Hands go numb.

[jgas]

I just found out I have Carpal Tunnel and the hole in the elbow where the main nerve runs through needs to be drilled out on my left arm. Gotta have surgery for Carpal tunnel and also on the elbow. I can only hang on tight for about an hour before my hand gets too weak to ride. Until I get around to the surgery, I have figured out a temporary "fix". I ice my hand and elbow right before a ride. If possible I return to my truck to re-ice it every hour or so, for about 10 minutes. Seems to help quite a bit.

I also glued a peice of velcro 2 sided tape around my hand grip, and the other peice to my glove. I glued the velcro stuff over the whole palm and on my pinky and ring finger but not on the other fingers which need to clutch and regrip.

It's a bandaid to keep me riding, and surgery is the only fix, but I can ride a bit longer and faster with the hand velcro-d to the grip. Just thought I'd pass it along.

Jeff.

 

[Cruiser]

I've been using the "C-trac" traction devise and it helped a lot. I have had symptoms and the minor symptoms are gone.. I do not use the devise the instructed 3 times a day.. but just once a day.. 3 times would do much better.. this may help out for a while.. especially if you follow its instructions.. unlike me. which I am now doing again..
http://www.carpaldoctors.com/?gclid=CNH5u_bfz68CFQIQNAodTnANtQ

 

[flybars]

Good idea about the velcro. I've had the carpal release surgery and have not had a problem since. Good luck with your surgery.

 

[waycrazy]

I have had the release surgery done on both hands. Unfortunately I let it go for way to long and the surgery didn't help me as much.So my advise is don't put off surgery. Get it done right away for best results.

 

[oregon pampara rider]

I added fasstco Flexbars to my bike and that has helped with my numb hands a lot for me.

 

[davedunaway]

Numb hands

I also run flex bars finds it helps a lot. The other thing I found just as effective for me was switching to oversize grips. Scott makes them. I have quite large mitts and my problem was over gripping because my the stock grips were just to small in diameter. The larger grips allows me relax my hands on the bars a lot more.

Dave

 

[erniebearskin]

I fitted the ktm phds system and it works well. Although I have never tried them, Flexx bars seem like the ultimate solution..

 

[Onespeed]

Yah dont death grip the bars...hold on with your legs. When I first started riding dirt again my arms/hands would get numb....after I focused on using my legs more the pain didnt stick around as long. Just relax and dont forget to stretch.

 

[jgas]

Update:

Thanks for all the input. I talked a VA doc into giving me a small steroid injection in my elbow. Worked wonders! I've had about 50 of those in my low back, and 10 or so in my left shoulder, some worked and some didn't. He didn't like doing Cortisone in the elbow, said it could be harmful, but he did a small amount and it helped. That confirmed to me what they already thought, that 80% of my problem is in my elbow rather than carpal tunnel. If my problem comes back in force I'll have the elbow surgery and probably forgo carpal tunnel.

In the mean time, I've been experimenting with gloves and grips. I'm using ProGrip Rally grips. They are huge! Hard to get used to, but now I love them. They tend to come loose from the bars easier. The best glue seems to be Shoo Goo. Pro Grips and Renthals glue works on other grips but not these. I guess they are too flexy or something. I have also been using some thin rubber gloves from Harbor Freight. They are only 5 bucks, and wear out pretty fast and tear but they are so tacky that when I pull my hands off the grips they are stuck a little. I can relax my grip and still hang on ok. The gloves have no protection on the backs. I might try gluing some thin strips of material on the backs of the fingers.

 

[GMP]

You should not get more than two Cortisone shots in the same area, its bad for the bone. If that doesn't do it then you need surgery. It functions as a super anti-inflamitory that allows the tissue to heal (if it can heal). I had tendonitis in my wrist and was lucky one shot worked. The oral drugs tore my stomach up.

Flexxbars! What more can I say? Ever hear ny complaints?

For problem grips, and reusing grips, try one layer of friction tape barely overlapped and overlapping the bar end slightly. Then coat with Shoo Goo.

 

[cladoo]

I had surgery on both wrists and there are no issues now. I wish my doc would drill out my elbows but he wants to relocate my ulnar nerve instead and I am not thrilled with that. The best change I've done to help my wrists from aching after riding has been buying my Nambotin, those TTX fork inserts are so good that I have no sore wrists after riding anymore. I hear the biggest complaint about the Flexxbars is that you can feel the extra weight up high.

 

[GMP]

Really? I don't feel any extra weight, plus they are not really that much heavier anyway. To me the biggest issue is tying the bike down in the truck, you have to use soft ties on the inner bar and not compress the elastomers. Also, since the inner bar is straight you have less room for fork bleeders. This is really only an issue with the PFP fork as the bleed hole is in the PFP aduster and must turn, clear the bar, and be accessable.

 

[jgas]

GMP, you can get several per year in certain areas, such as lower back. I usually get 3 per year. I have no disc left at L5-S1, and have severe nerve damage with scar tissue where the disc used to be. They inject the stuff between the vertebre, away from the spinal cord to break up and reduce the scar tissue formation which presses on the nerve. If I didn't have the injections I would have to have at least 1 surgery per year to clean it all up and in my case injections are better than surgery.

You are correct that you can get too many shots in certain areas. After 12 shots over 3 years they would not do any more in my shoulder. The doc didn't want to do even one in my elbow, but I convinced him to do a little of it to verify if my hand weakness was carpal tunnel or elbow related. He said he would'nt do another one in the elbow even if it helped due to potential damage. It all depends on the part of the body and the exact diagnosis how many they will do.

When they do the low back ones, they usually don't hurt too much, but occasionally they hit a nerve, and it feels like a hard electric shock down my leg which then is sore for several days. Overall, I think the shots are worth it in my case, because they can't surgically repair the low b ack injury. I've had 2 surgeries and they just did what they could.

As always, find a good doc, and if you have any doubts get a second opinion. I got 3 opinions before I had my first back surgery, they all agreed so I did it. I also got 2 opinions before starting the shots. Again, my injury was uncommon and somewhat unique.