Carpal Tunnel

[dthoms]

Have any of you out there had trouble with carpal tunnel? I have been having problem with my hands going numb for about the last 10 years. It seems like it gets worst each year, and the more I work out and the more I ride the quicker my hands will go numb? I went to my doctor, and he sent me for some test and then to a neurologist which suggest surgery. I am also curious if anyone has had the surgery and if so any good or bad experiences?
Thanks
Dave Thoms
The future is here, it just isn't widely distributed.

 

[labby9]

I'm having my left hand done on Dec 26th. I had all the test you had, and the left hand showed to be badly in need of it. My doctor told me he didn't know how I rode a motorcycle with my hand in the shape it's in!

I'm having the surgery done with the scaple instead of the endoscope. My surgeon said the Carpa Tunnel is so small that he has better results using conventional surgery. He said I should be back to normal in about 4 weeks.

Good luck with yours,

Wayne

 

[dbrace]

yeah i had it and boy does it suck. especially towards the end of a 20min moto. the hospital diagnosed me and i was due for surgery in 3 weeks. i never had it! i found a guy who does bone and joint manipulation and he fixed me up along with some massage around the wrist area. 2 weeks later i was cured. good luck!

 

[IRISHCOFFEE]

i had the problem and had might right hand fixed with the lazer. was lifting weights within two weeks. i think i rushed things but all went well. i never had the left hand done as the numbness went away. i think that the healthy right hand took the pressure off the left hand. been about 10 years and still doing fine. not sure if i would use lazer again though. i would suggest a LOT of research int your choice of doctors. they are NOT all equal in ability. good luck.

 

[FX]

I sufferered through CTS (in both hands) for years and finally had surgery to repair it. I am sorry I waited so long to do it. The hand specialist at the S.C.O.I in Valencia CA. did it and the results were nothing short of great! He recommended the conventional surgery rather than lasers, or scope. He stated that the results from those procedures were often short-lived. My hands have been perfect for almost 3 years and have shown no signs problems. Recovery is about 6 weeks per hand and you will have lost some hand strength. Just build that back up and you're good to go.

 

[dthoms]

Had the surgery last Wednesday. Hand is starting to feel better, havn't taken any pain meds in two days. I am however typing one handed. The doctor that did it came highly recommended. It will be two weeks before the stitches come out, plan on going back to work tomorrow. Biggest problem right now is the foot of snow in my drive way. The operation was Quick, they gave me some meds to sedate me and then blocked my arm. I was semi concious through the whole thing. The procedure he used was called Endoscopic carpal tunnel release. I think this is going to provide some needed relief. I know others that suffer from the same problem but choose to ignore it as I have for many years. I have done a good deal of reasearch on the web and talking to other people that have had the surgery most said they wish they wouldn't have waited so long. I'll post more as I recover.

 

[dthoms]

I went on my first long ride since my surgery. The longest I went with out stopping was probably about 16 miles.(total of 80+ miles of single track) My right hand never went numb, not once.
I don't think it is completely healed yet, but the numbness is gone. I am still working on getting the strength back and it is sensitive when hit in the right place but that's it. At this point I can say I'm glad I had the surgery.

 

[john stu]

i too had the surgery done and the numbness was gone right away but it took me about 8 weeks to get to 65%-70% strength and about two years now to get 90% strength back i would do it again it is much better now but it took a lot longer than i was told to get whell

 

[exc rider]

just a question about cts. does it cause any pain in the wrist or hand?my wrist's get pretty sore when riding and ocasionally get some numb fingers(not all the time) also alot of time when i wake up half of my hands are numb,from the middle finger out to the pinky.soon as i move my arms to another posistion they are back to normal within a 30-60 seconds. any thoughts? sound familiar? thanks

 

[bbbom]

Those are the same symptoms I had. At first the doc thought it was Carpal Tunnel (everything is CT when it involves your hands they seem to think.)

My doc did the basic CT tests and was perplexed why I had those symptoms but when I did the tests they didn't seem to reproduce the symptoms - tingling, numbness, weakness of grip. I didn't buy the CT diagnosis because I don't do a lot of repetitive work plus, my left hand was the worst and I use my right hand much more for the computer work I do - mainly mouse & numberpad. So, after doing the wrist splint, anti-inflammatory cure and not seeing much in results, I demanded to see a Physical Therapist because I did NOT want surgery until all other avenues had been exhausted. I also really didn't feel that CT was the problem.

The PT did the tests again and got the same results not CT- the main test is to hold your arms in front of you, and press the backs of your hands together, holding for several seconds. If your fingers tingle or go numb it indicates CT. After over a minute my hands were fine - that is what really alerted the PT to the idea that it wasn't CT.

He then tried applying pressure to the nerves in my neck, pulling my arm down & back and there was the symptom that I had complained about. Mainly a pulling sensation in my wrists, like the tendons are ripping away from the bone.

He determined that the pain, numbness, weakness and tingling in my wrists was caused by problems in my neck from a car accident 1.5 years ago. I started PT 2 times a week and did neck stretches 2 times a day and after a couple weeks the symptoms were much less. Now I'm down to PT once a week, soon to be none but I still do my stretches and some rubber band excercises. I'm back to lifting, mountain biking and riding like I used to (one or the other each day) and the problems are much less although not completely gone.

I know the strength in my hands is better, I am able to ride my bike much easier now that I can hold on without pain & fatigue. I'm working on strengthening my forearms now because they seem to get tired but I think that's due to riding more aggresively since my wrists aren't hurting & my hands aren't going numb.

I would suggest seeing a good doc and if the physical tests don't indicate CT then investigate other problems. My neck has bothered me ever since the accident and once I started thinking about it I realized that my wrist problems had started after that too. Of course my original doc said that there was no way the accident could have affected my wrists - so now I have found a new doc!

 

[whyzee]

bbbom, I'm going through therapy for very much the same thing you are describing. I've had numbness in my right hand and throbbing pain in my elbow for some time. Seems that muscle tissue below my shoulder has formed knots around the nerves there. I also was told it was CTS but would not opt for the surgery. The routine I'm going through now has had great results and am looking forward to my first ride in a while on Saturday.

 

[MikeKX250]

My hands go completly numb almost every time I ride. I have tried the CT test by pushing the back of my hands together for 2 minutes, no numbness. So I don`t think it`s CT. I`m thinking about trying a pair of Specialized mtn bike gloves, they have a small pad on part of the palm to keep pressure off of the CT and some other nerves. Mtn bike guys swear by them. Take a look at them, www.specialized.com

 

[MikeKX250]

I heard somewhere that potassium and magnesium help with arm pump and numb hands by increasing blood flow and helping your muscles absorb more oxygen. Is there any truth to that?