CAAD5AL

That ought to be posted over the sign of every hospital in America . . .

I don't care what it's for, people should take EVERY surgery very seriously, and make sure they know all their options first. We've gotten pretty blase' about the risks of getting knocked out and cut open by another human being.

DocJ

That would be the ulnar nerve.. I have problems sometimes with my median nerves, which affect the thumb, index, and middle fingers. Specialized Phatbar gel pads and correct sizing (finally) have really helped me in this regard.

rockmuncher

Jeezuz, just get on the bike and ride it. You can sit on your arse moping or you can enjoy life. Your condition will improve or not either way.

I have ulna nerva damage in both arms and the first things I did was start playing piano and guitar, duff notes and all. It didn't matter that I couldn't feel the strings, it didn't matter that they caused a wierd pain sensation. Its all about providing stimulus.

OK, so lets go with worst case scenario: you condition doesn't get better (or worsens). Over time your brain will form a new stasis (how it percieves what is normal) and any numbness, tingling, pins and needles, etc will become background noise. It will take time tho, in my case it was several years. I still have the numbness and tingling and lack of tactile information, but I never notice it unless I focus on it.

As for surgery, well take it if you can't cope with the slight abnormality until your brain figures out how to deal with it. But I recommend chatting to someone who has a completely disfunctional claw hand first, as this is the guaranteed outcome if the surgeon slips up. From my cousing who has been a doctor (anaesthetist/emergency head) for 30 years: "do everything you can to avoid the scalpel!"

rockmuncher

Knee-Over-Pedal-Spindle: An antiquated and almost useless positioning system. It was once considered to be the bees knees in positioning but it has so many flaws it's never mentioned in public anymore. At best it is a generalisation that applied to standard frames in to early 1980's. Things have moved on since then.

It's major flaws are:
it only works for a small range of leg length versus reach measurements
it ignores femur length versus inseam ratio
it does not work with compact frame geometries
it only works for a limited range of seatpost tube angles
people applied it incorrectly as a hard-and-fast rule rather than a generalisation

Brian

Interesting. Someone once mentioned MTB bar ends when I mentioned a bit of numbness in my hands on a ride. Might need a bit more tinkering before I get it right.

BoogieMan

Thanks everyone. Lots of interesting info in this thread.

I've been experiencing pain in my left elbow when riding lately. It all started when I took a pretty bad whack on the elbow while kayaking earlier this summer. The pain starts up almost immediately when I hop on my bike. It's nothing major that I can't play through, but after long rides, I can barely bend my left arm at the elbow, and my pinkie finger goes numb. I've got a feeling that it's just going to take some time for it to heal this winter.

I was fitted at the bike shop when I got my bike with the plumbob for the KOPS position. It didn't feel right to me at all. I felt like I was too far forward in the saddle, and like my saddle was too low for my pedal stroke. I raised my saddle a little bit, and and my pedal stroke feels great. However, I still feel as if too much of my weight is forward when my hands are positioned on my shifters. I do my best to change my hand position throughout my rides, but it doesn't do much to alleviate the pain.

I've been contemplating stuff like new carbon wing bars, a new stem, different gloves and gel grip tape, but it sounds like some tinkering with the fit of my bike may be all it takes to clear the problem up. I'm going to try lowering my seat a little, and moving it back first. It sounds like that should put more of my weight back on my legs, while keeping my pedal stroke at about the same length that I have it at now, and effectively raising my bars. I prefer to stay in higher gears and use more of a power pedalling stroke, so it sounds like this may be better suited for my riding style. I'll report back and let ya'll know if it works or not.

Panic

Had my longest ride of my new riding career on Saturday, 37 miles and about 16 in traffic. I could feel my hand going numb, but the traffic had me so nervous that I couldn't get my hands off the hoods for more than a few seconds before another 40 mile an hour roadster would screech by.

I'm going to see on Friday about getting fitted again, I've been moving my seat a bit and maybe something triggered it.

Oh, I had carpal tunnel surgery 17 years ago, and never had a problem till Saturday. My index and middle fingers were affected, and my index is weak and mostly numb.

natethaskate

I was having hand problems until I did a few things. Bought a decent pair of gloves (PI Gel Lites), tweaked my seat so my full weight was on my butt, not my hands & finally I now change hand positions frequently. On the hoods, in the drops, on the top bar, at the bends, repeat.

Good luck & hope you recover quickly.

Panic

Thanks. I've got some pretty good gloves, but sounds like I should experiment with both gloves and changing my seat a bit.

ridesabikeLA

Wanted to check in with you on this? Did you recover? I'm experiencing a similar issue...

MoAlpha

ridesabikeLA

I had an EMG/NCS done--some minor ulnar nerve compression. I'm still 2.5 weeks out from the initial incident, slowly improving, but still only 75% in terms of numbness/strength. I'm staying off the bike, until I'm back at 100%. Does sound like a good idea? It's hard to stay off--biking was my primary form of exercise and commuting to work and back...

MoAlpha

dfischer

Guys,this is becoming a common problem. Sure, cycling too may be "A" cause, but it's not the only, and perhaps not even the dominant one. Ulnar / Median nerve damage was once common in tennis players. You've heard of "Tennis Elbow". Today the repeated bending or our elbows as we hold dell phones to our ears and tablets up to reading position is creating a tsunami of such injuries. And once damaged, other causes further inflame it. For me, rowing and snowmobiling can be triggers, and I'll assume as I start biking again that could too. But, I've found three root problems lay at the root of the situation:
1) I was holding a phone to me head too often. I now use ear pieces for all my phones.
2) I was reading via tablet and holding the tablet up, arms bent, for hours at a time. I had to start resting the table on pillows, read laying sideways, change arms more often, and yes, stop reading as much. (darn TV).
3) I was sleeping with my arm curled in the "up" position.

All three created stress on the Ulnar, and changing those three, over many months, allowed me to heal up.
I share only so that you don't blame ONLY the bike and your riding position. Sure it's probably a problem. My suggestion is it may not be the only one.

Hope this helps!
d

MoAlpha

By far the most common site for ulnar entrapment is the elbow, but in a cyclist, the palm is the first place to look. C8 or T1 nerve root problems can also mimic an ulnar neuropathy. A competently performed EMG/NCS interpreted by a competent clinician and informed by the history and clinical findings will virtually always locate the relevant lesion and lead to a helpful recommendation. That said, there was plenty of incompetence out there when I was professionally involved with this stuff.