Right Hand Falls Asleep
 

On the last few rides, I've noticed that my right hand goes numb/falls asleep periodically, and needs to be shaken out a few different times on the ride. I'm wondering what might be causing this. Maybe my seat needs to be raised slightly? I've already adjusted the slope of the seat for more comfort 'down there'.... :rolleyes:

And why the right hand, but not the left? I remember last year, when I only had an MTB to ride as my commuter, both hands would get pins and needles periodically. Now that I'm riding a road bike, only the right hand is getting it.

Any help with this is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Are your bars straight?

Moustache bars
http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adultbikes/925.html

That's the other thing I was thinking of... maybe I need to adjust them so that they are angled away from me slightly?

-- recheck bike fit, sounds like too much weight on right hand
-- add good padded gloves, like the ironman series
-- vary position between: on bars, on hoods and in drops.

Carpal tunnel.... I have it, it sucks.
It only falls asleep when I'm riding hard, so usually during races..

I've been playing the drums for 25 years...professionally for about 15, and I do preventative stretches. I know I don't have carpal tunnel syndrome, as I'd DEFINITELY be having difficulties with drumming if that were the case!!!

You're quite right to pay attention to it. Probably foolish question, but: Is there anything assymetrical in your hand position? Are you keeping either hand closer to the brake hoods etc ? Is there a mirror mounted on the left side, or a computer on the right, that causes the hands to rest in a different position?

This may be TMI but: My bicycle teacher has taught me to periodically take my hands off the handlebars and do a finger stretching exercise over the back of my hips - I'm not sure how to describe it. But every 45 minutes or so, he'll be up at the front (inevitably) and he takes his hand of the bars, places it over his rear hip / upper haunch, and goes through 5-10 reps of giving himself a little backrub, pinching his back between his thumb on one side and his four fingers on the other side. Watching him do it, we all follow suit.

It looks like it's a backrub, but the rationale is to give your fingers a chance to move differently than they have been. In my riding group we've all adopted it. I've googled this technique, looked for it in books, never found it anywhere.

And here's a diagnostic question: is the numbness all across the hand, or only on the little finger and on the side of the ring finger next to the pinky? That seems to differentiate between Guyon's Canal and other ulnar nerve problems which require a doctor's review, but take a look at this website which offers this as food for thought:

http://www.hughston.com/hha/b_15_3_2a.jpg

http://www.hughston.com/hha/b_15_3_2b.jpg

bend your elbows.

indeed, they are

yeah, bend your elbows, use your abdominal muscles to support yourself

I do use great gloves; I don't think there is too much weight on the right hand...i'm pretty aware of that type of stuff. I try to vary position but with moustache bars it's not the easiest.

Good food for thought. No, nothing assymetrical. Nothing mounted on the right side..mirrors, etc.
The numbness isn't really in my thumb or 1st finger area...more towards the other fingers, etc. A friend of mine was experiencing numbness/tingling in the hands, and it turned out to be an issue with his back. Something was getting pinched back there that was sending the tingles to his hands.

igloomaster, I developed hand numbness on a 200 mile ride last summer... I kept on riding and did not regain full function for about 2 months. Do not push your luck!
Your symptoms do not sound like carpal tunnel. It is probably ulnar and/or median neuropraxia as edtrek suggests.
Do yourself a favor and get a professional bike fitting. Also invest in some good padded gloves and extra bar padding.

igloomaster, check your reach, it could be that one arm is longer than the other. Mine is so bad I have to offset my brake hoods on the road bike and my aerobars on the tribike. stand up straight and extend both hands palms together. My right arm extends 3 inches farther then my left. Try it, your body may be off not the bike.

Some years ago I did something to my upper back and/or neck area when doing a pullup and haven't been the same since. At one point about a year ago, if I extended my right arm my right hand went numb. That faded with time, but still, if I sleep on my side and extend my right arm too far, the hand gets numb. So that brings up the question for you to study, are there any other circumstances where you get a numb hand? Driving with your hands up on the steering wheel for a long time? Lying on your side with an arm extended? Maybe the problem is not pressure on the hand from the handlebars, but elsewhere, and it just shows up because when you are on a bicycle you are in just the right position for it to happen.

Of course I have no solution. I do try to make myself do some yoga postures just to keep myself from getting solidified. That seems to help, as indicated by the phenomenon that I get worse when I slack off.

- dating much?

:-)

- seriously though, i have the same problem and have had to be careful, selective, and attentive to bike fit, glove selection, and movement of hands during riding.. you'd be surprised how much of difference in stem length and seat fore/aft movement can make for hand comfort...

- i worked as a journalist in the industry from the transition from manual typewriters through the computer age, so believe me when i say that to me, the concept of ergonomics is a recent development...

:-(

- road bars are best as you can move around a bit... i had a bit of problems when first getting back into riding after a number of years, but over the past six months have been able to adjust, compensate and come up with comfort settings for two road bikes, two 'cross bikes, and a comfort bike (a different animal)...

- i hope you find a setting that works for you...

You want to know the strangest thing?? ... I used to get numbed hand while riding upright - er in my well padded hybrid. Then I built my fixed conversion with plenty padding and guess what? More numbeness.

Now is all well, since I removed the padding and I alternate my grip from wrapping my fingers around the THIN NAKED handlebars in different positions. It took me a while but I did develop a really good grip - aka the handshake of death.

Off course eventually I lean on the bars using my palms, but not for very long and never with the bar "accross" the palm. It is more like holding a tennis raquet than flattly leaning on my palms.

At least it works for me ...

I saw my Chiropractor today. 90% certain it's my back causing the numbness. He's a great chiropractor (also a cyclist) and he is skilled in 'Active Release Technology' - highly recommend this: http://www.activerelease.com/about.asp

Checked for carpal tunnel - - 0.

dude i hate to say it but i have moustache bars that i ditched after about 10 rides. to me they really only give one hand position and after about 15 minutes in that postion no matter what i tired the hands went to bed.

i tried various angles but nothing ever worked. now they hang in my garage and i use mb riser bars on the fixie and regular bullhorns on the other commuter.

there is also a reason roadies ride drop bars i am quite convinced that once set up properly they are the most comfortable and offer the most hand positions.

i am going on a REALLY long ride soon and plan to install some (salsa bellaps) with a nice high rise stem and wrap the bars with some nice extra tape under the flats and hoods. all in all i think that is the best way to achieve comfort for the long haul.

maybe it is your back but i bet rasing your bars higher will sove the problem (unfortunatley with moustache bars that comfortable position is really freakin high for most people).

I agree with this diagnosis. I frequently stretch my hands, my arms, and even rotate my shoulders when riding. If you think about it, your legs are doing most of the work, and those muscles are calling for the blood flow and associated oxygen. By using these arm motions, your upper body will call for more blood flow. One other thing. This is very common for people who use a keyboard or mouse for 8 hours a day, especially if it's in just the right hand. If this is the case, make sure you get a good ergonomic chair.