Pain in the hands and fingers

PB Forum :: Fitness, Training and Health
Pain in the hands and fingers
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flag SebasFlat
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:33 Quote
Hi,

After each day of riding downhill, my hands and fingers hurt for like 2 or 3 days.
It makes it impossible for me to ride 2 days in a row because it hurts too much.
And it really is the bones that hurt.

Anyone feels the same thing or have a hint of how I could train my hands and fingers to stop hurting after a day of ride?
I thought about Advils before riding to stop pain, but don't know if it will work...
flag jamie12345
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:43 Quote
what grips do you have?
flag singlespeedtoday
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:44 Quote
How long have you been riding downhill? Have you recently changed anything on your bike?
flag SebasFlat
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:44 Quote
jamie12345 wrote:
what grips do you have?

ESI grips
flag SebasFlat
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:45 Quote
singlespeedtoday wrote:
How long have you been riding downhill? Have you recently changed anything on your bike?

This is my first year of downhill riding, and yes I changed my grips and a wider handlebar, but it did not change anything to my hand pain problem.
flag thedirtmerchant
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:48 Quote
hey, I get almost the same thing just not as severe. After a day in whistler your knuckles (especially pinky) hurt a lot and you have trouble moving them? well I have a way to make it less painful, not go away though. First look at how you are riding, if you are breaking with 2 fingers then you have 2 fingers and your thumb holding onto your bar, this induces lots of stress on those fingers, I recommend 1 finger braking. It will feel a bit odd at first but feels much better in the long run. Another thing you can do is make sure your suspension is adjusted correctly (even the rear) be sure the rebound is right and that they aren't to stiffly set, this one makes a HUGE difference. Another thing I would say is that you should try to keep your elbows out, this means that hits and bigger things are being handled by the muscles in your back (way stronger than your arm) and are thus inducing less stress into your arms and hands. Lastly try to relax your grip a bit so that you are still holding on to the bars but not death griping them. Something to help with keeping your elbows out is getting a pair of wider bars like the Cromags or Race Face Atlas free ride (not sure on that one)hopefully these help you keep riding for a wile longer.

-Bill

PS there are not going to eliminate the pain, but it will be tolerable
PPS also getting stonger breaks like codes, juicys or stoker aces heps if you are currently riding hays nines or some other low end break
flag Unhallowed
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:50 Quote
Sounds like a fit problem.
Try adjusting the placement, size, angle, etc of bars, brake levers, grips, stem... all that stuff.

If it isn't that, then all I can really think of is your compression is set too high and your getting too much feedback into your wrists.
flag singlespeedtoday
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:54 Quote
And you've had the pain the whole time right? I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you just need to build up a tolerance to it?
flag jamie12345
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:54 Quote
i get this sometimes when i ride my mtb because the grips are too thin for me and i grip too hard. try some odyssey griswald grips, i know theyre for bmx but theyre thicker and really comfy and when the brake and gears keep them squashed up quite short on the bar they will last quite a long time.
flag SebasFlat
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 10:58 Quote
Well for my riding, I always keep only one finger on the brakes.., but I guess my front suspension is maybe too stiff.. I'll try lowering the compressing a bit.

And I think I may be holding the grips too hard. Since I'm a beginner, I may have more fear and hold harder because of that. I'll try relaxing a bit too.
Thanks for the tips.
flag Unhallowed
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 11:05 Quote
SebasFlat wrote:
Well for my riding, I always keep only one finger on the brakes.., but I guess my front suspension is maybe too stiff.. I'll try lowering the compressing a bit.

And I think I may be holding the grips too hard. Since I'm a beginner, I may have more fear and hold harder because of that. I'll try relaxing a bit too.
Thanks for the tips.
Definitely loosen up on the grips. Having a death hold on 'em makes your entire upper body stiff and can severely hinder your riding.
You want the bike the 'float' over obstacles and do all the work. You're just pointing it in the right direction. Think of it as how a skier rides through moguls.
flag bailey262
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 11:31 Quote
SebasFlat wrote:
jamie12345 wrote:
what grips do you have?

ESI grips
are those the ones that are just a sleve of silicone cuz those are crap unless your a crosscountry racer. did the package say 'racers egde' or 'chunky' by chance?
flag gnarkore
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 11:48 Quote
Big grips, They will leave you with a looser grip when you ride, Which is better. Your hands shouldnt hurt much if at all if you get the thicker grips
flag mikey-vee
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 11:51 Quote
its just simply the fact that you are using your muscles, hand and arm pump is just your muscles getting tiered. lactic acid is left over in your fingers and hands making them hurt. its nothing serious. after a while riding your muscles will get used to it and endurance will improve.
flag gnarkore
Posted: Jul 9, 2009 at 11:53 Quote
mikey-vee wrote:
its just simply the fact that you are using your muscles, hand and arm pump is just your muscles getting tiered. lactic acid is left over in your fingers and hands making them hurt. its nothing serious. after a while riding your muscles will get used to it and endurance will improve.

When i started DH i never had this issue. And i would be riding 10 hour days, Aside from some finger cramping. But regardless with a looser grip his muscles/tendons in his forearm and hands would be under less strain.
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