Fingertips Numb from Riding?

Wheelieboy

Wheelieboy

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So I've been riding for 14 days straight on my roadtrip and I'm starting to get concerned about my fingertips. I dont have time to go to a walk-in and cannot spare the time to.

My fingertips, specifically my thumbs feel like they are infected but there doesnt seem to be any inflammation. The skin and tissue are more firm than normal. When I press it, it kind of hurts and the sense of touch is diminished. I'm wondering what it could be from. I started feeling it about 5 days into my trip.

I'm thinking it could be from frostbite or lack of blood circulation. Or maybe something to do with my hands being in gloves all day?
 
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When that happens to me I give then a rest, and 'massage' them. Always works for me, and only happens if I hold the grips in a certain way when my gloves are wet.
 
I get that sensation if I'm wearing a watch, cuts off the circulation to my hand when riding my bike. I would guess from the sound of it that your's is a circulation issue as well.

Play it safe and see a doctor.
 
Happens to me when I ride in the cold for long periods or over a few days. Takes a few days for it to go normal. Also happens if I grip too hard. Try to loosen up a bit. Maybe a throttle lock might help.
 
could be you're pinching a nerve in your spine so its numbing out your nerve endings, try adjusting your posture on the long rides. I got this when I first started riding, my left thumb tip was numb for a month very strange feeling.
 
klr_guy said:
Carpal tunnel syndrome / repetitive strain injury
Click to expand...

+1 to that.
You're on a long trip, are you putting too much weight forward on your wrists?
Do you have any tingling or numbness in the last three fingers?
 
It's from the vibration... I went through this last season... One day it will just go back to normal
 
Soak your hand in warm/hot water every night for 10 min. Open and close your hands while they soak.
I'm a mechanic and get that same feeling from the air tools sometimes, this works for me.
 
Are you travelling with a woman, or are you taking care of business yourself? Maybe you need to ease up on your grip.
 
With Carpal Tunnel, you feel it more in the wrist and last 3 fingers, generally never in the thumb. Sounds exactly like White Finger. Friend of mine worked on the line in GM for a few years and got this. When you are done your trek, rest your hand from vibration, but also work your hands with light weights, or a stress ball to build the strength again. I also advise taking some B-12 supplement pills, as they help to repair nerve endings, in fact it wouldn't hurt to pick some up if you are near a pharmacy and start taking them now.
 
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I get that all the time. I think the gloves crimp the circulation to your thumb. When riding open/close palms once in a while.

I find when going downhill is a best time for my right hand
 
Vibration, call it White Finger or Carpal Tunnel.

Vibey bars on a 2001 GSF600s Bandit and a five day ride from PEI around Cabot Trail and home, and my hands were really sore, felt swollen, and were in horrible shape by day 4. I was in pain in the morning until I'd ridden a couple of hours, then it was a dull ache again. I changed my grips to Pro Grip Gels and gloves when I returned home and was fine a couple of days later.

One rider I know did a quick fix to his grips by wrapping them with tape as if they were ten speed handle bars. It made his grips larger and changed the pressure points on his hands.

Have you tried swapping into a different set of gloves?
 
find some gel pads to put in your gloves. you can use gel padding from shoe insoles (like you find at shoppers drugmart). cut some pads that you put in your glove and have that help to limit the vibes into your hand.
another option is to wrap your bars in a gel pad (like as above) and tape it right around the bars

keep your hands warm. it keeps the blood vessels open and blood moving.
dont grip tight, and dont put pressure on your hands.
 
I had a similar problem recently when I switched to some new winter gloves that were a little too big. Because the gloves were looser than normal I had to squeeze harder in order to have a secure grip on the throttle, and a couple of fingers were numb for days after a 4 hour ride. Aside from using different gloves, $10 on a throttle rocker was some of the best money I've spent in ages.
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