Something weird going on with left finger

[spindrifter]

Hi, I only ride on weekends, anywhere from 20 to 80 miles. Nothing too crazy, but for a month and a half now, I have had no feeling in my left ring fingertip. VERY peculiar. I am thinking about acupuncture, Any thoughts?

[mister]

I have something similar. If my hands get too cold, my right index finger goes completely numb and turns white from the knuckle to the tip. I went to have it checked out by two doctors; one thought I had Marfan's Syndrome because I have big hands (led to three visits with three heart specialists who all laughed and told me to get a new physician), the other told me it was more likely a carpal tunel type thing and to take Tylenol if it hurt too much. I just keep my hands warm and don't worry about it.

[Extort]

I started noticing that I got numb hands after I changed to that F:ik gel bartape. I pulled that stuff off pretty quickly and felt better ever since.

[tomcryar]

Try just moving your hands around while riding---put one down to your side and let the blood flow back, then do the other one. It happens alot when you ride with your hands at a 90 degree angle to your arm. move your hands and don't keep such a tight grip and "rigid" style of riding.

[Mo'Phat]

All sorts of things can affect circulation or nerves. I found that when I wore a certain pair of gloves, my hands went numb fast. I switched to full-finger gloves and the circulation came back. I found when I rode exclusively on the hoods, my wrists would be constantly under strain, which would constrict the carpal tunnel and pinch nerves (not quite carpal tunnel syndrome, but the symptoms)...so I got used to switching hand positions every so often.

Also, just taking a hand off the bars or riding no-handed to 'shake things out' works for me.

[Mo'Phat]

ps. Are you married? Does your left ring finger have a ring on it? I am, and I do, and I notice that my ring sometimes digs into my finger.

Here, you have three choices: Cut your finger off, get a divorce, or bask in joyous suffering. ;)

[roadfix]

I've mentioned this before over in the road or general forum that my right index fingertip has been somewhat continuously numb and tingly since about a year ago. But since this summer my right tip of my thumb started to feel the same. I hear this is very common among cyclists. I'm looking for a quick fix.

[Drew12]

I've mentioned this before over in the road or general forum that my right index fingertip has been somewhat continuously numb and tingly since about a year ago. But since this summer my right tip of my thumb started to feel the same. I hear this is very common among cyclists. I'm looking for a quick fix.


Remove the offending part.
Unless you might need those fingertips.....

:p

[roadfix]

Remove the offending part.
Unless you might need those fingertips.....

:p

I am left handed so I can live with that if worse comes to worse. Basically the only inconvinience I experience from this is when handling very small parts with my right hand and also picking my right nostril with my index finger. :D

[Drew12]

I am left handed so I can live with that if worse comes to worse. Basically the only inconvinience I experience from this is when handling very small parts with my right hand and also picking my right nostril with my index finger. :D


Ah, nostril picking. I forgot how important tht is!~!!
It's uh, in there somewhere....

[grumbles]

OK Good. I'm not the only one! I've been getting the same thing on my left index and middle fingers. And Fixer, yes the nose thing does suck... but in my case it's the left nostril. =D

[AkAk2000]

This is probably due to irritation/aggravation of the ulnar nerve. This condition is quite common for cyclists, and is called cyclists palsy, handlebar palsy, ulnar neuropathy, and I'm sure quite a few other terms. Here's a link to a site that discusses it in more detail:

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/cycling-injuries.html

There are even better sites out there, but I don't have access to my bookmarks. Try googling "ulnar nerve cycling", and you should find some good ones.

Like you, I was doing most of my cycling on the weekends, around 60-100 miles, and developed the condition rather badly on my left hand. It tends to mainly impact the ring and pinkie fingers. It substantially weakened my grip strength on that hand, and impacted my dexterity. I ended up taking about a month off, and it went away.

To prevent it reoccuring, I've focused on a few measures: 1. Lowered seat, so as to put less pressure on the hands, 2. adjusted my grip to take pressure off the outside base of the hand (everyone's ulnar nerve takes a slightly different route from the wrist into the hand, but that route is generally restricted from the "channel" between the two pads, to the outside of the pad which is under the ring/pinkys -- you should experiment to find out where yours is), and 3. bought better padded gloves. Everyone has different experiences, but most do find the padded bar gels to help. I haven't yet gone this route, but intend to.

So far, my condition hasn't reoccurred. From my research, it seems that the condition seldom leads to permanent nerve damage, but it definitely does interfere with your quality of life, typing, etc.