Originally Posted by
MoAlpha
Somewhere in my attic I have an old piece of paper saying I'm board-certified as a neurologist, so I'll chime in with some informed speculation.
The pain distribution, as described, is median nerve and far and away the most likely cause is entrapment in the infamous carpal tunnel. See a neurologist or a physiatrist who does neurodiagnostic studies for a diagnosis and a course of conservative treatment (splinting and anti-inflammatories). Then, if necessary, a hand surgeon.
Carpal tunnel is not a pressure, so much as a positioning, issue, but can come about simply from wear and tear degenerative changes and swelling in the other things the nerve shares that tight space with.
...to amplify this from a patient's perspective, I had a long and frustrating carpal tunnel diagnosis and surgery experience, back in my 30's.
It was triggered by a skiing injury, where I managed to catch my hand just right in the pole loop (we still used poles with leather loops for downhill back then), in a fall. Hyperflexed my wrist, and it never did completely repair itself.
I had some very tedious job where I needed to write out stuff in longhand, all day , every day. So eventually I got tired of the pain and dysfunction, got one of those nerve transmission studies, and found an ortho surgeon.
He did the release operation, which is supposed to make more room in there for the nerves to run about. I wish I could tell you it worked, but it was only a partial fix, and I didn't really overcome the issue until I changed jobs to one that was less hand motion intensive.
But without seeing some sort of neuro guy who will do the studies and give you a diagnosis, it's too soon to lose hope. I can remember a couple of direct to the joint cortisone injections, and a course of anti-inflammatory meds before we gave up and opted for surgery. You might well be able to overcome this with rest, some other sort of cross training activity, and a reevaluation of exactly how you fit on your bicycle. And if you don't already use them, corked bar tape and gel padded gloves are standard equipment for me. One of the reasons I love downtube shifters is that they enforce the moving my hands around thing, that was mentioned earlier.
Nobody ever mentions that in the ergo brifter wars.
