Carpal Tunnel :-(

zummerzet_lou

Hi,

Wasn't sure where to put this thread, so I hope this is OK?

I love cycling ... I mountain bike, road bike and recently (last year) have gotten into BMX racing. A few weeks ago I got home to realise that my hands were tingling after a ride with pins and needles and just put it down to bad hand postion, but over the past 3 weeks it's gotten worse. (I work at a computer so am pretty certain that's the root cause rather than my cycling ... ?)

It's not bad - I get numb hands at night, and aches during the day but I don't want to do anything to make it worse.

Does anyone else suffer from this? and how do they manage it? I really don't want to give up the activities that I love.

Lou

♠ChumBucket♠

Had it 20 years mate!

My hands go numb after about 10 mins on bike. Having had it so long I just live with it & have adapted to it. However, what's even worse for me now (& I'm not sure why) is numb feet!!! From toes back to the balls.

You can identify Carpal Tunnel by the fingers that it affects- thumb, index, middle & "one side" of the ring finger- the side next to the middle finger. The other side of the ring finger & little finger are not affected.

mcdilbert

Hi Lou,

Sorry to hear about your woes. I had the same problems and solved them by getting a bike fit (it made an incredible difference) and seeing a doctor to make sure there was nothing else wrong.

If it is carpal tunnel then the simplest operation solves it instantly!

Also if you think it's work related then your company has a legal obligation to provide an occupational health check. I had one and ended up with a keyboard rest and mouse rest and an adjustment in chair height.

Cheers!

supermurph09

It could be your ulnar nerve, not necessarily carpal tunnel. I had the same for a number of years (before I started cycling). Could never sleep, woke up in the night with both arms paralysed by numbness and horrendous pins and needles type symptoms. During the day I always felt cold and ached. I also work in front of a computer. Decided enough was enough, had tests done where they check the electronic pulse to test speed of signal. Docs said my left arm would benefit from surgery, right arm wouldn't. Had op done, which basically involved an incision on the elbow to move the nerve from being compressed. Took a while to recover but it's all sorted now. Right arm now I'm cycling does tingle and ache afterwards but I'll just lie with it. In summary, get yourself checked.

zummerzet_lou

Thanks ...

I had a workplace assessment done last week to check my setup ... nothing major was wrong, but she's made a few adjustments to my desk and chair.

Had the tinels? test (where they tap on the inside of the wrist) which on my right side made my fingers tingle (first 3 fingers so this is carpal). Doctor has prescribed anti-inflams for 30 days ... but 1 week later and no change.

♠ChumBucket♠

mcdilbert wrote:

Hi Lou,

Sorry to hear about your woes. I had the same problems and solved them by getting a bike fit (it made an incredible difference) and seeing a doctor to make sure there was nothing else wrong.

If it is carpal tunnel then the simplest operation solves it instantly!

Also if you think it's work related then your company has a legal obligation to provide an occupational health check. I had one and ended up with a keyboard rest and mouse rest and an adjustment in chair height.

Cheers!

That's not always the case I'm afraid, in fact far from it.

friedpizzainbatter

I got this a few years ago through a mix of computer work and guitar playing. I found this thing helped ease it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerball-250-H ... m_sbs_sg_1

Bordersroadie

I've had it on and off over the years. I still get various numb fingers when cycling but don't worry too much.

Best solution for me when it's at its worst is to wear a wrist brace at night. A bit like those used my gymnasts, it stops your hand from tipping forward. I don't know how it works but combined with anti-inflams (as mentioned above) it works for me. Just don't wear it if you're on a promise with the missus as it's a bit of a passion killer especially in hospital cream. Maybe a black Assos one. . .

Anyway, point is, it's not something that surgery is the magic solution for (and all surgery is best avoided if possible) but it's not a showstopper for regular cycling either.

mcdilbert

♠ChumBucket♠ wrote:

mcdilbert wrote:

Hi Lou,

Sorry to hear about your woes. I had the same problems and solved them by getting a bike fit (it made an incredible difference) and seeing a doctor to make sure there was nothing else wrong.

If it is carpal tunnel then the simplest operation solves it instantly!

Also if you think it's work related then your company has a legal obligation to provide an occupational health check. I had one and ended up with a keyboard rest and mouse rest and an adjustment in chair height.

Cheers!

That's not always the case I'm afraid, in fact far from it.

