Who's a member of the "Numb Hands Club"

[wirefryer#85]

Since we've got the "Broken Collarbone Club" established and humming along, I thought I'd see how many among us belong to the aflliate "Numb Hands Club" :)

I joined back around '96' or so, mostly as result of my job. I wish it was Carpal tunnel syndrome, they can fix that, but my hand Doc has decided it's a joint inflamation problem and theres no easy fix for it.

I have adapted to it by riding with loose hands whenever I can do it safely but some places just don't have alot of open trail for me to relax my hands and long, technical downhills just kill 'em

I've done the 'fill the bars with silicone' trick, run ProGrip gel insert grips, and wear gloves made by Icon designed for Harley riders but I'm still gonna have "Numb Hands" for the rest of my life. :|

Anyone else dealing with this?

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Mine are as a result of breaking my neck and still having something pushing on the nerves. Before that, though, mine were always the worst the first time I rode on any given day. After riding for 15 minutes and then resting for a while, they always got better.

I don't know about slicone in the bars, but #8 lead shot definitely does help. You might try handlebars with different sweep.

 

[IamRyan]

my dad has the same problem of his hands going to sleep his doc recemended a dosage of aleive about and hour to two hours before he rides and it worked for him

 

[OldTimer]

My hands used to go numb within minutes of starting a ride. In fact, at times it got really bad even while driving my car. It's that tingley "hands fell asleep" kinda feeling. I thought it was due to Carpal tunnel syndrome, but my six year old said every time he rode, his hands went to sleep. I knew he didn't have CTS. Turns out we needed more saddle time. I don't know whether it has something to do with arm pump or death grip or what, but the more I/we ride the less problem there is. Even other activites (like driving) are less of a problem these days. Maybe I just needed to shake up my carpal tunnels? I don't know about the little guy, but he hasn't complained about it in a while.

 

[brian2372]

i ve had the same problem since i was a kid ,ive found that keeping my elbows up and running slimmer grips on the throttle side helps and cutting the finger tips off my gloves ,sounds crazy but i kept experimenting because i was going to quit racing if i couldnt find some releif.

 

[jim f.]

Mine keeps me up some nights. But it is better dirt biking than Mt. biking, with the lower bars I can only go about 10 min..

 

[OTHG_DAVE_858]

I was just going to start a post on this. I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel 2 weeks ago. I was given braces to wear for six weeks, so far there is no improvement when riding. I may get rubber mounted bars for my YZ, but that means new triple clamps. I have also seen flex bars that are designed for arm pump, maybe they will work. 4 laps is my max, then its just hold on, if you can. I know what you all are going through. Good luck to all and keep the ideas coming.

 

[wirefryer#85]

I've had the opportunity to ride a large selection of different bikes this year and the only difference hand wise I've noticed is that 4-strokes seem to aggravate my hands more. I have rode a YZ250 with Pro Taper bars and they seem to lessen the numbing effect but not enough for the money.

Has anyone tried the "Vibration Elimination Inserts" that are in a few of the big catalogs? I'd be willing to spend $45 if they help.

 

[OTHG_DAVE_858]

45 bucks worth it if they work. http://www.fasstcompany.com/html/store.shtml Says money back guarantee. Nothing to lose but numb hands.

 

[knowiam]

Numb Hands-Too

I was having a really bad time with the hand numbing thing too. What I found is that over the last few rides, they are not numbing as much.

I did change grips when I put on the hand guards, but I doubt that had much of an effect. More riding and less of a death grip on the handle bars seems to have hepped me! :cool:

(Bottom line, I listened to-and put to use-the advice found in many threads from more experience riders...good stuff!) :nod:


I am curious if those of us with numb hands are either new riders or riders coming back to the sport after considerable time away?

Ken

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Grips can make a difference, too. The harder it is to hold on to a grip, the harder you have to grip (and result numb hands / arm pump).

Years ago I tried the big, spongy Pro-Grip grips. I figured that since my hands were larger than average, they should work for me. It didn't help. AAMOF, when I switched back to "normal" grips, I immediately had less arm pump and resulting numbness.

 

[knowiam]

Clue me in on the meaning of: AAMOF .... I cant figure that one out.

(I've never been the sharpest bulb in the knife drawer) :nod:
Ken

 

[OldTimer]

I am curious if those of us with numb hands are either new riders or riders coming back to the sport after considerable time away?

