Hands falling asleep
 

This is my seventh week of riding six days a week at about 120 miles a week. At first my hands fell asleep during ride but now they are also falling asleep while driving and chilling on the couch. Is this normal ?

Something is not right. Do you wear gloves? Do you have drop bars, flat bars or something else? Do your arms/hands support a lot of weight while you ride? Do you vary your position on the bars frequently? etc.
Tell us about your bike and your riding.

Jan, thanks for the response. No gloves. Drop bars. I don't vary much during ride because getting in lowest position isn't comfortable on back for long. I ride an old Trek 1200 bought used several years ago.

The only way to realistically mitigate body pain when riding a bicycle, (other than the "pain" produced an aerobic workout), is to get a "professional fit". It costs somewhere around $150 to $200 and the certified fitter will work with your body first, then adjust and "fit" the bike to you personally. It's an investment, but well worth it. Padded gloves will help too.

Couple pointers, what ever position you primarily ride in ( hands on hoods, flats, drops ) position the bar/drops/hoods so your hands / wrist are in the most nutral position, wrist straight and not tilted up or down or in or out from in line with forearms.

Do not primarily support upper body weight by placing the web of thumb and hand around the hood and let your upper body push forward on the hood hook area.

Position your seat slightly further back or bars further forward (stem length) to take pressure off hands, as your butt moves back from your / bottom bracket you should have less hand pressure down on the arms (within reason) due to improved weight balance while pedaling.

Improve core strength with crunches, planks, side planks, leg lifts, knee lifts to give better support of upper body with less use of arms.

If some adjustment does not improve the tingling get a professional fitting, If off the bike tingling persist see a doc.

Sounds like your fit is pinching a nerve. Get your bike properly fitted then see a chiropractor is the tingling continues while not biking,

No. See a doc.

Sounds like you have nerve damage + 1 on .. go to a neurologist MD

I would start with padded gloves and possibly padded handlebar tape, as well. I would then raise the handlebars a bit and possibly, as suggested above, slide the saddle back just a bit. It is also important to make sure the saddle is not pointing downward toward the front, which increases the load on the hands as one fights against sliding off the front of the saddle.

Thanks guys. I will try some of these suggestions. It's hard to see how gloves will help.

How tight are you gripping the bars? Some folks hang on for dear life. Your fingers should be loose and even flexing at times, not tight. Change positions frequently. My wife, who has this problem, rides at times with one hand and shakes the other out.

I have to shake my hands as well. And I must say I probably grip the handlebars tight but I thought everyone did.

No, they don't. Relax your hands.

Not normal, but common and well-known among cyclists.

1) wear special padded cycling gloves. They have a relief channel for the ulnar nerve.
2) don't grip the bar tightly, however when you see something coming, like a pothole or tracks, do grip the bar tightly, then relax again.
3) the Numb Hands post: http://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...l#post12953035

If you get no relief from the many sound tips above, then by all means consider visiting a healthcare provider for an evaluation.

Another option, if none of the above helps and if you have no contributing health issues, is to consider .......................................recumbent bikes.
On my bikes, my hands/arms bear no weight because I am leaning back in a seat with a backrest. When I started riding 'bents, I stopped my quest for the Perfect Cycling Gloves.

I do get numb hands in the left hand mostly - the right does shifting - and shift my hands around a bit. This is on a 7-10 mile ride.

Hilariously my 17 year old daughter who rides with me gets left numb hand as well. She's as fit as they can be at that age while me, well, not quite so :)

She does use cycling gloves, I don't. Both of us use bicycles with straight bars - hybrids I suppose.

The cycling suggestions are all good, but IMHO, this statement triggers the need for medical attention. It's probably nothing, but worth checking out.

Tomorrows ride is with a primary care doctor and I'll mention it to him. It's pretty weird the tips of my fingers have the feeling now seven hours after the ride. When I wake up in morning it's back to normal.

Hey ... that's convenient! :thumb:

These exercises are for carpal tunnel, but I've found them useful for any hand/wrist problems:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Exercises

Oceanblue,

No, it is not normal. You are risking serious nerve damage by letting this continue.

Let me tell you about the problems with hand numbness I first experienced when taking up cycling three years ago. My initial problem was that the cycling store sold me a bike which was way too small for me. After riding about five miles my hands would start to get numb and, the longer I kept riding, the worse it got. On some rides by 10 or 11 miles the hand numbness was so bad that I could no longer actuate the brake lever with my right hand. Like you, I would experience numbness and tingling in my hands long after the ride ended.

To make a long story short, I got a professional bike fitting and, armed with that information, went to a different bike store where they built me a new bike (using the components from my first bike) on a frame that was 4 cm larger than the first (I went from a 52 cm frame to a 56 cm frame). That made all the difference in the world. Since then I have been able to enjoy cycling and have completed many long rides including a century ride.

I do occasionally suffer minor hand numbness. To relieve this I change the positions of my hands on the handlebars frequently. I use the information provided by DanoXYZ in the famous "Numb Hands" post (referenced above) to keep myself from falling into bad habits.

Good luck. Keep us posted on the steps you take to relieve this condition.

Banded, timely post on your part. The guy I rode with yesterday is a primary care doctor and a very experienced rider who is analytical. While riding he said he thought my bike was way too small. He pointed out a number of areas where he thought the bike was a bad fit. He has graciously offered one of his carbon bikes to borrow since we are of similar build and height. When I "test" drove his bike it had a totally different fit and feel then my current bike. I guess I'll speed up my decision on a new bike. I bought current bike through LBS used several years ago and was told it was a good fit. Even though I've had bike for years I am just getting into biking as a daily routine which is why my hand problems just started. Today is my day off from riding and my fingers are tingling as I type now. Thanks for everyones responses.

I used to come back with numb hands after my usual 10 mile rides. I went to LBS and bought a pair of Bontrager cycling gloves, mesh on one side and serious neoprene padding over leatherette on the palm side. No numbness in two rides.

The padding is considerably thicker than the more stylish gloves my kid is using...

Padding is very individual. I have naturally well-padded hands, and any extra padding causes me pain. Therefore, I use gloves (which are hard to find) with no padding. I bought a whole bunch several years ago, and they are running out. What to do?? Well, I have enough to last several years.

In my case it's also a case of Death Grip I have on the handlebars :)