hand injury - off the bike :(

[d_douglas]

I am dealing with lots of pain from a strained or torn ligament in my thumb, according to initial diagnosis from my physio. I am going for an ultrasound next week to determine if there is a tear, etc. It seems minor, but it hurts like hell! I could barely work yesterday, mostly because I was whining, but simply from using a mouse, keyboard and taking notes by hand.

The injury originated from this past summer when I lost my grip on my handlebar while offroad (on my drop bar Rock Lobster). I regained my grip before crashing, then mustve hit a rock or rut and hyperextended my thumb. It hurt at the time, I cursed for a few minutes and kept riding. Its been sore for months, but a low level of pain.

Flash forward this past weekend and I am riding my FS bike and suddenly I start feeling more pain in my hand. I babied it a bit, then came home and got on with my day. Within three days, I have pain that is keeping me up at night!

Anyways, I feel like a brace of some kind would help (once I can ride again). Does anyone ride with one? I also worry that the injury to my thumb might not be substantially improved by the types of braces out there, like a wrist support. Egads, I cannot stop riding a bike because of this!

[Ken Robb]

I had a similar pain years ago and I tried avoiding using my thumb almost completely. That seemed to be helping but I caused set-backs several times by get my thumb tweaked a bit in the bedclothes while I was asleep. My doc prescribed a semi-rigid brace over my thumb and forearm until all pain was gone. It may have taken a couple of weeks and I didn't ride bikes, play tennis, etc. until it healed.

[AngryScientist]

I think you may be getting ahead of yourself thinking about a brace, etc.

I would focus on alternating heat and ice on the area now, trying your best not to use that part of your hand to further aggrivate it and wait to see what the ultrasound reveals.

I bet you just need to rest it and will recover without too much issue.

This does not bode well for campag mechanical shifting, for sure!

Hope it's something simple for ya!

[litcrazy]

Also, it may be worth seeing where pt fits into the picture post healing.
I apparently have no cartilage to speak of in the lowest joint of my right hand due to basketball injuries. The physical therapist said there isn’t much pt for that (which will make using some shifters hard at some point) whereas there was lists to be done for the issues caused crashing on my mountain bike. But only after the broken bone healed.
I found this mri based distinction useful.

[bmeryman]

I rode for a while with a brace due to a wrist injury. I was mostly riding flat bar bikes at the time and I actually switched to Ergon grips for a while so I could rest my palm and thumb on top of the bar which was more comfortable (if a bit sketchy when the trails got rough). The brace was generally helpful though. As was adding a few spacers below the stem to get a of weight off my hands.

Hope your injury is easily resolved!

[benb]

I'd make sure to go see the right kind of doctor. Sports Med, hand specialist, etc...

I've had a few of these and they tend to be kind of scary as they effect your every day activities a lot.

[2LeftCleats]

I agree with seeing hand specialist, after this many months. Could be a fracture, ligament or tendon tear.

[thwart]

Originally Posted by 2LeftCleats

I agree with seeing hand specialist, after this many months. Could be a fracture, ligament or tendon tear.

Yep. Sounds like this common injury:

Gamekeeper's thumb is an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the thumb, which can occur due to trauma or overuse. It's also known as skier's thumb because it's often caused by falling on an outstretched hand while holding a ski pole.
Symptoms include:
Pain at the base of the thumb, especially when moving it
Swelling
Bruising
Weakness in the thumb and index finger
Tenderness on the index finger side of the thumb
Discoloration of the skin over the thumb
Pain in the wrist
Treatments include:
Rest
Icing the thumb for 10–20 minutes, 3–5 times a day
Elevating the hand
Wearing a splint or cast for 4–6 weeks
Surgery for major injuries
If left untreated, complications can increase and the likelihood of full recovery decreases.

Not getting this injury treated appropriately leads to early arthritis at this joint, which makes using Campy shifters very unpleasant… among other things.

[Fat Cat]

I feel your pain. Had hand surgery a week ago and it'll be at least a couple weeks before I'm back on the bike.

And like the others have said you really need to see a doctor and not do damage that can be avoided.

[bigbill]

I was being stupid in the garage and sliced open the webbing between my left thumb and index finger. At the ER, they flushed it out and butterflied it closed, saying I had to wait 3-4 days before sutures to make sure an infection wasn't sewn into my hand. We only had one car in Hawaii so I still commuted every day, but used my MTB keep pressure off the cut. I went to a hand specialist who sewed it up, both inside and outside, on day 3. It kept me off road bikes for about two months because I couldn't find a comfortable position. I went to PT for about a month to restore range of motion. Never got it all back, but I could still play catch with my son despite the scar tissue.

Get it diagnosed, do the PT if prescribed, and give it time to heal. A few months now might prevent long term pain.

[d_douglas]

Originally Posted by thwart

Yep. Sounds like this common injury:



Not getting this injury treated appropriately leads to early arthritis at this joint, which makes using Campy shifters very unpleasant… among other things.

That is what I am concerned about - arthritis.

I am doubtful that its a fit thing - the bike that I nearly crashed on is a custom gravel bike. My commuter is long and low, but its pretty comfortable. Honestly,I was riding a gravel bike on MTB trails (possibly a black trail ! ). Maybe I need to choose a better bike for the task?

It was a near-crash moment that was averted, so it wasnt just regular repetitive stress injury...

[benb]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

That is what I am concerned about - arthritis.

I am doubtful that its a fit thing - the bike that I nearly crashed on is a custom gravel bike. My commuter is long and low, but its pretty comfortable. Honestly,I was riding a gravel bike on MTB trails (possibly a black trail ! ). Maybe I need to choose a better bike for the task?

It was a near-crash moment that was averted, so it wasnt just regular repetitive stress injury...

My most recent hand injury was just an impact injury from riding my Space Horse on the hoods and I hit something on gravel. Not RSI related.

You really need to not have too much weight on your hands on a rigid gravel bike. (It would be fair to say what I was riding on wasn't "gravel", we don't really have any "gravel" here to speak of, it's mostly "easy MTB trails")

I bruised the hook of the hamate... it forms one side of the carpal tunnel and so I got ulnar nerve irritation and my ring finger and pinky finger got tingly/numb.

I basically gave up on riding that bike with drop bars on gravel. I'm kind of dying to get something else, but it will be a different size frame for sure.

[rogerspam]

I had a thumb injury from basketball (now retired from it partly due to injuries like this) and it was taking a long time for the pain to subside. Ran into a hand surgeon by chance on vacation in Tuscany at the AirBnB pool. He said "yeah, easily 6 months+ for it to resolve".

It's tough to heal since we use our hands so much--not sure how to do it while riding and with life. If the symptoms are generally improving, patience will likely be the best medicine here. Bracing when possible should help too. I did get a rigid one for a period of time.

[gdw]

See what the doctor has to say and stay away from the bike until you're told it's ok to ride.
A friend is recovering from a similiar injury. She ignored it for as long as possible and unfortunately had to have surgery a couple weeks ago. She had the hand heavily bandaged until the stitches were removed and now has a large brace that immobilizes it. She will be wearing the brace for at least 4 weeks and then transfer to a smaller one for a few more. Her doctor works with athletes and told her that using a spin bike to stay in shape is ok but no riding outside until the second brace comes off.

[makoti]

An Ultrasound for a ligament tear? That's odd. That is an MRI study. You just don't see structures on an US the way you would with an MRI.