Your hand starts tingling while on the bike and you just shake it off and try to make it a habit of changing hands position. The problem is, it keeps coming back every time you go for your bike ride when you remain in the same position too long. Search online about hand tingling and cycling and you will find out that this is related to your bike fit. Hand tingling can be related to ulnar neuropathy where the ulnar nerve is compressed (numbness in your ring finger and little finger) or carpal tunnel syndrome (numbness in the thumb, index and middle finger). Those conditions should not be ignored if you are experiencing them but they can be prevented.
Without a doubt, a bike that is not fitted to your body will cause trouble and don’t get me started on the wrong bike seat. Without a proper bike fit, the weight gets shifted where it should not be which creates a lot of tension and…compensations. A lot of weight on the handlebars and a tight grip will make your upper body tense. One of my best investments in cycling was in having a professional bike fit. It has taught me a lot about the importance of a proper fit and has made my other rides way more enjoyable.
The bike fit is not the only answer to the equation of biking injury free. People spend their days typing and sitting at one place from 8-4. Our body becomes lazy and our posture doesn’t get better. Add that up, 40h a week and that can create a lot of issues. Move well first, then, move often.
That hour run and or a couple of hours of biking may get our heart rate up and help us burn extra calories but even the best bike fit will not assure you proper posture on your bike if you don’t even have a good posture in the first place, in a stable environment. All day, our thoracic spine has remained stable in a kyphosis position and our hip flexors have been shortened. We expect our body to just bounce back from that whole day?
Keep cycling, running and any other sport that keeps you moving. The question is, are you moving in an optimal way? How is your posture? How can you move well? It’s not about how long you are doing the exercises. Gaining back control of your body is about you doing the right exercises for you on a regular basis.
Having a plan will help you focus on those weak links that you have developed through life and work. In the long term, that plan evolves and will keep you away from overuse injuries. Getting screened identifies your needs objectively and identifies the most urgent issues. We all think we know what we need to work on until someone who knows better, shows us otherwise.
Have you been screened? Do you know where to start in order to help you to succeed pain free in your sporting endeavours? Before you schedule an appointment with someone, to my knowledge, working on thoracic spine mobility has been very beneficial for my clients as well as for myself. You can try the T-Spine Rotation With Reach, both beneficial for your thoracic spine and shoulder mobility and the Brettzel, one of my other favourite exercises that you may have seen in my previous blog on STRESS + REST = SUCCESS.
Coach Véronique Roberts 