Looking after your Hands

Seeming as this is an article about hands, lets take a look at a pair of hands in Exhibit One. Take note of point A and Point B.

Exhibit One - Hands.

The above photograph is of a pair of hands. Note the right hand ring finger as indicated by A. Notice the swelling around the base of the finger as opposed to the other hand. The little finger on the right hand is also swollen, but it is not as evident because it is pressed up against the other hand.

When you are riding your bicycle along the bitumen road, tiny vibrations can be felt throughout the entire bike. They are even worse on gravel roads and suspension does not stop them. Due to the long hours spent on the bike whilst touring and the fact that our hands are in one constant position for most of the day, it is quite easy to end up with numbness in the fingers, hands and arms.

Strangely enough for me, it only happened in one hand, the right one. It was a combimation of problems, one of them quite serious. Touring on a mountain bike or any flat bar bike doesn't leave you with many positions to put your hands whilst riding. Most people fit bar ends. This is a good idea, but I usually fit another set of bar ends in the middle of the handle bars. With standard handlebars, there is only one position for the hands. After these modifications I had 4 positions.

Initially my problem presented with the two outer fingers going totally dead and swelling up, and the other three fingers dropping dead on random occasions. The problem was only in my right hand. My hand and fingers would also malfunction and not be able to pick up or grasp anything properly. I would also have a tremor present in the arm and hand. I was initially diagnosed with some sort of nerve damage, then carpal tunnel syndrome, but an orthopaedic surgeon dismissed this. Then I was diagnosed with Ulna Nerve entrapment, but the electrical conductivity tests could not prove this.

Meanwhile I had always cycled with gloves on, so I upgraded to a pair of gel gloves and made the modifications to my bike to get more hand positions. This didn't make much of a difference, so after two years and no firm diagnosis, I changed to a bike with drop bars. Not only did it get rid of back aches on long rides, I was able to reduce the problem with the multiple hand positions available.

To cut a long story short, the problem with the two outer fingers going dead is caused by pressure on the point of the palm marked as B in the first photograph. The rest of the problems are something more serious, but thankfully not caused by cycling. Knowing what it is, I can take precautions against the palm compression problem.

I now have a touring bike with drop bars and aero bars. With this set up there are 5 positions. Adding the aero bars has given me a sixth position. I actually have seven positions. They are:

• Top of the handlebars in the centre;
• On the corners of the handlebars;
• On the brake hoods;
• On the bottom parts of the bars at the end of the bars;
• On the bottom of the bars with hands up under the brakes, as the handlebars have a flat bit in the bend;
• On the aero bars, with weight on forearms; and
• Not recommended, but hands in the arm pads, using them to steer.

With the aero bars, my forearms rest in the arm rest pads, totally taking the weight from my hands. The one position where my hands sit on the corner of the bars, I have to be careful, because it puts pressure on the palm. The handlebars and aero bar are taped up with cork tape, thus providing a bit more padding.

One thing to check is whether your handlebars are too low, and whether you have too much weight on your hands. I fitted a neck extender to the bike to as well to bring the handlebars up higher.

Another cause of arm and hand problems whilst riding is posture and grip. You should always ride your bike with your elbows slightly bent as this absorbs shocks from the road. Use your arm muscles to take the weight and road shocks, and not your bones. Your grip should be light and not tight. Many people who I have seen that suffer speed wobbles riding down hill, are hanging on for grim death. Their knuckles are white, and they are hanging on too tight.

If you are suffering from speed wobbles, check your grip on the handlebars. You may be holding the handlebars with a death grip. Hold them loosely and the speed wobbles should ease up. It should also give you less arm and hand problems.

Remember that this article is not medical advice, and if you are having problems with numbess in your hands and fingers, you will need to get it checked out. If you like the upright riding position, it may pay for you to get rid of the flat handlebars and fit a pair of trekking bars. These are shaped like a squashed M, and give you a few more positions.

I now prefer the drop bar riding position, as it also gives me an aerodynamic riding position especially when riding into a head wind. Having several heights to sit at also relieves lower back ache that is prevalent when sitting on a mountain bike all day.