Not carpal tunnel?

[Robbin_G]

So I've been numb on the TOPS of my thumbs since I kicked up the training the last few weeks. (As in, I havent been on a bike since Sat and I still feel it.) My hands tend to get stiff easy anyway and long, killer downhills with constant break feathering really has me pushing into the hoods really hard. Everything I've been reading about carpal tunnel has the tingling on the bottom of the thumb.

Has anyone else had this? Change of gloves? The thumbs do seem kinda tight but I love the palm in them. I'm hoping use will stretch them out.

[KnottedYet]

If you're sure it's not carpal tunnel, could it be coming from your elbow or neck? There are two nerves that could be yelling in the thumb. Musculocutaneous is the biggie, and some folks have radial nerve doing sensory business on just a tiny bit of the base of the thumb almost at the wrist. The whole "which nerve goes where" thingy with arms and hands totally confuses me. Usually it's median nerve that causes the most trouble with carpal tunnel.

You can do a quick screening of your carpal tunnel (just to see if it's crowded in there) by putting the backs of your hands together in front of you with fingers pointing downward (like an inside-out and upside-down "prayer"). Hold that position for a minute. If you get tingling/burning/pain/ouchies/irritation, then something in your carpal tunnel is unhappy. That's called a Phalen's Test, and really doesn't tell you much but could give you an idea.

There are a huge number of things (some of them pretty weird) that can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. ANYTHING that's messing with your hands should be checked out by a doc/hand therapist/OT. Hands are precious!

[Running Mommy]

I developed cyclist palsy in my right hand at the IM a few weeks ago. I'm still having issues w/ my hand. The numbness has gone away, but I still have no strength in my thumb and forefinger, and my little finger and ring finger are bent in a strange position. I cannot hold my fingers together. I aslo have problems writing.
I had a check up a few days after the IM, and my doctor said it's a compressed ulnar nerve. She said it should come back within a couple of months, but it may take time. The only thing she said to do was to wrap my arm so that it would not bend when I sleep. She aslo said to try not to sleep on it, or if I'm a side sleeper not to sleep on that side. So now I have a mummy wrap on at night...:rolleyes:
Sounds like it may be the same thing? Or something related?? But of course a call to the doctor never hurts! Esp. if the numbness persists.