Numb hands!!!
 

I've been riding for a couple months now, and have experienced some numbness in my hands on my usual 20-30 mile rides. I bought riding gloves which did help a lot, but went out for 50 miles yesterday and really seemed to screw up my left hand. I finished the ride about 24 hours ago, but still can't open a jar with my left hand, and worse, I'm in a little jam band and I can't really play guitar.

Any thoughts on what's wrong? When I feel my hand(s) going numb, I try to find new positions or change my grip around, but it seems not to help.

How's your core strength? Or perhaps you have too much drop from your seat to handlebars? There shouldn't be all that much pressure on your hands to cause such severe numbness/pain.

i know the search engine sucks but it on this page.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...andlebar-palsy

dough1967, I've been getting a numb left had on my new bike. This week I went for a proper bike fit and was advised that my bars are too wide. I'm riding 42cm and need 38cm.

Have ordered my 38cm so hopefully the numb hand will soon be a thing of the past.

Thanks ls01 & FitzM!

Fitz, how'd the new handlebars work out? One year after posting, I'm still unable to ride more than an hour without experiencing extreme and lasting numbness in my hands.

Is your saddle level? I ask because I had a terrible probelm with numb hands for 1-2 years. I bought gel pads for my bars, new gloves, etc. Then one day I leveled my saddle and the problem went away instantly. When your saddle is tilted foward, even a little, it forces your weight to your hands/wrists. When your saddle is level then it balances more of your weight back to your butt so you don't have so much weight on your hands. BTW my left hand was always worse than my right hand. I never could figure out why as I had recently broke my right hand right before I picked up cycling (as in took off the cast and started riding). I had two theories on why the left hand was more numb than my right. First was I am left handed and probably put more weight on that hand naturally (most likely cause). My second theory was that the crown in the road naturaly sloped down to the right therefore more pressure was put on the left hand to compensate. My thought was over time/miles that slight bit of extra pressure on the left hand due to the road crown made the left hand go numb quicker/worse.

Thanks Brazos. I'll try the seat too. I think I've got it at the right height, but will make sure it's level or perhaps tilted backwards very slightly. I'd much prefer to make an adjustment instead of spend money.

Flexibility (you probably need more).

Core strength (you probably need more).

Fit (you probably need a better fit).

Flexibility (you probably need more).
- No doubt. As a life-long runner, I'm stiff as a board.

Core strength (you probably need more).
- What is this "core strength" I'm always hearing about? Is it physical or psychological? Should I start doing yoga? I'm seriously interested to know, as it does sound important.

If you still get numb hands after you make sure your saddle is level, move your saddle back. This will shift weight off your hands and onto your butt. You may have to lower the saddle just a bit to get the same leg extension, and you my have to flip your stem up if it's down, or if it's already up, raise it and/or get a shorter stem.

If your fit is already good or close to it, you shouldn't have to move the saddle much to shift a good amount of weight off your hands.

Dough1967 - I too play guitar and have had problems with numbness. There have been two changes that have corrected the issue. One was to raise my bars a bit. I still have some drop, 5cm or so, but nothing crazy like the pros. The second step was to level my saddle, a Fizik Arione. Now I have no problems. I can even ride without gloves without discomfort or numbness. Another thing to check is the fore/aft position of the saddle as this can affect your weight distribution. You should be able to take your hands off the bars and support your weight with your core muscles (abs, sides and lower back). The good news is the numbness will go away and your hand should be normal again once the fit issues are corrected.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm - check the section on fore/aft positioning.

gloves without padding. move you seat back. flip the stem up. compact handlebars. recheck your saddle height/level. your top tube and or stem is too long. ride more.

any or all will help or cure your problem

Dough, there may be some unusual anatomical issue at the root of your hand numbness but most likely the litany of causes and cures experienced by you will be much the same as for everyone else including myself. You might singly or in combination try to:

move your hands every few minutes to a different location;
ride in the drops for a few minutes;
rotate the bar up a degree or two;
rotate the bar down a degree or two;
raise the bar a bit with with a shim to put you in a slightly more upright position;
shorten the stem to the next size down;
move the saddle aft a good bit. (This is what worked for me and I may try a new
setback seat post.)

Basically, keep trying ideas.

Pay attention to how you hold your sholders when you ride. I can get some numbness and tingling in my hands on long rides if I don't relax my sholders. It is related to the t

horacic outlet where the nerves pass through. This area can get pinched or compressed when you scrunch or tighten your shoulders and neck .

Many of the other suggestions like level seat, higher bar, shorter stem will take weight off your hands and ultimately your shoulders where the problem is most likely starting.

Core strength is your center of power. Your core is what stabilizes your trunk giving a solid platform for the moving joints to work against. The best example I can think of to define it is to have you lay down on your back. Now imagine I was going to step on your stomach. You would automatically tighten your core. Abs and lower back are involved, but it is deeper than that.

A strong core in cycling will support more of your weight so less is on your hands.

Do you need to push off the bars to sit up?

There are lots of core exercise routines available online. http://www.livestrong.com/article/18...cise-routines/

I switched from cycling gloves with the big, puffy pads on the palms to weight lifting gloves that are just flat leather and a lot of numbness went away.

A good test is can you ride without your hands sitting up? If not, the first thing to check is your saddle tilt. Then core strength.

Pretty much what I was gonna say. Once you have sit bone balance, then it comes down to being able to not lean.

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You are doing what I was doing and tensing up when you ride harder. Try to not kung fu grip the bars like a weapon and let your hands relax.