Numb fingers
oblongomaculatus
Posts: 615
I suspect this is a common problem, but I can't find anything on the forums that covers it. After an hour or so of riding, my fingers begin to go numb, sometimes on one hand, sometimes the other, sometimes both at the same time. It generally begins with the little finger, spreading gradually to the rest, including the thumb. I don't think it is due to pressure on the hands, as experimentation has shown that the numb feeing only goes if I rotate the whole arm at the shoulder; flexing the fingers and wrist makes little difference. I get this on all types of bikes, with and without gloves, and even sometimes off the bike if I sit still for too long, so I don't think it's something that can be improved by adjusting anything on the bike. I've always thought it's a discomfort I'll just have to put up with, but does anyone know of there's a medical solution?
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What have you tried?
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How tight do you hold the handle bars?
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I went for the top of the range Specialized mitts which have extra padding and also got different bar tape with more padding. Specialized is called "phat" I think but mine is a different brand.
My little finger on my left hand is a bit tingly now, come to think of it, and I haven't been on the bike since Sunday :shock:
I actually had the opposite, numbness stopped after going from padded gloves to non padded, some of these gel types have way too much and that can make things worse for some.
A typical symptom of a pinched nerve exiting the spine is numbness in the hand, usually starting with the little finger. I injured my neck several years ago and for a few years after I was prone to numbness in my left little finger from time to time. I was told it was a common issue for injuries at that specific location (C4 I think). It's improved since and rarely effects me now. Maybe your position on the bike is putting pressure on a nerve at your neck and causing numbness? The fact you get it in both hands might make this less likely but worth checking out.
I have pretty short arms, so reckon too much pressure on the hands with correct saddle position. Altura Pro-gel gloves.
The neck thing make sense, so would the solution be to raise the handlebars to avoid long hours spent with the neck cranked up ?
Or go all mountain bikey and put an adjustable height seat post so I can back on the downhill / coasting parts...?
I've tried gel mitts, the Cinelli padded bar tape which neither helped, what did cure it was moving the shifters or rotating the bars so that your forearm and hand are inline when riding. My wrists were pointing up from the forearm line, so obviously some nerve was being compressed, changed my position and no numbness.
Rotating the bars is the easiest, but sometimes that's not possible so moving the shifters is a lot more time consuming, having to re tape the cable outers to the bars and fit new bar tape.
Hope this helps.
Geometry wise, raising the handle bars will also put the hands more in line too. So a combination of handlebar angle + height adjustments might do the trick.
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Do you get pins and needles after you're off the bike? Do the fingers change colour? If yes to either of these, it's likely to be circulatory, not neural.
Look up palm innervation for ulnar and median nerves and compare it with the localization of your numbness.
The difficulty with nerves is that the problem can be located anywhere between the neck and the palm. There are fairly straightforward ways to find out where, but if you're in the UK, every step takes three months...
I was 'blessed' with a similar sounding issue, but with median nerve after a bike/car accident (I got knocked off on a t-junction). It was November 2012, they can still only say it's median nerve, and not in the wrist. The jury is still out...
I have been reluctant to see a doctor as I suspect it would take a long time to track down and then treat the source of the problem. A long round of appointment, waiting, referral, tests, waiting, more appointments, more waiting...
The downer is that that arm-swinging thing works only to a degree, and I have to do it more and more often as a ride progresses. Still, gets me through a day of touring OK, and it doesn't persist after the ride; not for long, anyway. A break for a few minutes, just walking around, also resets it almost completely.
It's interesting that I don't experience anything like that with any other sports, i.e., kayaking or rowing, where it could be expected. The only other activity that gives it to me is pushing a pram...
And unfortunately, you're right in terms of how long it takes. My first private GP was quite convinced it was the carpal tunnel syndrome, so tests had to be carried out. Since it is related to an accident, a lot of other people were involved in arranging it, and six months down the road the test came back with nothing: it's not the wrists. Back to square one, and each other step is worth six months, with little progress in diagnostics and no improvement to the actual condition.
But if it bothers you, the earlier you start the process, the earlier you'll get your answer and probably a cure. I'd advise you to pop in to your local surgery and have a chat with them. At least it'll get the process going.