Cyclist’s palsy (numb hands) padded glove fix?

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Eleven21
Posts: 156
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:08 pm

by Eleven21

vejnemojnen wrote:...and I hope, the OP does not ride with locked out elbows. A nicely bent arm is often forgotten by many, yet, has tremendous advantageous effects on feel and comfort.
No, I’m very happy with my general bike fit and out on the road (and home trainer) I consciously keep my arms and hands relaxed as well as frequently switch positions.

Eleven21
Posts: 156
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:08 pm

by Eleven21

vejnemojnen wrote:Of course there is connection. Don't forget the brachial plexus rises from the lower 4 cervical and the uppermost thoracic root. And esp. today's lifestyle (staring at screens, using smartphones, often with bad neck posture and a humped upper back...) is a sure way to weaken and shorten many neck muscles, and cause excess curvature of neck vertebrae.

Feeling comfortable on the bike (in my case at least) has more to do with my "physical preparedness" (trunk-neck-shoulder-hip mobility-strength-stability) than with bartape-gloves or tyre pressure.

oh, and I hope, the OP does not ride with locked out elbows. A nicely bent arm is often forgotten by many, yet, has tremendous advantageous effects on feel and comfort.
I think you’ve made a good point when you mention sitting at a screen and I must admit I often wonder how much of my problem could be attributed to my job.

I should add to help alleviate any problems I have several yoga sequences that I practice most mornings as well as stretching out my back, ham strings and hip flexors. After having suffered with several shoulder injures I’ve made a life long habit of ‘trying’ to stay supple.
Last edited by Eleven21 on Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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sungod
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by sungod

for smooth roads i'd be wary of padding/gel, it can make things worse as instead of pressure being on the 'meaty' pads of the hands, the padding increases pressure on the other areas

i found that if i wear my padded mitts i'm far more likely to get numb hands that ones like castelli rosso corsa classic, with those i get no problem even 4-5 hour rides

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

padded gloves just make it worse for me... I use gloves with the least padding
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Orbital
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by Orbital

spdntrxi wrote:padded gloves just make it worse for me... I use gloves with the least padding

Same. I ride without gloves, without bar gels and use thin bar tape.
Last edited by Orbital on Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Finx
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:14 am

by Finx

I'm in the no gloves camp.

I wore them when I first started cycling and found that they were too restrictive, and the padding actually made the numbness in my fingers worse.

I tossed mine in the trash one day and have been mostly fine.

I also run about 3 degrees nose down saddle (against *some* conventional wisdom). I find this helped alleviate some lower back Issues and eliminated pudendal neuralgia.

I do still get some occasional discomfort in my hands, but after some fine tuning of the bar angle and shifter hood location, I've mostly eliminated it.

As others have said, strength and fitness in your arms, wrists, neck, upper back and shoulder area are very beneficial.

NiFTY
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Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

What type of cabling do you have. I found wuth compact bars, sram red and ilink housing routine on the inside for shifting that part of the housing was causing a high pressure area where you describe. I ended up drwmeling a recess in the shifter body for the housing to sit in. Now i ride no gloves.
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Eleven21
Posts: 156
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:08 pm

by Eleven21

NiFTY wrote:What type of cabling do you have. I found wuth compact bars, sram red and ilink housing routine on the inside for shifting that part of the housing was causing a high pressure area where you describe. I ended up drwmeling a recess in the shifter body for the housing to sit in. Now i ride no gloves.
Thanks for bringing up this point.

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

I am a no gloves under any circumstances guy also. Gloves "give me" numb hands, and they reduce the tactile feel of the bike too much imo. I even remain glove free after a 41mph crash that shredded both of my hands top and bottom. ....... among other more serious injuries. I will take my chances. Can't do gloves.
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c60rider
Posts: 872
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:12 pm

by c60rider

If it's the ulnar nerve that's being irritated then you would only have numbness/tingling in the little finger, ring finger and the half of the middle finger that's next to the ring finger. You mention the whole hand but very common for cyclists is carpal tunnel syndrome that affects the median nerve. For this you would primarily have symptoms over the thumb, index finger and the other half of the middle finger along with that side of the palm. This is as a direct effect of pressure on the carpal tunnel itself or the vibration through the road up to that part of the wrist. A quick test for that is called Tinel's test which I basically do whacking the tip of a middle finger onto the the palm side of the carpal tunnel. If it reproduces your symptoms then you may want to get some nerve conduction studies done.

If none of the above is applicable or it differs then I would come up to the neck and possible referral along an upper limb dermatomal pattern. Especially if this is affecting both hands.

Yes it's a bit medical and if you don't understand it then it's easy to google search any of it or go and see a musculoskeletal expert such as a physiotherapist if none of the possible remedies described work for you. :thumbup:

flying
Posts: 2861
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:16 am

by flying

I tend to agree with less padded gloves because I notice the more padded gloves the more likely my hands go numb.
But I also note if I remember to tend to not get too much angle at wrists especially while riding top of bar then I have less numbing anyway.
The Endura FS260 Pro gloves are very nice/lightly padded gloves

I would do no gloves but have too many years of brushing the tires habit built into me when i go over a patch of unexpected debris.
Would hate to brush a glass shard into my palm

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tommasini
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by tommasini

c60rider wrote:
Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:53 pm
If it's the ulnar nerve that's being irritated then you would only have numbness/tingling in the little finger, ring finger and the half of the middle finger that's next to the ring finger. You mention the whole hand but very common for cyclists is carpal tunnel syndrome that affects the median nerve. For this you would primarily have symptoms over the thumb, index finger and the other half of the middle finger along with that side of the palm. This is as a direct effect of pressure on the carpal tunnel itself or the vibration through the road up to that part of the wrist. A quick test for that is called Tinel's test which I basically do whacking the tip of a middle finger onto the the palm side of the carpal tunnel. If it reproduces your symptoms then you may want to get some nerve conduction studies done.

If none of the above is applicable or it differs then I would come up to the neck and possible referral along an upper limb dermatomal pattern. Especially if this is affecting both hands.

Yes it's a bit medical and if you don't understand it then it's easy to google search any of it or go and see a musculoskeletal expert such as a physiotherapist if none of the possible remedies described work for you. :thumbup:
THIS !!!!

I started reading this thread and thought oh no - people are offering solutions when the source of troubles isn’t really known. This post quoted is spot on. Your troubles could originate at the wrist or at the ulnar in the elbow or other causes. Yet can show up as pain with the wrist. Get a good diagnosis - one doctors visit (suggest you head straight to an ortho doc) should be all it may need followed (likely) by a round of anti-inflamatories that will work best for the trouble spot.. An ortho doc may prescribe a bit of therapy as other underlying issues could be addressed by it. On the other hand it may just be a case of an overuse injury. As much as we’d like to think that a round of Advil will kick it (and maybe a new pair of gloves) - at times a more aggressive approach will pay off better than trial and error.

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