32counter

Just curious if anyone else has had problems with weakness in their hands after riding long distances. I did my first 100 mile ride yesterday. My right hand feels weak and awkward. When pressing my thumb and my index finger together it feels particularly weak. This feeling has been fairly consistent since starting to ride and it is only in my right hand. I do move my hands to different positions consistently. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

pablosnazzy

you are probably putting too much pressure on the nerves in your hand, this is from position. you said you do change your hand grip as you ride, that should work, but if you are putting lots of weight/pressure on your hand, it will still feel tingly. if possible, change up your position a bit so you aren't naturally putting all your weight on your hands.

oh, and congrats on your first century. my hands have felt tingly after every century i've done, so you aren't alone on that.

faterikcartman

Just to throw out another perspective, I have a cervical spine injury. The nerves running to the arms and hands come out of the cervical spine area. Add tilting your head back whilst riding to some stenosis and your hands can tingle, go numb, and become weak.

Probably just from putting too much pressure on your hands whilst riding as suggested above, but there are other possibilities you may want to consider discussing with a doctor experienced in this area.

johnny99

Do you keep your elbows bent when you are riding?

32counter

Thanks fellas. I do not always keep my elbows bent but I would say the majority of the time. I played a lot of baseball up through college and remember having similar experiences when I would get jammed on the top hand, nothing to this extent. I have been massaging my hand above the thumb and I believe I can feel where maybe nerves are being compressed. Thanks again for the feedback

achoo

Yeah, if it doesn't go away, get examined. If it starts creeping up your arms, get examined. I had a herniated disk in my neck that was blocking 1/3 of my spinal cord. It started as tingling/numbness in my finger/thumb tips and weakness in my hands and forearms. It then began marching up to my shoulders...

If it's not that, try some padded gloves - Spenco makes some that work well for me, but then again my hands are pretty mangled from playing college football and I need 'em.

And if you do need to get some weight off your hands, you can do that by moving your saddle back, then adjusting your fit as necessary.

darb85

Get a bike fit. No not the adjustment they gave you when you bought the bike but a proper 3 plane bike fit. Specialized BG Fit is a great one. Find one in your area. Youll spend a bit, but its amazing how much better the bike can be and how much more comfortable