Numbness and pain on finger joints

[B-mtrd]

Mods, please move to the appropriate thread if needed.

For the past few weeks I have started developing pain the joints or my ring, middle and index fingers of my left hand. It is more pronounced the morning after a long ride.
When I wake up I can barely move the fingers due to pain. After a few minutes I can move them.

Has anyone experienced that before? I've been moving my hand to get some blood flowing through and some Arnica.

I'm trying stuff at home before I head to the doctor.

 

[budman]

I use a mentholated CBD rub to help get the blood flow going. This is on a few body parts here and there

Just hit my shoulder for the second time today.. I smell good.

 

[BillSmith]

If this is sudden, I'd suggest hydrating.

How old are you? Onset of arthritis. Pick your flavor- osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, psoriatic. Or gout, lupus?

Developing 'trigger finger' symptoms?

My advice, try water and consume less sugar for a while.

 

[B-mtrd]

If this is sudden, I'd suggest hydrating.

How old are you? Onset of arthritis. Pick your flavor- osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, psoriatic. Or gout, lupus?

Developing 'trigger finger' symptoms?

My advice, try water and consume less sugar for a while.

Mid 40’s.
I’ll try that.

My wife also mentioned it could be long covid symptoms? I had covid a couple of years ago.

 

[budman]

If this is sudden, I'd suggest hydrating.

How old are you? Onset of arthritis. Pick your flavor- osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, psoriatic. Or gout, lupus?

Developing 'trigger finger' symptoms?

My advice, try water and consume less sugar for a while.

I had to look up trigger finger as I had a cramp in my trigger finger on the last ride. My real trigger finger.
That was a cramp where it stayed straightish and hurt a small amount.

Ain't life grand!

 

[tuxumino]

so I have numbness and tingling in my right hand that seems to come from riding but also from just sitting at the computer. I find that Tai Chi helps relieve it but it makes no real sense why this would help except for consciously trying to move energy into the hands.

 

[G.R.]

xxxxx itis is inflammation . Of all the research I have done the most repeated advice many health care professionals
Nutritionists and researchers is to lessen the inflammation in your body. Foods #1 then other ways as well.
Youtube has many people talking about inflammation and how to lessen it. Now that you are in your 40's this is
what you will have to do for the rest of your life, I speak with experience on this .

 

[ST Guy]

What kind of bike do you ride and how are the bars adjusted. Sometimes people have maladjusted controls and simply live with it when it could be adjusted better. Can you sit on your bike, hands on the bars, and have someone take photos of your hands and arms. I sat on bikes that had horrible ergonomics. Even from the factory.

 

[ilikefood]

If you have any type of inflammatory issue like this, you might want to play around with your diet. Cutting out gluten is a good place to start. FODMAPS too.

 

[Lucytriple]

Welcome to old. Here’s my favorite guy who has helped me heal all
my hurts. Sounds hokey, but it’s not: https://www.diyjointpainrelief.com/

 

[Holeshot]

+1 to what kind of bike. Physical condition? Abs weak/ strong? Gloves the same as always? Mid 40's? Might be a good idea to do a blood workout and maybe methylation test, checking for inflammation markers, etc.

One other thing to look at, and this is the 1st I'd personally look at myself (and do): chiropractic adjustment. After my crash in May, my thumb went numb and my regular physician told me it was carpal T and I needed surgery...which made no sense at all. I went to my Chiro, who's an accident specialist and had him look at the hand. Quickly, he identified the elbow being way out place, adjusted it and the numbness subsided in less than 2 days after. I have the same issue with certain joints as you and after he adjust the culprit (which is usually not the hurt joint itself), the irritation is gone. 20 years of racing and crashing has gotten me to rely on Chiro with these weird things that creep up....

 

[tzrider]

You mention numbness in the thread title, but the post mostly describes sore joints. Is that the primary problem? Does the pain increase with load? If so, it sounds more like arthritis than a nerve issue. Imaging seems to be the best diagnostic tool to rule that in or out.

 

[ST Guy]

Besides the angle of the grips and how much weight you are putting on them, what type of grips do you use. I never had wrist or hand problems on my ST when I still had the bike. Some of that might have had to do with the kind of grips I used. I used soft foam grips made by Grab On. I used their Comfort model.

 

[Saxon]

All good suggestions.

As an ergonomist who rides, I would look at posture, force, duration, vibration, contact pressure, cold, & repetition. The first two (posture and force) are not just dynamic but also static holds.

For force and posture, don't limit your view just to the fingers, but from the neck/thoracic area to the fingers.

Search Dave Moss and ergonomics. He has some good videos.

