Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and my 1150 GSA

topcat2006

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I unfortunately have a severe case of CTS in both hands but in particular my right hand gives me more grief whilst riding than the left - probably as that is the throttle hand and it has to "grip" all of the time to hold the throttle.

I have fitted a set of foam grips which have helped - made the grip larger and taken some vibration away.

Has anyone any other tips and suggestions to help with this? I was wondering if the angle of my bars might affect this at all - has anyone any ideas, experience or hints they can throw my way.

Thanks

Tom
 
Also Nippy Normans,

They do a throttle rocker.

Now TC, CTS is normally associated with the forearms when giving it the berries.
I'd ride it more gently, keep the front wheel down and don't try and get your knee down.

I find it a bit tough at times on the twist grip but never on the left: it's really my glove getting tucked up when I'm on & off the gas.

I hope you find something before the surgeon gets round to your turn. :eek:
 
I had CTs in both arms, didn't take too long for it to get to the point that i'd loose feeling within ten mminutes of starting to ride. I had the surgery about 6 years ago and haven't looked back. Recovery takes a few months but it was definatly worth it.

I used one of these to help with the recovery and it worked well. I have also seen reports of people using them to prevent/relieve CTS but can't really comment on that. I doubt whether it would make the condition any worse so might be worth a go.
 
Have you tried fitting bar raisers?

You'll find that by raising the bars your elbows will drop, and so will your shoulders.
 
Go with a Throttle Rocker or Wrist Rest as suggested. I had a grip prob on one 500 mile+ journey and this made me buy one pronto.

It is more convenient than any sort of cruise control for the UK due to the traffic density in much of the UK.

As I had ridden all year round 20 years I found that even on a GS I needed more comfy handlebars (shoulders prob and circulation in hands) so after owning a KLT I put a set of those bars on too. This meant I have to "hold" the bars less and literally just rest my hands gently as you should anyway.

Anything helps and the wrist rest is a cracker.
 
cts

i had surgery 5 years ago right wrist. rode my bike to final check up 2 weeks after surgery. stitches out never been a problem since. left wrist is starting to go now but i can put up with it for the time being. my surgery took 5 mins didn't feel a thing!
 
Surgery may be the answer but there are two other things to try first.

Firstly, ask your GP to arrange for you to have Futura splints - you wear them at night and they are often beneficial. If that does not work then sometimes a steroid injection into the wrist will cure it. Failing that, go for the knife!
 
Lamble said:
Have you tried fitting bar raisers?

You'll find that by raising the bars your elbows will drop, and so will your shoulders.
Click to expand...

i say the same as this.it was a big help on mine only happens if i am tense now. 1 inch up and 1 1/2 back i think they was..
 
Had my right wrist done a couple of years back. Totally cured now. I did have the injections, but they're only a temporary fix and you can't keep on getting them as the more you get, the less effective they are. Go see your Doc. He'll get you assessed by a consultant (the electric shock test is, well, shocking :D) and if it's as bad as you say, you'll get the op.
 
Carpal Tu8nnel Syndrome Operation.

My beloved has had carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both hands, and hid it from me. Her mobile phone went off one night whilst she was sleeping, and I discovered her hands curled up like claws. She couldn't answer the phone.
Gun to head time next morning. I forced her into an appointment, which resulted a few weeks later in an operation on the worst hand. Complete success. A year later, repeat in other hand, and complete success again.
However, the important thing is an early operation rather than waiting for a year or two.
If you wait, the nerve may suffer permanent damage, and, whilst the operation will prevent it getting any worse, you will probably not recover fully.
A Saxophone playing friend waited 10 years, and the operation provided little relief, because he left it too late, and suffered nerve damage.
Myke
 
i had cts in my right wrist, bit of a balls up with the appointments at the docs resulted in a 2 year delay before getting the appointment for the electric shock test, I did learn to live with it during that time but the operation solved the issue completly :thumb2

Started riding the bikes about as soon as i could, two weeks after the op, no problems since :thumb2

The electric shock test did throw up another issue for me tho, i only have two nerves controlling my right hand as opposed to the normal three, upshot is if i damage the nerve on the outside of my elbow i loose use of my hand :eek:

They found that out when the junior doc doing the nerve test could not get a reading between my thumb and somewhere on my wrist, bumping up the voltage only resulted in involuntary arm movements, senior doc came in, did another couple of tests and said you don't have a radial nerve. I only have the ulnar nerve and the median nerve.

Yup, i'm wired up wrong :D
 
Thanks guys.

I have already had a shocking time at the local hospital which is why I am confident of the diagnosis.

However the consultant said the op was only 80% successful and could cause a lot of damage something which 6 of my friends can testify to as they have got permanent nerve damage due to the op.

The consultant said the use of splints was also 80% successful so I am waiting for an appointment with occupational therapy to see what they can do. Typically for the NHS this has been since November and I have had 3 cancelled appointments!!

Im going to try the crampbuster thing and had thought about the balls too so may try them. If not it may mean the sale of my beloved GSA as I can't be on it for more than about 10 mins before I have problems.

Thanks for all your comments.

Tom
 
Good luck with the mods. Many folk have had CTS ops here in Shetland mainly due to some demanding manual jobs in the cold weather such as fish farming etc. I have heard many good stories even if there is rehabilitation time to think of.

PS Make sure your bars are set at an angle that allows your wrists to be at least horizontal and possibly slightly "downhill" elbow to hands. It's surprising how many have a the bars set high (usually for standing on pegs) which buggers up the blood flow to the wrists and hands. Simple thing and one which i used to adjust on new GS's when I sold them many years ago.
 
Go and get the op done.
If you have CTS, then you are continually damaging your wrists - and it won't get better.

Splints can help - if only to help you sleep (when you sleep, the fluid tends to collect in your wrists, making them worse)

Pre-op, my hands would almost always be painful then go numb when riding for a long time. The GS was sort of OK - the VFR was impossible for longer then 30 mins.

I found that heated grips and thin gloves helped a lot - the circulation seemed better with thin gloves, and the heated grips kept them warm.

Had the op on both hands last October in Tetbury Hospital (On the NHS)
I can't reccomend them (or the op) enough.

The recovery isn't nice - you basically can't (and shouldn't) use your hands very much at all for the first week. the simplest tasks are tricky and painful.
Made worse by having them both done at the same time.
(I wouldn't reccomend this unless you have someone very understanding there to help you - you will be pretty useless for a week or two after.)
It does hurt after the op - but they gave me some strong co-codamols which did the trick.

Standard wrist splints were good for keeping them immobile while I slept.

I was off for three weeks (Couldn't drive for 3 weeks)- taking care when I returned to work.
I had mine done in October last year - so staying off the bike (Over winter) wasn't a problem.

Recovery does take time. Full recovery isn't guaranteed - it depends how bad the CTS is, and how long you have suffered.

Now, I am almost back to normal.
The tendons are a bit tight - I have to keep stretching them by putting hands together as if "praying".
And sports bikes still hurt a bit - VFR is now sold...
Hand strength is back fully (I couldn't lift a full kettle before!)
Now I am back busy with the spanners...
(I used to think it was part of getting old!)
But the biggest improvement is that all the numbness has gone - I have full feeling and mobility back. My hands are a lot warmer now.
And I feel them getting cold - rather than just numb.

PM me if you want to know more...

I'm off for a beer (and to look for another GS,,,)
 
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