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Re: WTF is wrong with my fingers?
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:29 am
by TorontoBoy
Septimus wrote:After 500 miles of riding over labor day weekend, my fingers feel like they're going to fall off.
... It's now a couple days later and if I close my hand into a fist, there's a sort of dull, throbbing pain. It's not at all serious - barely even a nuisance -- ...but it seems like a couple hours of vibration could be responsible.
Pain when you close your hand into a fist points to issues with your flexor hand muscles, specifically flexor digitorum superficialis, flexor digitorum profundus, and flexor pollicis longus. Coincidentally the tendons of all these muscles goes through your carpal tunnel in your wrist/hand. Compression and inflammation of these tendons may be causing you this throbbing pain. You may also experience tingling of nerves from your forearm up to your shoulder (compression of median nerve).
You already know how you got the compression, so you know to change your body position on your next long ride.
To help you with your pain you could do a couple of things. Ice your wrist, 20 mins on, 20 mins off, for 48 hrs or while still experiencing pain, which might reduce the inflamation. You could also try a NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as aspirin or ibuprofen. If you are a teenager/child do not take aspirin. Acetaminophen (tylenol)/paracetamol is not an NSAID and therefore will not work. Seek your doctor's advice, I am not a doctor.
You may want to take a break from riding while you still experience pain.
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 6:14 pm
by Bored
I know exactly what you mean, I had an SV650 and suffered the same pain. Turned out it was just the fact that I was supporting myself on the hands, all my upper body weight was resting on my hands between my thumb and index finger causing my hands to have a dull numbing pain.
I changed the grips and bought different gloves and ultimately adjusted the bars and that finally fixed the problem!
Good luck and let me know if it works for you!
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:42 am
by Septimus
I ordered some 17 ounce heavy bar ends from HVMP and will replace the grips next if that doesn't do it. It's not really weight and my thumb and forefinger - it's my joints in all my fingers, particularly 3-5 on each hand. I think the vibration on the EX has something to do with it.
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 3:20 am
by Scott58
Septimus wrote:Yeah, I think it's just me making sweet love to the handlebars a little more than is appropriate.
And your only lasting 500 miles. LOL
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:54 am
by Jas0n
I have a 250, and I have the same probelm. Even though its an upright position, I still find myself getting throbbing hand and shoulder pains because of my weight distribution. If I try to ease the weight off my hands, then it feels weird, almost as if using my back muscles requires too much work. I'm just lazy hahah.
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:14 am
by paul1149
Front wheel/tire imbalance could also be a cause of vibration. Also, I try to ride with as straight a wrist as possible and will readjust my grip on the throttle according to my prevailing speed range.
Lee Parks recommends adjusting the clutch/brake levers on the bars so the arm, hand, and wrist form a straight line when extending over the levers. On my ex250 that meant rotating them downward a bit. I also added a throttle lock to relieve the right hand. The downside to these two changes on the ex250 is that they make it harder to cover the brake when keeping the throttle on.
I also had a busy LD weekend. Up to Massachusetts on sat and down to Ground Zero on Sun.
GB,
p.