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Shoulder Pain / Numb Hand

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Shoulder Pain / Numb Hand

Old 09-29-19, 07:15 PM
  #1  
bobin
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Shoulder Pain / Numb Hand

I went and got a good fit a while ago to address knee and ankle problems. Fitter pushed saddle all the way back and up. He also had me do the thing on the trainer where you pedal sitting straight up and then sort of go down to grab the bars - raising the bars up to the point where I wasn't "falling" to get them.

No more knee/ankle problems - but my left shoulder and left hand are saying no to something. I get left shoulder pain and left hand numbness on long hard rides. I oringinally thought I injured my left shoulder lifting weights - but after taking a prolonged break from weights I'm pretty sure it's bike fit.
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Old 09-30-19, 04:25 AM
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Originally Posted by bobin
I went and got a good fit a while ago to address knee and ankle problems. Fitter pushed saddle all the way back and up. He also had me do the thing on the trainer where you pedal sitting straight up and then sort of go down to grab the bars - raising the bars up to the point where I wasn't "falling" to get them.

No more knee/ankle problems - but my left shoulder and left hand are saying no to something. I get left shoulder pain and left hand numbness on long hard rides. I oringinally thought I injured my left shoulder lifting weights - but after taking a prolonged break from weights I'm pretty sure it's bike fit.
Bars too high/ too close/ too rotated back toward you/ hoods too high would be my starting point.
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Old 09-30-19, 06:20 PM
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Yeah, I'd put the bars back where they were when you didn't have this pain.
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Old 10-05-19, 07:57 AM
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Might want to see your doctor. Perhaps even specialists. Might be more going on in your shoulder and hand than you realize. Injury might have aggravated other problems. Might or might not be a quick or lasting fix. If it hurts, don’t do it applies here.

Good luck!
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Old 10-05-19, 10:50 AM
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There is a process in boot fitting for skiers where large changes to the boot fit are taken in increments of 1/2 of the total indicated amount. This gives the body time to adjust to large changes.
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Old 10-05-19, 11:04 AM
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Have someone ride behind you and look to see if you are sitting straight or are twisting or leaning to one side. I found I indeed twisted slightly on my saddle and that caused shoulder/hand problems. This can even result from leg length discrepancies that are pretty minor. My fix was to slightly rotate the saddle off center to encourage me to sit straighter.
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Old 11-16-19, 06:46 PM
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Don’t discount the neck. Not just while riding, but at work or other activities.

I had increasing shoulder pain and hand tingling over the years which eventually became unbearable. Found I had bulged neck disks! Had a c6-7 neck fusion on July and all better now.
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Old 11-16-19, 11:19 PM
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Make sure you're not locking your arms straight while riding. I did that after buying my first road bike and it led to shoulder pain and a numb hand on the side I was unknowingly using to hold myself up. Keep those elbows bent and loose!
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Old 11-16-19, 11:46 PM
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It new arising after the new fit and only occurs well into a long ride. Correct? If it goes mostly away after getting off the bike and there no significant next-day pain or continuous pain at any level a couple of days after the ride then it is most likely the fit. The fit can be by the books perfectly but you just happen to have a shoulder that doesn't like it. It happens. (Look for an injury or genuine shoulder issue if it still occurs after altering the fit to lessen the weight on hands/shoulder.)
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