Post a pic of yourself, with helmet on for privacy, in your riding whole body positions(s) both side, front and back views. Get close-up video you gripping the bars from side and top down views. Same for brakes, clutch and throttle operation. Leave gloves off so we can view the wrist angles and fingers operation/contact with levers.

Some other questions regarding your riding behavior:
What type of bike? Is this a new bike or new riding positions or new accessory?
What else changed around or before the symptoms became persistent? For example, are your working more hrs. at PC, or did your start something new outside of motorcycling?
ON average, how many times per week do you ride and for how long for each of those periods? What is the upper end and how frequent is that?
How many breaks do you take in a ride and how long do they last? For example, I pull over every 30 minutes for 5 minutes.

What particular action makes it feel worse and better?

If your pain persists for more than a few weeks, see a Health Care Professional - MD, chiro, nurse, P.A. Good to catch early or to rule out other things, especially if you have crossed over into the persistent numb/tingling stage.

Rest (cutting your riding in half or take a break for a week or two) and see how your hands/fingers feel?

Ice or heat, see what feels good.

Some take NSAID (Ibuprofen or Naproxen) for inflammation/pain or Tylenol for just the pain. Careful with NSAID's if you have stomach or organ issues.

Don't all of the sudden decide you want to strengthen your fingers/hands. They likely need a break. Gentle stretching and normal movements.

I have said enough. I will let others pipe in about important stuff like lightening the grip.

 

[musiclucho]

Adjust your position, see if maybe you are putting too much stress on the left hand, if your clutch lever is not so hard to pull and after a long ride, do some stretching, maybe ice and warm heat and see if that helps.

If not, I would think of a cervical disc problem.

 

[winders]

+1 to what kind of bike. Physical condition? Abs weak/ strong? Gloves the same as always? Mid 40's? Might be a good idea to do a blood workout and maybe methylation test, checking for inflammation markers, etc.

One other thing to look at, and this is the 1st I'd personally look at myself (and do): chiropractic adjustment. After my crash in May, my thumb went numb and my regular physician told me it was carpal T and I needed surgery...which made no sense at all. I went to my Chiro, who's an accident specialist and had him look at the hand. Quickly, he identified the elbow being way out place, adjusted it and the numbness subsided in less than 2 days after. I have the same issue with certain joints as you and after he adjust the culprit (which is usually not the hurt joint itself), the irritation is gone. 20 years of racing and crashing has gotten me to rely on Chiro with these weird things that creep up....

Just dropped in to say "Hi"!!

Aren't you getting too old to crash??

The chiropractic adjustment is a good suggestion. I had a similar problem way back when I was racing and it ended up being impinged nerve in my elbow that a chiropractor was able to fix.

Also, as you alluded to, if the OP is putting weight on his hands when riding, this can cause nerves problems in his hands. Before I learned to hold up my upper body up with my core, my hands would get numb on rides. A side benefit is being light on the bars allows the bike to track better...that became more important when racing....

 

[B-mtrd]

So many good responses. Thanks everyone.
I'll try to take some photos this weekend.
I'm riding a R1300GS. I did put bar raisers and a higher seat as the original riding position felt cramped. I also added bar end weights and grip puppies.
One thing I remind myself is not to put pressure or weight on the handlebars, I imagine I am holding ice cream cones.

 

[Holeshot]

Just dropped in to say "Hi"!!

Aren't you getting too old to crash??

The chiropractic adjustment is a good suggestion. I had a similar problem way back when I was racing and it ended up being impinged nerve in my elbow that a chiropractor was able to fix.

Also, as you alluded to, if the OP is putting weight on his hands when riding, this can cause nerves problems in his hands. Before I learned to hold up my upper body up with my core, my hands would get numb on rides. A side benefit is being light on the bars allows the bike to track better...that became more important when racing....

Great to see you out and about Scott! Yeah...too old to crash...is that a thing? Good comment on being light on the bars.

B: That's a new bike for 2024? I do recall a few bikes over the ages that had inherent "buzzyness" at the bars which led to numbness. IIRC, riders made this better by bar changes and riding at different RPM (if possible). Don't think that'll matter tho...

 

[CDONA]

I know I have arthritis in my hands, wrenchin' cramps them, but something new past few years.
Cold, it hits me hard in my hands. The pain you get from throwing snowballs for hours.
The ache, The claw, The tingle when warming, has suddenly become unbearable.

 

[Climber]

Could be early onset of arthritis.

But it could also be a combination of stresses from riding (and wearing gloves that might be getting too tight) and how you hold your hand(s) at night. I know that I'm woken up some nights with my shoulders on fire, I'm a side sleeper and I have arthritis in both shoulders so staying too long on one side becomes a problem.