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.)
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" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
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.)
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.
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.
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...
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.
Quoted message said:
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.
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.
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.
: 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.
: 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 [email hidden] 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
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.
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.
: 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. 🙂
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. 🙂
