How I beat numb hands
 

Not an uncommon thing for many riders, but my hands would start to go numb from time to time despite changing hand positions and shaking my hands out. I finally figured out a way to beat it. First, I found that my gloves were binding my hands, not unlike taping hands for boxing; when they are taped and you make a fist, everything is tightened up considerably (which is great for punching, no so good for holding on to a handlebar). So I quit riding with gloves. Much better, but my hands would still tingle and start to go numb after about 15 miles into a ride. One day while riding, I rested one hand over the bar making contact just below my wrist. I noticed the numbness subsided within several seconds and I am good for several more miles. This inadvertent discovery has been a godsend. I am not quite sure what is happening physiologically when I do this but it works. Just thought I would pass it along for anyone else to try. Anyone else have "cures" for hand numbness?

ETA - I was professionally fitted to my bike, the fit is correct.

strong core means very little pressure is needed to keep your body up. That has alleviated a lot of my hand and shoulder soreness over the years. I ride without gloves most of the time now, and when I do I use gloves with minimal padding

Eh, you could have a nerve in your hand that's just in an odd place. Gloves that wear and get too loose in the palm have been my only cause of numbness.

This is irrelevant if you are having hand issues. If you have been fitted "correctly", you should be able to ride for extended periods without much pressure on the bars with your hands.

You may still need to make some micro-adjustments to your seat position particularly fore/aft, and you may need to consider a small change in your stem length. How wide are your handlebars? The width of your shoulders? What saddle do you use? Do you slide forward on it if you reduce the pressure of your hands on the bars?

You might also consider doing some exercises to increase the strength of your core muscles -- front and back -- so you are able to ride with reduced pressure on your hands. You also don't mention if you are using drops or flat bars. Drops give you a variety of positions that can help delay the onset of hand numbness; if you are using flat bars, check the position of your brake/shift levers and rotate them so they are pointing about 45 degrees downwards.

I agree that gloves can be an issue with hand numbness. But again, that is a fit issue, both with the gloves and maybe an indicator that you are trying to push yourself back on the saddle.

If your hands only get numb on the bike, it's a fit issue. Some gloves are padded to as to protect the ulnar nerve, which helps. Other than that, it's a saddle tilt, fore-and-aft saddle positioning issue, or an issue with how you hold the bars: http://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...l#post12953035

Your hands simply should never get numb. Repeated periods of numbness can lead to temporary or permanent loss of function.

There's also an off-the-wall chance that you have a mild case of carpal tunnel or cubital tunnel syndrome. Exercises: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Exercises and Ulnar Nerve Contusion - Health Library

The exercises can help if done a couple times a day for a couple of weeks.

Carpal tunnel surgery was what cured the numbness in my hands. Before surgery I could lay down on the bed before going to sleep and my hands would go numb for no reason. Riding a bike was a bazillion times worse. Problem solved.

So tell me, sir, when did you stop beating your numb hands?

I wrote up an article with photos here: Numb Hands. Explains the locations of various nerves that may be pinched based upon the angle and rotation of your wrists. With proper positioning to place the weight on the heel of your palms, you can actually do hand-stands on your bars and support your entire body weight without numbness or pain (similar to doing hand-stands on the ground).

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...rpalMedian.gif

More reading:
Cyclist's Hands: Overcoming overuse injuries

Causes of hand issues: seat too far forward, gut too large and core too weak, putting weight on the part of the palm between thumb and index finger (a lot of people jam this into the hood, but there is a nerve there), wrapping the whole hand around tops so your palm rests on the bars instead of just lightly wrapping the fingers around, squeezing the bars instead of just lightly resting hands there...

If member "umd" was still here, he'd correctly advise that if you're going to ride on the ramps or hoods, keep your palms facing in (not down!). Then your hands will contact the bars on that fleshy, padded, largely nerve free portion of the hand. Put your arm/hands out like you're shaking hands with someone, not palms down.

It is relevant, you even mention specific fit issues in your reply. My core muscles are strong, I lift three times a week and include core exercises in my workouts (pull ups, hand stand presses, dips, push ups). I ride on drops and rotate hand positions. Thanks for your input anyway.


I tried repositioning based on the article and actually noticed a huge difference on my last ride. Very helpful, thanks.

that post is a revelation to me, I thank you sir

One that I didn't see here is front tire pressure. I used to run a set of 23's at about 110psi and ALWAYS had numb hands. I now run my front with a 25 at 85PSI and I have no more numbness. I could have strengthened my riding core over this time as well, but it seemed pretty immediate. Also, lifting core is not always the same as cycling core. I had a hip issue that my PT put me through TONS of deep core work, and there was a LOT of weakness that I never even knew COULD be there.