Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Carpal Tunnel from motorcycle riding?

Hey gang,

A question - has anyone developed carpal tunnel from motorcycle riding?

Here's why I ask. I bought my TBA in May - first bike. All summer I've been bothered by a dull ache in my right wrist. I thought I tweaked it during workouts.

I hadn't ridden for about 10 days until yesterday, and hadn't been noticing any pain. Yesterday I rode for about an hour, and today my wrist feels really bad - worst its felt all year.

Do you think there's cause and effect here? Has anyone else experienced this? And if so, what did you do about it?

Any feedback/input would be appreciated.

Joe

I have carpel tunnel from working on computers for a living. The motorcycle didn't effect it one way or the other.

Never heard of anyone getting wrist problems from riding. My aunt has some carpal tunnel problems, and the riding makes her wrist hurt, but it's a previous condition thing, not the riding.

I used to get pain issues with my tennis elbow in my right arm, but now that I just keep my arm in a neutral position at a constant WOT, I have no more pain issues LOL!!!!

Get yerself a set of Kury Iso grips and the Throttle Boss to go with ' em .

Riding is like a drug - there are some side effects : vibration , ect . For excitements lasting more than four hours , seek immediate ...................

I have suffered but as already said with working on computers, but the odd time I get wrist ache, try moving your grip to a different position and get some Kury grips certainly helped me

Just something to try...I broke a bone in my right wrist a couple of years ago, and had to have a bone graft done and get it all screwed back together. It still gets stiff and sore, and can bother me when I ride. Get yourself a Throttle Rocker, Throttle Boss, or similar product and try it. It will let you relax your right hand and move it around some during your ride. They're usually less than $15, so you're not out much money if it doesn't work. I use one on the Speedmaster and on the Daytona all the time; it's allowed me to ride comfortably again.

Will

might also want to try a glove with a gel padded palm area. a few yrs ago i had to have my tendons put back together in my right hand and the doctor gave me a fingerless type glove with padding in the palm area, oh what a relief that was. still use it when weed whipping the yard.

Having given it some more thought and read through all the posts:

a/ The throttle rocker made it worse for me in the sense that it was applying pressure to my wrist (when I took it off the tingling sensation and numbness in my fingers went away, although it seems the damage was already done).

b/ The length of your rides may play a role. I am no doctor but if your rides are short and you do have CTS then, in my mind, it would imply that you were already well on the way, anyway.

Just my further 2 cents.

I have seen these sore wrist symptoms when I was in the Army but trust me, they had nothing to do with riding a bike.

Good advice here about experimenting with different positions.

I see that you're new to the sport.
Are you using the "death grip" approach? Keep your hands and arms relaxed and move them around a bit.

I've developed acute pain in my right thumb right above the wrist. Arthritis has damaged the joint and I have to be careful when riding not to aggravate the problem. I have a Throttle Rocker which does allow me to relax my grip. I recently noticed that a slight movement of how far in the Throttle Rocker was positioned made a difference. I've now moved it in a bit from where it's been for 2 years. Riding is now not making it worse, but the pain won't seem to go away.

This problem could have developed from a fall I had in April where I landed on my wrist and middle finger. Apparently, arthritis has further damaged both injured joints. The worst part of getting older is not healing like when you're younger. That, along with all the "normal" aging stuff, is definitely a bummer.

I've been told I do not have Carpal tunnel but I have all the symptoms. I do have Vibratory white finger and it is not nice.

I like the idea of the Kury Iso/Throttle boss solution. I've seen those on another bike and they are very cool looking.

Thanks everyone for your feedback and suggestions. Further confirmation that I'm onto something, I didn't ride yesterday and my wrist doesn't ache today.

BTW - Rainmaker - I use my left hand for that so we can rule that out as a cause of the carpal tunnel...

You might consider changing your mouse to an Evoluent ergomouse along with a slight adjustment to your handlebars position. I had significant pain with my old mouse and trackball but after I changed it seemed that riding actually improved my flexibility and wrist strength. I have to admit that I also coupled that with a swap to a Speedmaster handlebar and riser set up to keep my wrist at a better angle. Now, I'm totally pain free and can ride as far as I like (only limited by numb butt/dead knee).

My pain in the right hand was mostly from gripping the throttle too hard. I had to make an effort to relax my grip and it helps a lot. I thought I had carpal tunnel, but actually just needed to adjust how I worked at my computer and pay attention to my posture while working. I sit and draw most days and often find myself leaning in. I get regular (monthly) adjustments from my chiropractor and that helps a lot too.