Pain and Numbness

[brucianna]

In my left thumb.

Nowhere else.

I can't, for the life of me, figure out what I'm doing posture wise or
how I might be holding my hands that could cause numbness only in my
left thumb and pain only at that one joint.

But, that's why God created Usenet. So, one can ask these sorts of
questions.

-M

(The local riding club has two members who are fluent in English. I'm
one of them. The other just graduated university and is leaving
tomorrow. I _can't_ ask them. I don't even know what the Chinese word
for "thumb" is.)

[C.J.Patten]

It's your saddle. Switch to a Brooks.

Or stop sitting on your thumb.

Chris - *ducking* ;)

p.s. I got a thumb thumb (not on a bike) with a longbow handle that was too
thick. The pressure on the "meat" between thumb and forefinger was pinching
"something" - blood flow, nerve? Solution: narrow the grip. Might I suggest
taking the grip tape off your handlebars and seeing if the narrower tube
helps? (I'm just taking a guess...)




"brucianna" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> In my left thumb.
>
> Nowhere else.
>
> I can't, for the life of me, figure out what I'm doing posture wise or
> how I might be holding my hands that could cause numbness only in my
> left thumb and pain only at that one joint.
>
> But, that's why God created Usenet. So, one can ask these sorts of
> questions.
>
> -M
>
> (The local riding club has two members who are fluent in English. I'm
> one of them. The other just graduated university and is leaving
> tomorrow. I _can't_ ask them. I don't even know what the Chinese word
> for "thumb" is.)
>

[Art Harris]

brucianna wrote:

> numbness only in my left thumb and pain only at that one joint.

Road bike? Do you ride with your hands of the brake hoods?

It could be the position of the brake lever or the shape of the brake
hood. I have Dura Ace (9sp) levers on one bike and 105 (9sp) levers on
the other. The 105 levers sometimes causes pain in the joint where my
thumb joins the hand. The shape of the DA brake hoods feel a lot more
comfortable to me.

Try varying your hand placement (tops, drops, etc.) during your rides.

Art Harris

[Ken M]

I had that problem when I switched to an MTB from a road bike for my
around town rides and commuting. What I found was that by adding bar
ends, and changing hand positions often the problem went away for the
most part. I still get a bit numb on LONG rides. But in addition to
changing hand positions, I do the one handed ride thing and
exersize(sp?) the other while on the bike.

Ken

[Brian Sanderson]

Reminds me of a mystery pain I had in the ring finger of my left
hand...turned out my wedding band was too tight -- wayyyy too tight. Nyway:
you wearing gloves? There might be an unfortunate variance between the
glove and your anatomy, ie: the glove is a wee bit tight there and your
thumb is a little larger than "standard" size...

Just a thought :)

[Ken M]

Yeah gloves help a bit, but I find that it's just too darn hot to wear
gloves in the summer in Florida!

Ken

[brucianna]

Art Harris wrote:
> brucianna wrote:
>
> > numbness only in my left thumb and pain only at that one joint.
>
> Road bike? Do you ride with your hands of the brake hoods?

Road bike.

Are brake hoods the hood-shaped thingywhatses on the drop-bar brake
levers?

I ride with my hands on the top of the handlebars. Near the brakes but
not on them.

> It could be the position of the brake lever or the shape of the brake
> hood. I have Dura Ace (9sp) levers on one bike and 105 (9sp) levers on
> the other. The 105 levers sometimes causes pain in the joint where my
> thumb joins the hand. The shape of the DA brake hoods feel a lot more
> comfortable to me.
>
> Try varying your hand placement (tops, drops, etc.) during your rides.

I've tried going down on the drop bars a few times in the month since I
bought this bike. It was a comfortable position at fairly low speeds
on my last two bikes. (Can't give exact speeds cause they didn't have
speedometers BUT I know what kind of shape I was in.)

On this bike, it isn't until I get up over 30 kph that it feels "right"
balance-wise to be down that low, and even then it is still somewhat
awkward.

[brucianna]

Brian Sanderson wrote:
> Reminds me of a mystery pain I had in the ring finger of my left
> hand...turned out my wedding band was too tight -- wayyyy too tight. Nyway:
> you wearing gloves? There might be an unfortunate variance between the
> glove and your anatomy, ie: the glove is a wee bit tight there and your
> thumb is a little larger than "standard" size...

I am wearing gloves but I've got a reasonable amount of wiggle space.

I should note that I did not have this left-thumb numbness issue a week
ago. A week ago I had a wrist pain issue (in both wrists) that was
fixed when I showed up at my first group ride and had a dozen people
tell me that my handlebars were rotated funny.

