Adjustment of the bicycle
Numb hands during cycling is a recurring complaint, particularly with less
well-trained cyclists. This complaint is caused by maintaining a prolonged
static position of the hands on the handlebars. This complaint can be prevented
fairly easily by regularly placing the hands in a different position on the
handlebars and by wearing cycling gloves with wrist protection. Complaints of
the hands and wrists are often caused by wrongly adjusted handlebars. Correctly
adjusted handlebars ensure that wrists and
hands are placed in one line. If the difference in height between saddle and
handlebars is too large, a relatively large proportion of body weight will be
leaning on the handlebars. In such a position the elbows will be stretched,
which prevents the cyclist from anticipating inconsistencies in the road
surface with his front wheel. An angle of approximately 120 degrees between
lower arm and upper arm will both enable the upper body to have sufficient
shock absorption, as well as supply the cyclist with the necessary comfort.
Physical causes
Differences in arm-length can lead to an
unequal distribution of pressure between both hands, often resulting in a numb
feeling in hands and/or wrists. According to an epidemiologic study conducted
by De Krom, at least 9% of all grown up women suffer from complaints as a
result of Carpal Tunnel syndrome; for men this percentage is about 0.6%. Carpal
Tunnel syndrome is a stricture of the blood vessels and nerves to the hands.
Certainly, in the case of cycling, this will result in numb hands; however,
this problem can be solved quite easily through a relatively simple surgical
procedure.