Sore Wrist

[JustPink]

Hi,

Just a brief background. Im a 22 year old male and I started cycling around 6 months ago and have progressively gotten more serious and a little better . A few training sessions ago I got home and my left wrist was giving me a little bit of pain when putting it in normally comfortable positions.

Ive trained on it a few times since and I haven't noticed any pain whilst riding but when i get home it feels a little worse and a little weaker. I do suspect it is my riding position that has been causing it but I'm confused as to why I feel no discomfort whilst riding if my wrist is in the wrong position.

Has anyone ever received similar problems, is there any advice they could give me in regards to bike set up or change of wrist positioning or just general points i should be aware of?

Thanks

[Mulger bill]

G'Day JP, welcome outside

Sure sounds like a setup/position thing to me but there's other members with more expertise who can help you.

I'll send this post over to the Cycling Health area for their input.

Cheers
Shaun

[Dr Hackenbush]

Despite my username I'm not a doctor.

Now that's out of the way it sounds to me like you are either restricting the bloodflow or pinching a nerve. Both those would start with numbness hence the lack of pain when riding. I would try a new position but if this pain continues then please see a doctor. Wrists can infamously problematic so keep a close eye on how things are progressing.
So try to decrease the angle your wrist is positioned in on the bike and removing some weight from your hands with a more upright posotion may help.

[Eberbachl]

Sorry if I missed it , but are you riding on a flat bar bike, or a drop bar bike?

As Dr Hackenbush mentioned, try to decrease the angle of your wrist when riding.

Also, try to move your hands around on the bars a bit and get them moving into different positions as you ride - easier on drop bars. If you have a flat bar bike, maybe consider some bar ends? I like short bar ends on my XC bike so that I can move my hands around a bit on a long ride, keeping the wrist from being forced into one position for along time.



Having said that, I'm not an expert on bike fit - so I'd be getting to an LBS so an expert can have a look at you on the bike too.

[JustPink]

Sorry if I missed it , but are you riding on a flat bar bike, or a drop bar bike?

I'm riding on a drop bar.

The angle of my hands definitely get whacky when I'm in more of an aero position. I think i'm going to try taping my wrists a little to reduce that and see if it helps.

Cheers guys.

[wombatK]

is there any advice they could give me in regards to bike set up or change of wrist positioning or just general points i should be aware of?

Wrist problems can often be traced backed to the rider having too much weight on their hands. The aim of a good bike fit is to get close to no weight on your hands. The classic way to check this is to put your bike on a trainer, and see if you can manage to pedal with your hands held about 1 cm above the bars i.e. without falling forward onto the bars.

If your handlebars are too close, you will have too much weight on your wrist and will fall forward - and will need to either move the seat back on its rails (if there is room left), or get a longer length stem. If you have too little weight forward (unlikely), you'll be able to balance with your hands much further up and back from the handlebar. That's not good either, as too little weight on the front of the bike adversely affects steering and braking control.

If you don't have a trainer, you could try an experiment on your bike on some flat ground where there's no traffic around to smash you should you get out of control. You could also try thecompetitivecyclist.com fit calculator - and see how your current bike matches the top tube/stem length recommendations it gives.

Using a compression bandage on an injured wrist would be helpful (RICE = Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) - but you really need to identify the cause of the trouble rather than just treat the symptoms.

Of course, for a proper diagnosis, you should see a doctor and perhaps consider some physio to get things back into ship-shape.

Cheers

[Semar]

#1 Move your hand position regularly to avoid stress area

#2 Concentrate your energy on your cycling muscles - from the lower abs and glutes to your feet, thereby bringing your weight back onto the saddle.

#3 HTFU - you sound like a wimp.