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Over the past 6 months or so I've been getting a pain in my thumb that seems to get worse from riding bikes.
The main pain seems to be in the thick muscular webbing between the thumb and index finger, and in the padded bit on the palm where the thumb meets the rest of the hand - I'm probably not describing that very well but hopefully you get the idea. There is no tingling in the fingers.
It seems to be worse after a ride on the gravel bike on the hoods but the MTB makes it hurt a little bit too.
I've done some research on physio work for thumb pain which helps a bit but never cures it completely.
Anyone else had similar pain? Or know something that might fix it? Or know what's causing it?
I have arthritis in the joint where the thumb meets the rest of the hand. could it be that? Its a fairly non specific pain ie the whole area of my hand hurts
Probably just a strain, which isnt healing as you keep using it.
Non medical medical advice - Stay off the bike for 2 weeks, and avoid using that hand (if possible) for anything else.
Or carry on, it's old age ! 🙂
It could be arthritis I suppose - I'm early 40s so I was hoping for a few more years before I start getting pain from old age.
I don't know about your specific issue but as someone with a badly damaged wrist, making some changes has helped me. I've got extra padding on my road/gravel bars, thicker padded gloves, raised bars. These can all help and may help alleviate your issues.
The pain you mention where the thumb meets the rest of the hand - does that feel like it's in the joint, or is it a muscular pain? That would help you know if it might be arthritis or just a sprain
Either way, might be worth getting a hand strengthener to build up the hand so the muscles are stronger, which will help to protect the joint, or improve the strength to improve the sprain
For the first time ever I found it really hard to change gear on this week's ride because of thumb pain. It's been getting worse for a few months but hasn't actually interfered with riding until now. At my advanced age I can't see it getting any better so I will be looking at Gripshift! Luckily it doesn't have the same effect on the road bike as you don't need a thumb quite as much as with my shifters