Fair point, I should qualify my statement - From personal experience, if it is carpal tunnel then the simplest operation could solve it instantly!

slowbike

I also get pains in my hands - on the top so it's not carpel tunnel - but it is related to computer work ..


Anyway - a copper bracelet with magnets relieved the pain pdq - quack medicine - but it seems to work for me !

team47b

I have Neuropathy, nerve damage, that like carpal variety gives me numb fingers but I also get numb toes and knees etc this was caused by blood starvation to nerve endings as a result of long term diabetes, and can sometimes be the first noticeable sign of diabetes, so in general it is always worth getting a blood test if you start to get numb parts.

♠ChumBucket♠

team47b wrote:

I have Neuropathy, nerve damage, that like carpal variety gives me numb fingers but I also get numb toes and knees etc this was caused by blood starvation to nerve endings as a result of long term diabetes, and can sometimes be the first noticeable sign of diabetes, so in general it is always worth getting a blood test if you start to get numb parts.

Do you get numb toes riding only or even when not riding?

team47b

I have the numbness and pins and needles all the time but fingers can sometimes get more numb when cycling, strangely enough my feet usually are better when cycling as there is no weight on them. Usually gets worse in the early evening.

Started off as pins and needles in hands only and not connected with cycling. Spread from there, and eventually led to severe pain (there is no pain killer that effects neuropathy) and I was unable to walk at for about 4 months. Less painful now and correct diet lower blood sugar levels and exercise helped to repair shriveled nerves.

♠ChumBucket♠

team47b wrote:

I have the numbness and pins and needles all the time but fingers can sometimes get more numb when cycling, strangely enough my feet usually are better when cycling as there is no weight on them. Usually gets worse in the early evening.

Started off as pins and needles in hands only and not connected with cycling. Spread from there, and eventually led to severe pain (there is no pain killer that effects neuropathy) and I was unable to walk at for about 4 months. Less painful now and correct diet lower blood sugar levels and exercise helped to repair shriveled nerves.

Thanks for the info.

My feet (toes & balls) only go numb with cycling. Usually after about 10/15 miles. It's nothing to do with shoe tightness but I'm wondering if spd + cleats would help. I currently use plastic toe clips.

Trickle

zummerzet_lou wrote:

Does anyone else suffer from this? and how do they manage it? I really don't want to give up the activities that I love.

When I first got carpel tunnel some years ago I was quite worried for my job. It had moved to a back office position and my keyboard time and direct touch typing went up massively. Coinciding with some competitive RTS gaming plus general FPS and it was clear why it came about.

Not wanting to quit PC gaming at the time but having no choice I trained myself on using the mouse left handed and got to the point where I was reasonable but not quite good enough for competitive online.

Time moved on. Back to a job spending less time typing. Very little gaming these days and my wrist tops feel OK again. I rekon the symptoms would come back quicker if I were to start spending most of the day in front of the PC again, but tbh I'd rather spend it cycling!


Edit: Wrist-rest was utterly _essential_ to manage to keep on working.
And not using one to begin with was a key cause of the onset.

whitestar1

zummerzet_lou wrote:

Hi,

Wasn't sure where to put this thread, so I hope this is OK?

I love cycling ... I mountain bike, road bike and recently (last year) have gotten into BMX racing. A few weeks ago I got home to realise that my hands were tingling after a ride with pins and needles and just put it down to bad hand postion, but over the past 3 weeks it's gotten worse. (I work at a computer so am pretty certain that's the root cause rather than my cycling ... ?)

It's not bad - I get numb hands at night, and aches during the day but I don't want to do anything to make it worse.

Does anyone else suffer from this? and how do they manage it? I really don't want to give up the activities that I love.

Lou

I have CTS in both hands from using a keyboard on a computer for the last 30 years! So I can understand your problems. It was strange that I felt it after riding the bike. I just push the whole thing one side it hadn't really settled in that having the hands in one position for a long period would result in pain. Guess its to the doctor's again. Thing is what can they do?

Ben6899

♠ChumBucket♠ wrote:

numb feet!!! From toes back to the balls.

That's numb legs, mate; not feet.

Sorry...

♠ChumBucket♠

Ben6899 wrote:

♠ChumBucket♠ wrote:

numb feet!!! From toes back to the balls.

That's numb legs, mate; not feet.

Sorry...