Hello,
I’ve been struggling with pretty brutal pain in my hands, and inability to grip the handlebar (thumb muscle and hypothenar muscle), which ended my moto-career about 7-8 years ago.
Just started riding again this year, thinking maybe the problem just disappeared after some (a lot) of years away from the sport.
The problem is, that the pain is still there!
I’ve visited three different doctors during the years, and all they can say is that it’s not carpal tunnel.
I can get away with riding for about 6 minutes in the trails and around 1-2 full laps around the motocross track. If I stop and shake my hands a bit, I can complete about 1 lap more or about 4 minutes in the woods.
I have a Husqvarna 350f trail bike with a full setup of Öhlins suspension (valved for a soft feeling in the first part of the stroke), a mako 360 mount and renthals softest aramid grips. I am very fit, with a low resting pulse. I am very relaxed in my riding style, trying to grip the bike with my ankles and not putting weight or pulling on the handlebar.
While racing (about 14 years in total) when younger, I put around 150h / year on the motocross track, and around 15-20 races/ year before my hands started hurting, so I would say I rode enough to stay relaxed on the bike. I put down about 40hrs this year, but there’s no difference in the duration I can ride before the pain arrives and I lose the ability to reach for the levers.
Does anybody out there have the same or similar problem and found a solution?
I can't say I've had the same pain, but I do know that fatigue issues often come from squeezing too hard. I know you say you can ride loose, but have you ever thought about it in the moment?
I'd experiment with different grips and lever heights, too. Squeeze more with your knees. Lean forward more on acceleration. All those things take stress off your hands.
It’s kinda crazy. But a few years ago I had some pro taper lock on grips. After about 2.3-3 laps my throttle thumb would just go completely numb. I went back to ODI lock on and never had an issue after that. People would not believe me. I didn’t believe it at first lol
I had a similar issue recently and found it was from tennis elbow. After a few minutes I had no hand strength. I've been taking anti inflammatorys about half an hour before riding and its gone away.
Sounds like it could nerve be related. Look up some nerve flossing exercises for the hand/wrist.
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My hands go numb after a while when I ride, unless my fitness is great (both cardio and weights, and stretching), and I'm riding loose.
Grips make a difference. I run the Pro Taper half pillow tops. When I tried the full pillow tops, it was definitely harder to hold on. I don't remember the symptoms since it was a long time ago, but I went back to half pillow tops right away.
Also, sometimes my hands will hurt for the first few laps. It may seem illogical, but they need to be stretched and warmed up like any other part of the body.
One thing that helps me a lot, is to use a light hand grip on the way to the track, followed by squeezing a 1LB stress ball 100-125 times with each hand. My objective is to pre-warm up my forearms to prevent arm pump. It loosens up your hands too. As a result I hardly ever have arm pump.
The hand grip only works your fingers. The 1lb stress ball also works your thumbs. In my opinion, that's important.
I try to do sets during the week as well, but even if just on the way to the track, it helps a lot.
Hand grip:
This is about the heaviest I'll use on a ride day. Mine is about 25% lighter than this one.
https://www.ironmind-store.com/Guide-Captains-of-Crush-Hand-Gripper/productinfo/1401/
1 LB grip ball:
I prefer the Valeo 1lb grip ball because they last forever, but they discontinued them during Covid. The Gravity Gripp 1lb stress ball works great. It just doesn't last as long.
https://www.irongloves.com/1lb-gravity-gripp-sport-hand-trainer_8_48160…
I didn`t have pain I would say, but I got more fatigue in my hands with thicker grips, probably because of my small hands.
For me it felt better using thinner grips like Pro Taper Pillow Top LITE, not the normal version. Also tried to squeeze the bike more with the knees.
For some reason, my hands felt better when I cooled them down with water in the pit right after riding.
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