogging of all things - acupuncture relieved the symptoms but it was really a matter of time and avoiding repeated inflamation.

Clearly riding your bike makes things worse at the moment. Perhaps there is something else in your life that is making things worse on teh bike too?
I would definitley see a professional - physio or nerve specialist - if you can. Hope you get it sorted

vorsprung

There are several things you can try but the main things are "bike fit" and your core strength

When you are on a bike, all your weight is born by the backside, the hands and the pedals. Often hand numbness can be due to too much weight on the hands. The way to fix this is to move the weight to the other contact points.

dudge

I was beginning to think that it stems from my shoulder injury and that pressure on my hand from cycling is exacerbating the problem. I have taken a fairly long time to get into a cycling position that is a blend of comfort for arms, hands and backside so I am hoping that I am not out of balance as I couldn't cope with more weight on my saddle.

Thanks for the advice.

edhornby

here's a curve ball - is your right leg shorter ? you areever so slightly tipped rightwards and putting pressure on the right hand

dudge

Definitely a curve ball...I have no idea. I will check..

kevin69

i started getting pins and needles in my right hand on the tops following a shoulder injury.

My physio said its known as 'cyclists palsy' and is caused by pressure on nerves in your upper arm because
when cycling (especially on the tops) you pull your elbows in quite unnaturally. For me he suggested
using the drops or bends would be enough to relieve the pressure.

Perhaps your handlebars are too narrow? or you needs more padded gloves?

There is plenty more on cyclists palsy on the interwebz

edewer

was picked up that i lean quite heavily on the handlebars just behind the brake assembly, therefore putting undue pressure on the soft bit between thumb and index finger. My LBS said try riding with hands sat a bit further back on the curve of the bar, and the numbness/ pins and needles that I had have totally disappeared. Have alook at the pressure points when you sit on the bike and see if you can find ways to better distribute the weight on a focused point