-M

[Ken M]

Sounds to me like you are riding with your hands on the bars just above
the brake hoods. I found this to be a comfortable position for me. Just
a thought, but you might try riding on the hoods, or this will sounds
strange, but check your saddle height and angle position. This can
often cause pain in other places.

Ken

[Ken M]

Yeap, sometimes just a silly little thing like that can cause a whole
lot of discomfort.

Ken

[Pat]

: Yeah gloves help a bit, but I find that it's just too darn hot to wear
: gloves in the summer in Florida!
:
: Ken

One day I couldn't find a glove, so I rode with one glove on. I didn't like
it because my gloveless hand started sweating and was sliding all over the
hoods. The one with the glove on stayed put even though it was hotter. It
was a lesson learned: gloves anchor your hands to the handlebars.

Pat in TX
:

[Dave Vandervies]

In article >, Pat > wrote:
>
>
>: Yeah gloves help a bit, but I find that it's just too darn hot to wear
>: gloves in the summer in Florida!
>:
>: Ken
>
>One day I couldn't find a glove, so I rode with one glove on. I didn't like
>it because my gloveless hand started sweating and was sliding all over the
>hoods. The one with the glove on stayed put even though it was hotter. It
>was a lesson learned: gloves anchor your hands to the handlebars.

I solved that one with hockey tape. Gloves are still nice for long rides,
but no more worries about hands slipping off because of sweat.


dave
(too bad I didn't think of this until AFTER I had both hands slide
off hitting a bump... and both feet off the pedals shortly thereafter
because of the shock (from the bump or from the surprise, I'm not quite
sure)... though somehow I still managed to keep going in a straight
line and not hit anything for long enough to regain control. THAT was
an interesting experience.)

--
Dave Vandervies
More proof that the surefire way to discover the answer to your question
is to ask it in a public forum.
--Peter Ammon in comp.lang.c

[Steve McDonald]

Were you in the Army as a youth? Did you suffer from the malady
known as "M1 thumb"?
Caused by not pulling your thumb out of the action of an M1 rifle
quickly enough to avoid getting it mashed by the strong spring. The
nail then turns black and falls off, marking the unfortunate victim for
ridicule. This disabling condition can come back as a "numb thumb" in
later years. I caught mine so often, that I cheated and started using
my left hand and then got it mashed as well. Everyone in our training
brigade, right up to the commanding general, heard the story about the
recruit with two M1 thumbs and had a good laugh. Even Alfred G.
Middlebrooks III laughed, because even though he had 6 digits on each
hand and 6 toes on each foot, he never caught his thumb in the gun.
Even today, in cold weather, my thumbs often go numb and hurt.

Steve McDonald

[Ken M]

Well I guess that depend on what type of bike you are riding. I had
that problem when I was rding my road bike alot (brother has that bike
now) But now I am mostly riding my mtb with grippy grips, but I do slip
a bit on the bar ends.

Ken

[brucianna]

Pat wrote:
> : Yeah gloves help a bit, but I find that it's just too darn hot to wear
> : gloves in the summer in Florida!
> :
> : Ken
>
> One day I couldn't find a glove, so I rode with one glove on. I didn't like
> it because my gloveless hand started sweating and was sliding all over the
> hoods. The one with the glove on stayed put even though it was hotter. It
> was a lesson learned: gloves anchor your hands to the handlebars.

And, at least when riding on Chinese roads, gloves prevent bruising.
If I don't have them I end up with visible bruises on my palms whenever
I spend more than an hour on the bike.

Bike gloves also make a great pair of brakes for wheelchairs. I've yet
to find a wheelchair with anything usable beyond parking brakes.
Though, from having acquaintances who have spent more than three months
in a 'chair I understand that they do exist. :)

-M

[brucianna]

Steve McDonald wrote:
> Were you in the Army as a youth?

:) I still am a youth. 24 this March.

> Did you suffer from the malady known as "M1 thumb"?
> Caused by not pulling your thumb out of the action of an M1 rifle
> quickly enough to avoid getting it mashed by the strong spring. The
> nail then turns black and falls off, marking the unfortunate victim for
> ridicule.

I've seen rifles. I've even touched one, once. But I've never
actually fired a gun. So, I don't think this could be the cause of the
problem. :)

-M

[Steve McDonald]

Bruciana wrote:

I still am a youth. 24 this March.
--------------------------------------------------

When I was 24, girls were already calling me a dirty old man.

Steve McDonald

[C.J.Patten]

Steve McDonald wrote:
> Bruciana wrote:
>
> I still am a youth. 24 this March.
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> When I was 24, girls were already calling me a dirty old man.
>
> Steve McDonald



You mean you hadn't moved on to "women" by the time you were 24?

"Uh-hmmm... high school girls. I keep gettin' older. They stay the same
age." (Matthew McConaughey in "Dazed & Confuzed" ;)