Any tips to alleviate pins and needles in pinky and ring fingers?

[GaryvdM]

What position did you spend most time in?  Drops/hoods/tops?

 

Guessing here:

hoods 50%

tops 45%

drops 5%

[lechatnoir]

Well, if the tingling and numbness hasn't gone away, it's probably nerve damage. Chances are that it'll subside in time, so that's great. This may take longer than you'd like. Or it may hang around for some time, which is less great.

[johannrissik]

I went for a long ride last week. Needless to say I have pins and needles in pinky and ring fingers now. This is getting old fast. Does any one have any tips to alleviate this?

Hier in my kontrei noem ons dit "fyn brag"    

 

You could have stopped at 100km and gone home, your hands and fingers would have been fine.

 

Otherwise it's North Road bars for you, young man. (aka Sit-up-and-beg)

[V12man]

Just to be clear this was a fairly long ride. 1200km over 6 days, including 400km gravel. And it's only been 5 days since the ride finished.

 

I did take a lot of steps to avoid this. 47mm wide tires, Redshift suspension stem, good gloves. (I didn't double wrap the bars.)

 

Saddle position set using this method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZhWVZq2qUc

 

I don't have this issue on normal training rides, just long rides. Ride is over now, so I'm really looking for is to get the symptoms to go away faster.

Ice, stretching and anti inflammatories and some time.. if that doesn't work then you might need some surgery - but give it a good 6 - 8 weeks first to see if it recovers without intervention.

[fanievb]

I went for a long ride last week. Needless to say I have pins and needles in pinky and ring fingers now. This is getting old fast. Does any one have any tips to alleviate this?

My hands (ring and pinkie) took about two weeks to recover form pins and needles after 36One.

 

Came right on their own (no medical treatment etc)

[100Tours]

Just to be clear this was a fairly long ride. 1200km over 6 days, including 400km gravel. And it's only been 5 days since the ride finished.

 

I did take a lot of steps to avoid this. 47mm wide tires, Redshift suspension stem, good gloves. (I didn't double wrap the bars.) 

 

I don't have this issue on normal training rides, just long rides. Ride is over now, so I'm really looking for is to get the symptoms to go away faster.

 

I had this after Roubaix - takes about 3 months to clear up properly. IMHO the best thing to do is crack open a cold beer every time it bugs you and think about the ride you did,

[FirstV8]

From the symptoms you describe it sounds like its the typical Carpel Tunnel problem . Consult with a Orthopedic surgeon and if its diagnosed as that , have the op . I had it in both hands ant different times and have had both done and have never that problem again . 

[Geronimo]

It sounds cliched, but it is the best option. Get a fit done. I had very bad pain (which would start as numbness) in my left hand. It used to get so bad, it took two days for my hand to feel normal again. Check that your saddle is not tilted downwards too much, as that will put a lot of pressure on your hands. Also try to move your hands around a lot more. I change my hand positioning every 10 minutes as a nerve in my left hand connects directly beneath where I hold my bars on the hoods.  

 

Had a bike fit and still get pins and needles in both my hands so a bike fit might help but not necessarily going to cure everyone. I live with it and try to move my hands and position on the bars around. Good luck to the OP as I dont think there is any quick fix. 

[Frosty]

I found I got pins and needles in the same fingers, when riding long distances on a MTB, i.e. flat bars. My hand wasn’t in the same line/direction as my arm, but rather rotated slightly outward and towards the body (like opening the throttle on a motor bike).

 

By changing the angle of the brakes/shifters, I was able to correct that problem and the numb digits never happened again.

 

The result was that it felt like the whole palm was on the bars rather than outside part of the palm (highlighted section in pic).

 

But that’s MTB and not road.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Frosty]

From the symptoms you describe it sounds like its the typical Carpel Tunnel problem . Consult with a Orthopedic surgeon and if its diagnosed as that , have the op . I had it in both hands ant different times and have had both done and have never that problem again .

the carpel nerve is in the thumb, index and middle finger. The Ulnar nerve is the ring and pinky.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Grubscrew]

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Cyclist%27s_palsy

[Dusty]

I went for a long ride last week. Needless to say I have pins and needles in pinky and ring fingers now. This is getting old fast. Does any one have any tips to alleviate this?

Ulnar nerve damage. It happens on very long rides. It will be gone in 3-6 months. Look at glove type, bar type, bar wrap and bike setup to alleviate in the future.

[Disylizzy]

Something I can actually answer (from $h1t ton painful experience)...

 

Basically between the first rib and collar bone is a small opening that the ulnar nerve runs through.  There are also some other funky routes that the nerve runs from there.  But basically from riding hunched up (typical cycling position) you end up pinching the nerve because your muscles have tightened up and are pulling you forward.  If it continually persists it is called thoracic outlet syndrome.  It is more than likely not carpal tunnel syndrome, there are too many people that get misdiagnosed with this and end up getting multiple surgeries and never get it fixed.

 

Things to fix it before surgery:

Stretch, stretch, and more stretching.  Also strengthen your back and triceps (basically all the muscles that help you with an upright posture)

I got a stem that was at a 22.5degree angle so I sat more upright on the bike

 

Some stretches:

Stand in a door way and with your arm bent 90deg against the door frame, step through the doorway and it'll make a light stretch through your pec area.  You can also do this against a wall.

Lie on a foam roller where it runs between your bum and base of neck and arms outstretch, will also give a light stretch.

Place your hand over your head, turn head about 45deg in the direction of arm holding your head and then with light pressure from your hand, look down towards your armpit (this stretches the scalenes which sometimes is also a culprit)

 

EDIT: it takes a lot to damage the nerve, so everyone harping on about nerve damage, it's not.

[Robbie Stewart]

Something I can actually answer (from $h1t ton painful experience)...

 

Basically between the first rib and collar bone is a small opening that the ulnar nerve runs through.  There are also some other funky routes that the nerve runs from there.  But basically from riding hunched up (typical cycling position) you end up pinching the nerve because your muscles have tightened up and are pulling you forward.  If it continually persists it is called thoracic outlet syndrome.  It is more than likely not carpal tunnel syndrome, there are too many people that get misdiagnosed with this and end up getting multiple surgeries and never get it fixed.

 

Things to fix it before surgery:

Stretch, stretch, and more stretching.  Also strengthen your back and triceps (basically all the muscles that help you with an upright posture)

I got a stem that was at a 22.5degree angle so I sat more upright on the bike

 

Some stretches:

Stand in a door way and with your arm bent 90deg against the door frame, step through the doorway and it'll make a light stretch through your pec area.  You can also do this against a wall.

Lie on a foam roller where it runs between your bum and base of neck and arms outstretch, will also give a light stretch.

Place your hand over your head, turn head about 45deg in the direction of arm holding your head and then with light pressure from your hand, look down towards your armpit (this stretches the scalenes which sometimes is also a culprit)

 

EDIT: it takes a lot to damage the nerve, so everyone harping on about nerve damage, it's not.

 

 

This for the win. Thanks DisyLizzy.

[arendoog]

The lack of enough core strength.

['Kaze Pete]

I went for a long ride last week. Needless to say I have pins and needles in pinky and ring fingers now. This is getting old fast. Does any one have any tips to alleviate this?

After your long ride of 1200km you are bound to have pins and needles... just saying

 

I had similair doing a 24 hour solo.

Also when doing long rides after ling breaks from training.

 

Core as stated, maybe dial back the aggressiveness of bike setup if possible.

 

Or start over with “little” 200km Audax rides?

 

But first rest