Osteoarthritis of the hands

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epygw

New Member
Hi my name is Georgina and I’m a current 3rd year Product Design and Manufacture student at Nottingham University. I am currently working on a project as part of my degree to allow people who suffer from Osteoarthritis of the hands enjoy pain-free, comfortable cycling. My own Mother suffers from this problem and I am keen to listen to the experiences of others too. I am posting looking to gain an insight into the struggles faced when cycling with Osteoarthritis of the hands. If you have any suggestions or modifications to current products you have tried or problems that you face/discomfort you experience when cycling that you would like to be eradicated I would love to hear them. If there are any tasks that you find particularly difficult, e.g. gripping, reaching the brakes, sitting upright to ease pressure etc. I would be interested in hearing this also.

The information gathered in this post will be used to inform and develop a new product to help people who suffer from Osteoarthritis of the hands enjoy pain-free cycling. All information that I do gather will remain anonymous and will remain confidential.

Thank you in advance for your responses!
 

MikeG

Guru
Location
Suffolk
My wife will be interested to see what you come up with. Braking is a big deal for her on drops, because with small hands and some joint stiffness she just can't get the leverage on the brake levers necessary to give her control down steep hills.* She's got some suicide brakes, but they're too close together, necessarily, meaning the bike wobbles too much on steep descents. Some sort of adjustment to the brake lever set up, including some sort of control of the amount of pressure necessary to stop the bike, would be a huge help.

* She can't get enough power through the levers when riding on the hoods, and she can't reach the levers properly if her hands are down on the drops, a position she doesn't like anyway.
 
I have this, particularly at the base of my thumbs, range of movement is more limited than it once was. No specific problem with cycling, bar general pain. I use flat-bar bikes exclusively.
Whole different story playing electric bass - anti-inflammatory drugs required to continue that. 66 year old.
 

12boy

Guru
Location
Casper WY USA
I encounter numbness and discomfort after riding an hour or more. Inadequate hand padding, road bumpiness and vibration make it worse. Being able to move the hands to different positions, extra padding, lower tire pressures and adjusting ergonomics so more weight is on the sitbones instead of my hands are all things that help. I don't love flat bars since the position is fixed, but do well with moustache bars and flipped North Road bars because the handshake hand position is most comfortable. I may be alone in this but normal exercise routines such as cycling, running and resistance training don't do much for my hands. Gardening, painting the house, or mowing the lawn do a lot more to maintaining grip strength. I mention this because doing hard manual labor provides muscle and tendon strength that supports the hand.
 
Higher bars give a more upright riding position which takes weight off the wrists. An adjustable stem combined with a moderately backswept bar allows for fine tuning of the wrist angle. A thin grip allows for more finger wrap of the bars and reduces the amount of strength needed to hold on. Grip shift shifters require less individual finger strength to operate. Strong brakes like discs require less finger strength. Coaster brakes are operated by pedalling backwards and therefore require no finger strength at all (but take some getting used to). Additionally, a low or super low frame allows the rider to get on and off easily. Especially if needing to get off in a hurry. A slack seat angle or 'pedals forward' frame design rotates the pelvis closer to the ground making it easier to put a foot down when coming to a stop. Avoid suspension seat posts - the loaded sag means they're higher to get up on when unloaded.
 
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byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
A recumbent is the answer. Absolutely no weight on the hands.
 
I use twin hydraulic brakes off a single lever as the main brake on a recumbent trike.
Minimal stress/strain on my only hand/arm and I only need to use one finger on the brake lever unless I want to stop fast.

An easy fix if you're willing to go that route ........ ^_^
 

Tom B

Guru
Location
Lancashire
Not Osteoarthritis _yet_. But I suffer with carpel tunnel syndrome and tendonitis which at times gives me a weak grip.


Ive changed to Ergo Gp3 grips - the bar ends stop my hands slipping off and the wider grip irritates my CT less. I use hydraulic brakes largely because they offer greater power for for the squeezing force applied.

I very much suspect I'll end up with arthritis in my hands as my joints and knuckles get achy in the damp/cold weather and when Im I'll. Often the first sign I'm coming down with something is achy knuckles.
 
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