Cyclist’s palsy or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Bicycling – Ironman Elite Gloves, Stem Riser

Bicycling had a piece on cyclist’s palsy. “About one-quarter of all riders will develop cyclist’s palsy–pain, tingling, numbness and weakness in the hands, wrists or fingers–says Andrew Pruitt, a bike-fit and sports-medicine expert.” They go on to suggest adjusting bike fit and list some exercises to strength muscles.

As one suffering from computer induced RSI tendinitis and as a person who enjoys cycling, I have faced a double whammy. When I had severe symptoms, I simply stopped biking and switched to hiking and running. Any time you stop using your hands, you let them heal. Same goes for carpal tunnel syndrome.

I started using Ironman Elite cycling gloves because of their thick padding. They work pretty well. I also have their mountain biking gloves but do not like them as much because of much less padding, even though they are full fingered.  They have a newer Ironman Elite T.2 gloves that also work.

I installed a Stem Riser to make my road bikes handlebars higher. This allows more weight to stay on the saddle and off my handlebars. Keep in mind that you may have to install longer cables with a higher stem.

Road biking is very hard on the hands.  I found that I could tolerate far more road riding using my mountain bike.  Hey some riding is better than NO riding.

Check out our article on Icing your hands to reduce pain.

This site has some good ergonomic tips from a doctor to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

RSI Warrior is a software package I have used to fight RSI.  It brings up rest break reminders, stretches, ergonomics tips, and automatic mouse clicking. Try their Free Demo

Related posts:

1. Gloves for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or Wrist Pain
2. Driving and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Ergonomic Driving, RSI
3. Road to recovery from Carpal Tunnel, Hand Pain, RSI

Posted on April 30th, 2009
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