southerndownhill.com - Forum

Have been riding the alps pretty much non-stop for over a month now....only having day breaks when it tips it down. I'm usually riding about 12:30 or 1, sometimes earlier.

I know what arm pump is, and its not that. The pain feels like i've bruised the bones in my fingers, just before the 1st joint after the knuckle.

Errrr anything i can do?

I think i get a similar thing;

When i was up at innerliethen on the trusty hardtail after a couple of runs i started to get a feeling in my fingers, all of them.
It got progressively worse until i got to the point where i literally couldn't grip the bars anymore and the pain was unreal.

Once at the bottom, back at the car i attempted to take my hands of the bar and straighten my fingers, and honestly the pain was unreal and it took allot of effort to straighten my fingers.

Not sure ifs the same thing and i don't know what it was.

All i know is that i had unbearable pain in every joint causing me to not being able to grip the bar anymore.

But every day riding isn't a problem :-\

Strange...

cramp maybe ? eat a banana or two before you ride and tell me how it feels after ?

i have something similar i think, are you using 1 or 2 fingers to brake and what are the reach on your levers like?

It is in fact arm/hand pump. The tendons in your fingers go through your forearms, so when your forearms tense up from all the vibrations, lactic acid builds up in your fingers and cant escape. The only ways to help it is either exercise your forearms regularly so they can take more abuse, and/or stretch your forearms on the uplift. It's a pain in the arse (hands) I know!  :(

I get this, usually only happens in my middle fingers though. Feels quite tender on the underside of my finger just before the first joint in my finger. Ive been back from france for 2 weeks now and i still have the pain. But to be honest it dosent effect my riding at all. I can live with it quite easily.

I got it on my hardtail at Dunkeld but only when it was hot. It got so bad when i had to put my ticket through the barriers at Dundee station i couldnt let go of my ticket. I then had a haggis supper and it was a lot better and drunk a lot of water/diluted juice and it wasnt as bad. Cramp i think.

i get that pain, i know its not always possible but try gripping the bars less hard i find this helps when on a run

I know what arm pump is....as said in my first post! It isn't.


Jimbob...you got it dude. Well it affects mine sometimes! Ah well...f**k it, only another month to go. :D

Might try icing them or something.

Read my first post, got some advice for it there. If you wanna try building up your forearms, only use minute weights (like 3 kg).
Remember it's lactic acid build up, so stretching and of course rest will help. Google "forearm stretches" or something, it's difficult to explain over a forum.

I know exactly how you feel.
I spoke too a guy in a lift and he has the same problem, the guys he rides with are carpenters and they don't get affected.
I think it's just weak fingers, felt better after a days rest and it didn't ache so quickly the next time.

It's not arm pump!!! I know what arm pump is, and it definately doesn't still affect you hours after your ride.

True 'AMetalSlug'....they have had quite a battering! I'll give them a rest....when it rains. ;D

cramp

I get this reaaaally badly.

What i've found helps is to get electrical tape and wrap it around the part of the finger that hurts, and also plenty of ibuprofen.

ive broken a couple of fingers in the past and when i was in canada i got the same thing and when i woke up in the morning i couldnt straighten most of the fingers on my right hand. It was getting better by the end of the trip i think more cos i just got used to the pain. The doctor told me when he saw the state of my fingers that they were probably going to end up arthritic so i just assumed it was that.

forgot bout this thread...


no you tw*t.

found out its tendonitis....they just need rest. or adrenaline injections. either one. :)

yes.... i said it lasted for hours after, therefore not cramp...

I was riding pretty much non-stop all season and had similar. After about 5 weeks I had difficulty bending my middle and little fingers on my left hand in the mornings, almost felt like they had broken joints.  I had to stretch them every day before I could hold a handlebar.  My GP said it's tendon damage that just needs rest.  It's still playing up a little after 5 days after my season end!

I get it alot when riding in France (I went to Morzine late August, so it was braking bump HEAVEN) and had it in Whistler, braking bumps are the ultimate in setting it off, I found that wrapping tape round your fingers really helps, I think it's something to do with the shaking and banging against the levers, which can be sort of absorbed by some tape, especially Zinc Oxide tape, that seems the best to stop it, micropore is a bit thin.

The pain is absolutely excruciating when you're just bumping over hellish braking bumps, trying like hell not to pull the brakes since it only hurts more! When you get to the bottom of the run, your hands feel like they are WELDED to the bars and is amazingly painful to get them back straight.

In France and when i came back mine were killing me.

Even when i was back they were hurting just lifting heavy boxes and stuff like that when i was helping someone move house.

Also i found a bony lump at the lowest joint of my right middle finger so went to the doctors and found its a calis(sp?) which is just a bony lump from riding. Feels weird!

Also i asked about hand pump and she just said there is no way to stop it because when you are riding your wrists are slighty bent reducing circulation to the hands. Only thing to do is stop and exercise them. Think that has probably been said but jsut thought i would add it again.

Start rock climbing.

I had my hands checked by my GP today as they still are causing trouble with nearly a weeks rest!  I was told it's over worked tendons which need rest.  Nothing you can do to solve it except ride less!

Mine still aren't right and i haven't ridden any proper dh since mid August! They still hurt to poke, and hurt properly after a bit of holding bars tight. I can take ibuprofen etc but i'm still not sure how to properly prevent it  :(

I have got this too, had it since getting back from the Alps mid july. The pain has gone a little as now they don't hurt in everyday tasks however whenever riding they are still extremely painful. Maybe i will have to take a trip to the doctors too!

Yeah pretty much got exactly what you have david, and obvioulsy they just need rest. >:(

Bike is in peice for a bit so i have no choice but to rest!

I get this especially after a long weekend / week on the bike, as this dude mentions I have a mate who is in the building trade and he does not suffer with any kind of hand / arm trouble due to him lifting blocks, bricks etc all day.
Even so I am still faster than him so thats my excuse when I am complaining about my Girlie hands (Lol)