Riding with Arthritis (in the hand)

After a fall about 5 months ago I have discovered I have damaged the joints in my hand and developed mid carpal arthritis. Pretty gutted really. Not done much MTB apart from some quite slow stuff in Whistler.

Anyone had any experience of this, trying to work out how to manage riding and re-discovering my grip strength and flexibility through my wrist. I have just had a steroid injection in my hand but I appreciate this will only mask the problem for so long.

It’s all about finding a bar/grip/glove combination that works for you. That will mean a bit of trial and error I’m afraid.
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and have suffered with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I use Jones Loop bars, ESI Chunky grips and gloves with minimal padding at the base of the thumb.
Not saying this combination will work for you, it seems to be a very personal thing…

Best of luck…

Same as me.
Been given, by the Doc, some braces to sleep in. They are supposed to stop my hands going numb at night. Some hope, that is because I bend my elbows but he knows better. 🙄 However it does seem to have reduced the pain in my hands and wrists. I have tried copper bands and the pain appears to be dropping but maybe that’s just coz I want them to work.
A couple of Ibuprofen before I go out works a bit but I take some with me for longer rides.
On One Midge bars are more comfy on the drops but less so on the hoods.
Gloves etc made no difference as its the weight on my hands that hurts. Padding solves nothing , Have contemplated using the braces on the bike as they have a bit of metal which would spread the load a bit.

Unicycle?

Not sure I have the skills for the unicycle!!

I have bad carpal tunnel and I really like these:
SpecialiZed contour grips
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/contour-xc-handlebar-grips-ec068988?country=GB&currency=GBP&esvt=1042-GOUKE304384&esvq=&esvadt=999999-0-33814-1&esvcrea=61233697376&esvplace=&esvd=c&esvaid=50080&gclid=Cj0KEQjwkqKxBRCIrK_riNm13Z8BEiQAdzdVkDI8oyCyJ1HaAkh0zj2McwIOh1j_NVgATTtjM_ZYVHkaAqBr8P8HAQ

and these
ERGON GC1 grips..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ergon-gc1-grips/rp-prod131811?gs=1&gclid=Cj0KEQjwkqKxBRCIrK_riNm13Z8BEiQAdzdVkNojvAIKmy-5HFW5UXgjMnAT5fLY1ZtZkuybo7FmvzwaAiz68P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

They both make an incredible difference to me.. Hopefully they’ll work for you!

I have psoraic arthritis in my left wrist. At the time of diagnosis I could barely ride or even lift a carton of milk. The steroid injection worked wonders, I’m now on a fairly high dose of methotrexate which seem to be keeping it under control. Ergon grips help a lot and 661 wrist wrap is also good to stabilise the hand. Had to stop riding the road bike as the vibrations were too much. No great loss! I find riding by big bike with plush forks much more comfortable as well.

I found that the road bike was easier to ride due to loading weight around my thumbs which are unaffected. Will have a look into those different grips. Just as much as I like road rides, mtb is still my passion.

+1 for the Ergon grips. Stopped numbness in my hands due to pressure on my wrists.

The other thing to look at is relative position of bars and saddle height, reach and angle of brake levers. The current vogue for long top tubes with relatively lower bars may be putting more weight through your wrists.

Hard to say without looking at your set up but lots of things to try before giving up / resorting to surgery

(COI: Consultant Hand & Wrist surgeon)

I have psoriatic arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome affecting hands and wrists. As has been said above it is worth trying different grips and bar widths and heights and the solution for one person may be very different to the solution which suits others. IME when using narrower bars I found that bar ends (however unfashionable) allowed me to change my hand position when needed. I have found that wider bars reduce my need to change hand position. I have also found that gloves with less or no padding are better than gloves with padding.

Best advice I can give is to make sure you seek the right treatment and get the opportunity to try different drug combinations which will manage the condition in the longer term rather than the short term fix of steroids.

Good luck.

Arthritis in thumbs and some fingers here – I find the right bar ends (cane creek ergo grip) and grip shift a big help.