witherzombie.20

I'm not into competition or serious long distance cycling, but my car broke down recently and I wanted to see my dad who was staying only for a few days in California from out of state, but he was 400 miles north of me. I got a ride with my bike up there but I had to ride back down by myself and carry all of my crap. The first day I went 80 miles, and my ring finger and my pinky started to feel numb. The second day with no real rest I went another 80 miles, but averaging only 8 mph. My hands were really starting to hurt and feel numb then and I had to rest a few days, so I got a motel for a few days. I stretched really good so my legs were feeling not sore at all after a few days of rest. I left with my hands still feeling numb. I left at 9 am on Monday, and cycled the last 220 miles without stopping to sleep, it took me 26 hours, and was very expensive and unhealthy, considering how much I had to stop to buy monster energy drinks and Gatorade. I got there at about 11:30 am Tuesday, and of course my whole body felt like a bruise, but my hands and fingers felt like glass. Its 8 days form when I did that, and I'm basically fully recovered, but my ring finger and pinky all the way down to my wrist is still numb. I had something similar happen to me before, I had a job where I walked all day for 10 hours every day, I had very worn out shoes to where stepping on little rocks with them on was painful. My right big toe went completely numb and it lasted for MONTHS. My question is how long will this last for? Is this really going to last for months or can hands and fingers recover faster. I can't go to work, or play the piano with numb hands. I'm in a lot of debt and this is just stressing me out more.

BikeLite

You have a fit problem on the bike. Flat bar or drop bars? The numbness may last months. Go see a doc and PT to see if there are therapies to shorten that time.

Thulsadoom

Gee, I'd say you overdid it just a wee bit. Sounds like a heck of a trip! There's always a price to pay for doing something extraordinary.

unterhausen

I have had numbness that lasted for up to 6 months, but it wasn't at a level where I couldn't play piano. My guess is most of your numbness will be gone before a month is over. I think some of the worst numbness I have had on a ride was my feet and that came back in a week. But I never could play piano with my feet.

I had surgery on November 1 and they cut out a nerve to my foot. Apparently it's considered a spare nerve, and surgeons often steal it to fix people's nerves elsewhere. I forget the timeline for it to grow back, but mine is obviously in the process of growing back now. I think that's worse than the numbness you get from riding a bike, but maybe not.

This post made me test my hands, and I have slight numbness in my left pinky. It isn't enough to affect me in any way though. I think that happened 5 years ago, so it's likely permanent

Andrey

Look up "cycling palsy". It is caused by over use of the hands holding the bars. It is a combination of the bike fit, core strength and long time on the bike. I always had nerve damage after long rides that lasted for 5-6 months. What minimized this problem for me is sitting on my long distance bike all the way back and unloading my hands(saddle tilt is important) and working on my core strength off the bike. Even with a perfect bike fit and strong core it is still important to pay attention when on the bike, make sure the elbows are not locked and you are not sliding forward on the bike while riding, especially when your are fatigued.

Carbonfiberboy 

It's time for the Numb Hands post again. Hopefully you're riding a road bike with drop bars. I change hand positions frequently. The least stressful grip is on the hoods, thumb on top of the hood, the hands more or less vertical beside the hood. For extra security, I put my little finger behind the bar in the hooks. The lower two photos show this hand position but without the little finger mod..

GhostRider62

Tingling pinky and ring finger are almost always neuropathy of the ulnar nerve in the Guyon canal of the wrist due to pressure of the bars and road vibration.

I have not felt my fingers in almost a decade and in my case, the ulnar nerve entrapment is elsewhere. The entrapment can occur at the elbow, shoulder or cervical spine for instance but almost always the problem is at the wrist.

The tingling feeling usually takes several months to go away, OP should be fine in time. Nerves heal very slowly.

Trakhak

I underwent ulnar nerve relocation surgery at both the wrist and elbow over 30 years ago. Still have very little muscle between my thumb and first finger in that hand compared to the other (which the surgeon said was typical of long-term ulnar entrapment), but more than before the surgery.

The feeling in my ring and little fingers came back eventually, but I still experience hand numbness if I ride using flat bars or drop bars for more than 20 minutes or so. The only workaround I've found is using clamp-on aero bars. I have those installed on all my bikes. As long as I use the aero bars for a good proportion of a ride, I can stay on the bike more or less indefinitely.

GhostRider62

Awesome. A recumbent helps me because I can steer with one finger if needed but the vibration still exasperates nerve impingement at the cervical spine and I do feel it in my arm, hand, and fingers. On an upright, I also use clipons. I plan to use them on Paris Brest Paris this year hoping they offer enough relief for me to finish the ride. I use risers on the aero bars, so, my position is not terribly aerodynamic but it keeps my head and neck a little higher. I have had 3 EMG studies, xrays, and MRI of the wrist. So very bizarre to have pain there but the source is upstream.

unterhausen

Referred pain is a weird phenomenon.

GhostRider62

Sciatica is quite similar, pain radiates along the entire fibre.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heal.../radiculopathy

A pinched nerve as it exits the cervical vertebra generally at the foramen and/or UV joint (could be disc degeneration or arthritis effects but the nerve is pinched) will radiate pain into the hands with the same feeling as cyclist palsy. For years I only had pain in my left hand. Now, it is starting to appear in my right. Not coincidentally, the nerves coming from the right side of the spine are now also being impinged. It is not uncommon into the 6th or 7th decade of life. Not nearly as common in youngerster.

adamrice 

I managed to do this when I was a teenager. Ulnar nerve pinch. In my case it persisted for a couple of months. It wasn't painful—it was if those fingers were "asleep" with mild pins and needles.

You can avoid it by wearing better gloves and swapping up your hand position, but I don't know how to treat it once it has happened. Perhaps OTC anti-inflammatories or steroids?

GhostRider62

Let me know how your hands feel when you get to Walden early in June.

Hydrated

This. The "numb hands" post that Carbonfiberboy referenced is very very important. That post saved my cycling years ago... I was struggling with hand pain and numbness to the point that I was going to quit riding. I tried everything and was to the point where I was using $80 gloves and was still barely dulling the pain enough to ride for more than about 30 minutes at a time. Now I routinely ride with bare hands if I want, but mostly I use minimalist gloves just for improving my grip in the Georgia heat and humidity.