Left wrist pain only - Bike Fit

Training
1

Interesting issue here…

I’ve been suffering for almost 3 years, in which I have tension/pain/stiffness in my left hand/wrist (but not my right one) throughout my ride. Every 15-20 minutes or so I have to take my left hand off the bike and stretch my fingers a bit. I feel like there is some kind of imbalance in the way I ride, but I can’t pinpoint what it is or how to correct it.

Have been riding since 2016 and issues appeared in 2020, where due to the pandemic I ended up cycling almost everyday - long distances too! It’s definitely the ulnar nerve, as the pinkie and ring finger are a bit tingling during/after the ride.

Can anyone suggest things I can do to try to fix this? I’ve had 3 different bike fits and nothing seems to be working. My indoor setup, is setup in a way in which I rest my elbows on the bars, as I find indoors the issue becomes much worse…

2

It could be that you have some sort of anatomical disbalance, maybe the carpal tunnel is shaped differently in your left hand, so you only get that issue on one side.

Some ideas/guesses:
More core strength to take weight off your hands.
Different width bars to change the contact point with your hand, and make you ride more elbows out or elbows in.
Different shape bars.
Change bar tape - maybe use much thicker bar tape. That both dampens vibrations and spreads the contact are further out. (It also makes it bigger, so it might not help)

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