Ken

I'm answer B.
Plus I came back with a much stronger bike which I let "pull" me around the trails at first. I think once I got over that initial fear factor and started sitting more comfortably, the effect was lessened. If you get to the point where you can hang on with your legs a bit and lean into the acceleration, your hands get better circulation. I practiced barely holding on and twisting the grip with thumb and forefinger when possible. Seems like practicing a lighter grip sort of forced me to relax more in the saddle overall. :nod:

 

[splatt]

I found back in my mountain bike days that the combination of thinner soft compound grips,gloves with the least amount of palm padding and the right bend of bar in the right position pretty much eliminated the problem. I have found it to be easier to eliminate on a dirt bike because of the seating position as compared to a MTB.

Steve

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Clue me in on the meaning of: AAMOF .... I cant figure that one out.

(I've never been the sharpest bulb in the knife drawer) :nod:
Ken

As a matter of fact

Your bulb has been sharpened!

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

 

[2strokerfun]

I first noticed the problem when I was riding long distances on 10 speed bikes when I was about 20 years old. Mine go numb on dirt bikes, street bikes and bicycles. In fact, I sold the only street bike I ever owned because I just couldn't ride it more than 45 minutes. I wake up a lot with numb hands too or if I'm positioned wrong on long drive. Sometimes its the CT nerve (thumb and first two fingers), sometimes the ulnar nerve (last two fingers) and sometimes both. Mine stems from neck and shoulder positioning, not the CT tunnel. Rolling my neck, rolling my shoulders and shaking my hands alleviate the problems for a while, but I mainly just live with it even though it can be pretty painful sometimes. I think mine is somewhat hereditary because my dad would have this problem when he was flying stunt biplanes when he was my age (mid 40s now). I do think that learning to ride relaxed does help quite a bit. Or (and this makes no sense to me) when I am really, really fighting a trail for a long period of time, I don't notice the problem at all. I'm wondering if all the body movement I'm making somehow stops the pressure from building up on the nerves. Now my right forearm may start hurting, but I have never noticed my hands when I'm fighting every inch of the track. Weird.

 

[zombie_17]

Im new to dirt biking and have a 2000 Kx250, i find that through trials after only a short period of time my hands go completely numb that i can barely grab the bars so i have to stop. The weird thing though is i have been riding trikes for 3 years and a yfz 450 quad for just over a year and never experienced this with them.

 

[BSWIFT]

I went from the Monster, KX310Mamba to a 450F and back to a 250t. Here is what I found that changed things the most.
1. Suspension. When your suspension is tuned for your weight and style of riding, the body will relax.
2. Grips. A smaller(slim) soft grip makes a difference.
3. Gloves. Goes right along with the grips.
4. Handlebars. The rise and bend make a huge difference. Your body position puts additional pressure on your nerves and when your "grip" tighter, you tend to pinch the nerves.
On my road bike, I had to rotate the bars up about a inch. My wife's bike is identical and I was having no problem on it. Even though at a glance the bars seemed to be in the same position, we measured them and found a 1 inch difference, rotated towards the rider. After adjusting the position, the numbness and elbow fatigue went away. I talked to my ortho Doc and he told be to look at the different angles your hand/wrist is in, the more extreme the more likely to get some numbing. You will likely just need to try different things. Hope this helps.

 

[dood]

I have had the same problem, left hand worse than the right and got painfull enough when I was landscaping to keep me awake at night, I had carpal tunnel release surgery on the left and it doesn't bother me anymore.

 

[dood]

getting old sucks

 

[MHawkmx]

I took about a five year break from riding. I never had any problem with numb hands before. Now I get it within the first 5 miles of riding, but I only get it in the throttle hand. it gets so bad I have to stop because I just can't hang on anyone. the weird thing is I can ride my jet ski all day and never get it...

 

[Wrekt-1]

Very new here but thought this a good place to drop a post. I been in street for a while and finally moved to dirt. Had blown apart my shoulder, luckily (i guess) it's only a problem when unsupported, so pushing on handlebars actually helps a lot! WHEPH...but my throttle hand still goes dead once in a while if i catch something that gives the bars a jerk and pulls my arm out :whoa: hurts like a byatch . I guess actually it's numb arm, but my the hand is numb the longest. I wouldn't be surprised if a few other riders here are actually having shoulder problems and not realizing it. Best thing for me is to just try and rehab (work out) as much as possible to strengthen all the muscles to help support. :cool:

 

[just_a_rider]

D I T O !

Is it a sign of getting old? I've been told that it is Carple tunel syndrome and I probably didn't spell that right but. After about 5 min of riding hard as I can I'm constanly having to shake my hands to get feeling back in them and it's not like I'm holding in a death grip, I'm very comfortable with my bike. So racing for me would be a waste of money because after 2 laps I'd be getting passed while shaking my hands.