youch! bad ulnar nerve!
last weekend i rode my bike out on nc-54 all the way to alamance county. on the way back i noticed that my pinky and ring fingers felt like they had fallen asleep. it bothered me most of the way, so much so that i’d go for long stretches riding without hands, massaging my left wrist and palm.
yesterday i happened by the clean machine in carrboro, and looked at some of the bike gloves, which i’ve been thinking about getting for a while since my handlebar grips have been slowly dissolving black goo on my hands every time i ride.
there’s this picture of a hand on the packaging which you can see through to the nerves underneath. above the picture is a description of this problem cyclists have with numbness in their pinky and ring fingers due to pressure on the ulnar nerve, which a small gel-filled pad on the palm of the glove opposite the thumb is supposed to alleviate.
my jaw drops.
anyway, several times today i’ve pushed my hand against something ostensibly to move my body, and i’m greeted with a searing pain like an electric shock, shooting from the center of my right hand to the tip of my ring finger. guess i’ll be buying those $25 gloves and printing this out for work.
let me know if you have any empathy/advice/exercises…
thanks for the link. i printed out the text at the bottom and posted it here at work. stupid computers. i feel like i can’t get away these days.
Much empathy! I’ve had the problem for years, beginning with my time at Kinko’s and improperly high computer workstations. Buy the gloves…They help ENORMOUSLY. I bought some early this last semester, and haven’t regretted it at all.
hey justin i am done with finals. see you maybe over the summer. talk to you when i get home XOOXOOX your sis,
katie
That sort of thing was happening to me as well, but then I realized that I was just gripping the handles too tight. It went away.
I’ve had a problem with my right ulnar for several years now, brought on by an ergonomically poor workstation – shair too high off the ground, monitor too low, keyboard too high and too far away, etc…just about everything that could be bad, was. This resulted in chronic cubital tunnel compression, which results in pain and discomfort in the the elbow, forearm wrist, hand, neck and shoulder. Of course, I also had the accompanying carpal tunnel compression, which was relieved by surgery (and quite successful), but I refuse to have the cubital tunnel surgery – it has a far lower success rate, and is far less forgiving – if it doesn’t work, there’s not much they can do after that. My surgeon recommended immobilization, NSAIDS, and using the arm as little as possible. Hard to do, but it works pretty well. I still have some discomfort on a regular basis, but I’ve kind of gotten used to it and survive just fine. Good luck and watch your workstation setup as well as your cycling!
Lorence
yeah, I am with Lawrence on this one. I got a bad case of something over the summer, working 50 to 80 hours at a bad workstation, with very repetitive work.
I stumbled on this blog because after six months of useless doctor’s appointments, I am trying to figure out what is wrong with myself so I can tell the doctors what to do. You have to love Canadian health care! :p
So far it looks like something about the radial and ulnar nerves being pinched or stretched or whatever. Lots of pain all over the forearm, in the elbow, and in the hands. It’s especially difficult to play guitar, which really sucks, since I’m trying to put together a CD. After nearly a year of not being able play, I am wondering whether I will have to kiss “Josiah the musician” goodbye.
question for Lawrence: is your “using my arms as little as possible” thing permanent? Or do the doctors expect immobilization to eventually correct the situation?
peace.
I do a lot of cycling (XC) and from time to time, I would get aches and pains in my hands.
The doctor said there was nothing wrong with hands or wrists, so I decided to look at the bike.
If you ride a lot, my advice would be to change from a cable braking system to a hydraulic system (much easier on the finger muscles) and also, try to reposition the brake leavers. I found that moving them down a little made all the difference. After the tweaks I made… I haven’t suffered any more pains in my hands, or wrists.
I’m not sure the above has anything to do with the ulnar nerve… but hey, it could help.
SIXSIXONE make some awesome MTB gear.
I’ve just been tested for Carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndrome. I’ve been waking up for about 8 months with numb baby and ring fingers and have found that when I brake on my bike I get this painful pulling in my fingers like a kind of electric shock. According to the doctor I have very slight carpal tunnel syndrome but everything else (including my cubital tunnel) is totally normal. I’ve been wrapping towels around my elbows to prevent me bending my arms when I sleep which can apparently cause numbness (and has been working) but I have no idea how to prevent this electric shock feeling in my fingers when I cycle. Your advice re the ulnar nerve could be very helpful, I might look out for some gloves and maybe change the position of my brakes.