Numbness in hands after long rides...

[sidicks]

During my London to Paris ride a couple of weeks who, I experience numbness in both hands, particularly in the little fingers of my left hand. This was despite wearing padded gloves to help cushion my hands and actively trying to change grip and rest the hands as much as possible while riding.

While the numbness went away fairly quickly after the riding had stopped, at the time I was very conscious that my grip strength, particularly in my right hand, was failing, and has still not returned some 7-10 days later, so I'm concerned about potential long-term nerve damage.

I found out that you can buy shock-absorbing handlebar tape to help alleviate some of the symptoms I experienced, however it appears that my bike (Specialized Roubaix) already has this, so clearly something else needs to be done!

I'm currently away on holiday, and while the problem appears to be improving very slowly, I'm keen to see a physio to get it properly checked out and speed up the recovery process.

1) has anyone had similar symptoms and can offer any advice?

2) can anyone recommend a physio in the City of London or Kent area that has decent cycling experience and hence might be more familiar with this type of problem?

Thanks

Sidicks

[Fugazi]

Had this in my left hand after a particularly rough ride on a road bike over off-road surfaces last week, (SkyRide description said suitable for road bikes...). After a bit of internet searching came to the conclusion it was cyclists palsy. Same symptoms as you except the numbness and tingling subsided after 36 hours although my grip strength was reduced for a couple more days. I put it down to the bone jarring ride although like you I was moving my hands around the bars as much as possible and I was wearing mitts with gel pads. I think you can get it from a poor fit on the bike too by having too much pressure on the base of your hands impacting on the nerves in that region.
Never had it before either, wasn't particularly pleasant.

Edited due to laptop having a meltdown

Edited by Fugazi on Sunday 3rd August 17:10

[Dammit]

You've hit the nail on the head there I think- too much weight on the hands.

Try moving the saddle down and back a little- you should be able to take your hands off the bars without face-planting into the stem, and for that you need to be balanced, which moving back a little should help with.

[sidicks]

Fugazi said:

Had this in my left hand after a particularly rough ride on a road bike over off-road surfaces last week, (SkyRide description said suitable for road bikes...). After a bit of internet searching came to the conclusion it was cyclists palsy. Same symptoms as you except the numbness and tingling subsided after 36 hours although my grip strength was reduced for a couple more days. I put it down to the bone jarring ride although like you I was moving my hands around the bars as much as possible and I was wearing mitts with gel pads. I think you can get it from a poor fit on the bike too by having too much pressure on the base of your hands impacting on the nerves in that region.
Never had it before either, wasn't particularly pleasant.

Edited due to laptop having a meltdown

Edited by Fugazi on Sunday 3rd August 17:10

Worryingly for me, the roads were genuinely fairly flat on the London to Paris trip and I have had a "bike fit" already to ensure my posture on the bike wasn't going to cause me many problems.

[Some Gump]

P,

Move your saddle back. No weight should be on your hands, that bar is for turning, not holding your weight.

I got a bad batch of cyclists numb hand 2 years ago, went after 2 months ish. Learned the lesson the hard way!

[JimmyTheHand]

Dammit said:

You've hit the nail on the head there I think- too much weight on the hands.

Saw this ( light hands heavy feet) on MTB forum - some will apply to road bikes

[Gizmoish]

JimmyTheHand said:

Dammit said:

You've hit the nail on the head there I think- too much weight on the hands.

Saw this ( light hands heavy feet) on MTB forum - some will apply to road bikes

Good article that - I know I have a tendency to throttle the bars while climbing...

[tobinen]

Some Gump said:

Move your saddle back. No weight should be on your hands, that bar is for turning, not holding your weight.

Hmm, interesting. I did not know this and I place quite a bit of weight on my hands. I generally have issues with rides over an hour, not just numb hands but also pins and needles down my right leg eventually leading to not being able to feel my right foot and having to stop. I think I need a proper fitting.

[yellowjack]

Following a broken shoulder blade, I had complete numbness and loss of strength in the last two fingers of my left hand. Something to do with the Ulna nerve being 'pinched' or constricted is most likely according to the Physio. Getting bach onto a (mountain) bike has helped to reduce the problem hugely. Again, the physio reckons that riding with my wrists 'dropped' is helping to stretch things and release the nerve, with the vibrations assisting too. It hasn't completely disappeared, but at least I can open a jar of pickle or a bottle of pop for myself now.

Not much help to the OP I suppose, but it shows the opposite side of the coin. Before I got back onto my bike, there was very little improvement in the numbness from just Physiotherapy and home stretching.

[outnumbered]

My 2c...

I don't agree that "no weight" should be on your hands, and slamming your seat a long way back to try to change your balance could cause other issues. You say you had a bike fit, but what style of riding did they fit you for ? A key parameter in bike fit is how much saddle/bar height drop they dial in, more drop will be more aero but could also put more weight on your hands. Raising the bars a bit (additional spacers or flipping your stem) might help.

I also had some ulnar nerve problems a while ago, in my case they were caused by some Specialized Body Geometry mitts that were actually meant to prevent ulnar nerve problems ! It did take several months to recover after I'd consigned those mitts to the bin. I did have some physio but I'm not sure how much good it did.

[TheInternet]

Well, during my London to Paris ride a couple of weeks years ago, I experienced numbness in both hands, particularly in the little fingers of my left hand. This was despite wearing padded gloves to help cushion my hands and actively trying to change grip and rest the hands as much as possible while riding.

My numbness lasted months, rectified with a shorter stem and aero-bars for longer rides.

[HereBeMonsters]

Worst "I rode to Paris" thread ever...

[sidicks]

HereBeMonsters said:

Worst "I rode to Paris" thread ever...

I guess you missed the 'London to Paris 2014' thread ?!