In the Palm of my hand

[DiddlyDodds]

At the beginning of the year i did a two day ride with my hands resting on the brake lever hoods for long periods and a week or so later realised i was loosing the the use of my right hand, went to the doctor who sent me to a specialist who diagnosed bruising of the nerves in my hand and forearm(yes you can actually bruise nerves), he also said some people get feeling back taking up to 6months (i was lucky and got back all feeling in 3 months) but some never get it back.
What he said was ,to not keep the hand in one position on the handlebars for very long, so now as i ride i move the position ever 5 mins or so and have not had the problem again.

What would be a huge benefit would be padding in the palm and the muscle on the little finger side of the hand , i have tried all sorts of extra padding stuffed into my glove and all seem to compress after 2 or 3 hours to the point of being no use, i am now thinking of some type of Gel pack , does any one know of a thin gel pack that you can buy that will be thin enough to slip in a glove but thick enough to make a difference.

 

[HLaB]

Specialized BG gloves are really good for padding, you can also get thin pads that go under your bartape (iirc Fizik do it) but I don't recall seeing loose pads for inside the glove.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Cycling Plus (I think...) did a test on various gloves a while ago. They were surprised to find that the foam padding in gloves they tested we're better at reducing vibration than gel padding - though not by a lot. Strange as the gel padding gloves are generally higher up the price point.

I'd suggest to just find a pair that work well for you, then take the docs and everyone else advice and keep altering hand position - bars, drops, hoods - and you should be fine.

 

[snailracer]

If the aforementioned suggestions don't work, then take weight off the hands by raising the stem.

 

[Hip Priest]

I always take my hands off the bars for a bit when I feel pins & needles. Nips it in the bud.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Specialized BG gloves +1 always use these

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Some good points there ,, cheers

 

[Candaules]

I had this problem quite badly after a summer of cycling off-road on a bike with no suspension (it was a 'velo toute terrain', or so they said in the french bike shop). Juddering over ruts and stones made my fingers go white and numb. After six weeks my hands were so bad I could barely grip the steering wheel to drive.
I solved it by

1. buying a bike with front suspension, which reduced the vibration. However, this is not much use for road riding.
2. wearing padded gloves
3. trying not to grip so hard. I think this is a matter of confidence: a loose-ish grip is perfectly safe most of the time.

Several years (and several bikes) later, I have not been troubled again by numbness.