Cyclist's Palsy

[airinpie]

It's been a week, and I still have pins and needles in my pinkie and ring finger. So obviously, I have to google it. ?

I've diagnosed myself with the palsy. I'm already taking strong anti-inflammatories, AND I got an invite to go mountain biking today and I said no, that I needed to let my body chill out. 

I also need some good gloves. 

Am I going to live?

[Ralphie]

1 minute ago, airinpie said:

Am I going to live?

Probably, as long as it's snot ebola.

[shootingstar]

Do you have another bike where you are more upright?  I assume you are on drops.. Have you cycled 100 miles as you did recently,at an earlier time on this same bike?

I only experience problems in shoulders etc. when the bike fit is not exactly right for me..and it would have been a rented bike.  

I've been biking for past 25 years and have done multi-week long bike touring trips with weight in my panniers. I've never had your problem at all. 

[groupw]

Maybe a pinched nerve. Time can help. Sometimes massage therapy. Good gloves will help, but won't solve everything. 

Make sure you move your hands around on the bars so you aren't sitting on a pressure point. Like SS said, a more upright position can help. I started going to the gym last winter. I focus on my upper body and core strength. I have found that helped me a lot on the bike! Also really look at the bike fit. A slight rotation of the handlebars can really help. 

[BuffJim]

3 hours ago, airinpie said:

It's been a week, and I still have pins and needles in my pinkie and ring finger. So obviously, I have to google it. ?

I've diagnosed myself with the palsy. I'm already taking strong anti-inflammatories, AND I got an invite to go mountain biking today and I said no, that I needed to let my body chill out. 

I also need some good gloves. 

Am I going to live?

I had this on my cross country trip. Stayed with me four or five months after the trip, but then went away. My physician brother thought it was related to Carpal Tunnel syndrome. 

Earlier in the trip I had a lot of wrist and hand  pain, but adjusting the handlebars helped. 

[Road Runner]

12 minutes ago, groupw said:

Good gloves will help, but won't solve everything.

Very true.  I also find it helps to occasionally sit up and ride with no hands or in a more upright position that reduces the pressure on the hands.

[Road Runner]

3 hours ago, shootingstar said:

I assume you are on drops..

I swear, I read this twice as "drugs".   

I couldn't figure out how @shootingstar knew @airinpie was on drugs!    

[petitepedal]

@groupw gives good advice. 

I have had Carpal Tunnel surgery 3 times (yes..it can come back)..My doc said stay on smooth pavement and wear good gloves...I told him to tell the smooth pavement thing to MNDOT   I try to take my hands off the handlebars every now and then...and shake them out..also move the hands on the bars...pretty regularly     A massage could help...at night..sleep with a brace on your wrist...especially if you tend to curl up your hands under you...bending your wrist... prior to my second surgery on the one side...my left hand went numb while knitting and damn...I couldn't get it to un-numb You might also google pt exercises for Carpal Tunnel...some of them may help.

hope it clears soon...if not see a doc...especially if you have a lot of repetitive hand work in your job..or lots of keyboarding.

[airinpie]

Thanks for all of the advice. I try to move around a lot. I've had numbness, but nothing that hung around this long. I switched to gloves with almost no padding, and that seemed to make it worse. I had a bike fit, and they turned my bars down a bit to try to help. I think working on my core is a good idea. Keep somw of the pressure off. 

Right now I promised my doc that I'd take some time off for my shoulder anyway. I have a follow up on Nov 15th, so if I'm still having issues I'll ask about it. 

Its only in my two last fingers, so doesn't seem carpal tunnel-ish. The first day my whole hand felt clunky, but now it's find except for the tingling. 

[JerrySTL]

Back in 1990 I bought my first aerobars due to hand numbness after long rides. Works wonders for me.

[petitepedal]

Ulnar nerve? 

[Airehead]

6 hours ago, airinpie said:

It's been a week, and I still have pins and needles in my pinkie and ring finger. So obviously, I have to google it. ?

I've diagnosed myself with the palsy. I'm already taking strong anti-inflammatories, AND I got an invite to go mountain biking today and I said no, that I needed to let my body chill out. 

I also need some good gloves. 

Am I going to live?

You are likely going to live because it is not a sprain.  I swear by Terry gloves wel worth the money.  The style I like is the T-glove and they really reduce presurre on the ulnar nerve.  They come in full and half fingered versions.

[maddmaxx]

9 minutes ago, petitepedal said:

Ulnar nerve? 

Quite possibly.  In years past the outer part of my hands used to go numb during rides.  Various "cures" helped with the problem.

1 slightly higher bars

2 slightly closer bars (both of these make small reductions in how much weight you put on the arms and hands.)

3 rotating the bars for a more relaxed hand position.  On a flat bar bike this amounts to adjusting the angle of the brake levers so the hands lay on them completely relaxed.  I assume something similar works for hoods on drop bars.

4.  Gloves with a padded section in the lower palm, often with a gap in the padding right up the center of the hand to avoid pressure on the nerves there.

Like chain lube, the above advice is only worth it if it works for you.

[ChrisL]

All really good advice.  The only thing I can add is I suffered through it for decades. I switched to carbon bars on both my road and mtn bike and went with a wider platform,   FSA  K Wing bar on roadie,  Ergon teardrop shaped grips on mtn bike.  I'll get slight numbness after a couple of hours but it used to get so bad I could hardly shift or brake my hands would be numb.

It's a spendy option but it helped me tremendously.  I have traditional bars on my crosser and after an hour my hands are toast but I'm not putting carbon on that bike.

[airinpie]

20 minutes ago, petitepedal said:

Ulnar nerve? 

Yes, that's the one. 

[donkpow]

Make sure your wrists are always in a neutral position on the bars. Core strength will allow you to not carry weight on your wrists/hands. Try to take time to stretch and loosen up your back on the bike. Try to relax. Long rides let tension creep into your form.