I've Got A Bad Hand
 

I'm not sure if this belongs here but...

Last year I got my left hand caught in an old 1930s freight elevator- crushed it pretty good. It's a year later, and it getting to be biking season and I'm looking forward to getting out. Although I did ride a little last year- Yesterday was the first day I was able to get out this year- and went for around 8 miles. After that my hand was really sore and swollen.

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day, but I was actually afraid to get back on my bike because my hand is sore.

I'm riding "vintage" touring bikes- so nothing particularly aggressive geometrically...

Am I right in thinking that getting a taller stem would put me a little more upright and put less pressure on my hands?

Along with that- I was also thinking about some extra padding under the "cork" tape I usually use.

Thoughts, comments, ideas?

Thanks!

Dave


My main bike, pretty much as it sits right now-

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5797/hpim1779.jpg

You are going to have to raise it quite a bit to have an effect, but would be worth a try... I ride recumbent most of the time so not that geometry. Hope others have more to say to be of helpl.

I would recommend trying some bar phat and possibly some bar shapers. Also cycling gloves could help reduce your hand irritation.

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb...metry-bar-phat
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb...ry-bar-shapers

Beautiful bike! Had a similar problem many years ago after a run in with a table saw on my remaining hand (was already riding one handed due to an earlier amputation). There were two issues with hand pain. One was the jarring on the injured hand, which to some extent went away after a few years of more healing and improved core strength. Padding the bar a bit helped as well. Changing riding position or the geometry/handling of a bike you love does not sound as good to me, but might be an acceptable tradeoff for you. Second issue was a tougher nut to crack and came from the repeated stress of pulling on the brake cable with a hand that didn't work as well and didn't have enough pieces left to fully heal. Finally had to give up the vintage Campy brake lever in favor of a bar mounted lever and splitter running both brakes. Don't know what your functional limits are. If they're extensive, you might want to think about modifying the set-up to something that better fits your grip strength and range of motion, moving both brakes over to the good hand with a splitter attached, or even going to new technology which gives you more stopping power with a lot less effort needed. Great to see you back in the saddle and good luck!