I just got back from my first week long expedition in the Puget Sound. After about five days of paddling, I began noticing some tingling in the finger tips on my right hand. After the sixth day, my right hand was totally numb from the middle, ring and pinky fingers almost to my wrist. This lasted for about half a day. I was trying to be careful about not gripping the paddle too tightly, although I did have a couple of fairly long, windy crossings. What was I doing wrong and what should I do differently next time? Thanks for your advice. Marcia Tauber Simply Macintosh 837 H St. Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 825-7100 (707) 825-7200 Fax *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Numbness in your fingers may not be related to anything going on in your hands. I experienced finger numbness when I had a pinched nerve in my neck. You may have some swelling in your neck or shoulders or somewhere else along your arm which is causing a pinched nerve. I am not an expert of such things, but if there is some pinching some where in the neck or shoulder region, you might want to work on improving your torso rotation. You might be putting too much stress in you shoulders or arms. But then again, maybe you need to adjust your hand grip. It is possible to open your pushing hand completely and still paddle effectively. On Wednesday, August 20, 2003, at 11:59 AM, Marcia Tauber wrote: > I just got back from my first week long expedition in the Puget Sound. > After about five days of paddling, I began noticing some tingling in > the finger tips on my right hand. After the sixth day, my right hand > was totally numb from the middle, ring and pinky fingers almost to my > wrist. This lasted for about half a day. I was trying to be careful > about not gripping the paddle too tightly, although I did have a > couple of fairly long, windy crossings. What was I doing wrong and > what should I do differently next time? Thanks for your advice. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (i.e. headers/footers/sig lines/extraneous text from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] Hi Marcia, The symptoms you describe are consistent with ulnar nerve entrapment either at the wrist or the elbow. It is something like carpal tunnel syndrome, but in the ulnar rather than the median nerve distribution. I hate to say it but you should stop paddling and get yourself to a good hand surgeon, who can identify precisely where the problem lies. Since your symptoms resolved, this may require a nerve conduction study. With this degree of sensory impairment, motor problems likely aren't far behind if you continue to insult the ulnar nerve. This isn't good as grip strength (baseball bat style) is with the pinky and ring fingers in contrast to pinching, which is thumb and pointer finger. More importantly, if the problem is not addressed (even if this simply means adjusting your paddling mechanics) and the symptoms continue to occur, you could end up with long term nerve damage, which you definitely don't want. Best of luck in getting this sorted out, John >On Wednesday, August 20, 2003, at 11:59 AM, Marcia Tauber wrote: > >>I just got back from my first week long expedition in the Puget >>Sound. After about five days of paddling, I began noticing some tingling >>in the finger tips on my right hand. After the sixth day, my right hand >>was totally numb from the middle, ring and pinky fingers almost to my >>wrist. This lasted for about half a day. I was trying to be careful >>about not gripping the paddle too tightly, although I did have a couple >>of fairly long, windy crossings. What was I doing wrong and what should >>I do differently next time? Thanks for your advice. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Numbness in your fingers may not be related to anything going on in your hands. I experienced finger numbness when I had a pinched nerve in my neck. You may have some swelling in your neck or shoulders or somewhere else along your arm which is causing a pinched nerve. I am not an expert of such things, but if there is some pinching some where in the neck or shoulder region, you might want to work on improving your torso rotation. You might be putting too much stress in you shoulders or arms. But then again, maybe you need to adjust your hand grip. It is possible to open your pushing hand completely and still paddle effectively. On Wednesday, August 20, 2003, at 11:59 AM, Marcia Tauber wrote: > I just got back from my first week long expedition in the Puget Sound. > After about five days of paddling, I began noticing some tingling in > the finger tips on my right hand. After the sixth day, my right hand > was totally numb from the middle, ring and pinky fingers almost to my > wrist. This lasted for about half a day. I was trying to be careful > about not gripping the paddle too tightly, although I did have a > couple of fairly long, windy crossings. What was I doing wrong and > what should I do differently next time? Thanks for your advice. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Marcia Tauber <marcia_at_simplymacintosh.com> wrote: >>I just got back from my first week long expedition in the Puget Sound. After about five days of paddling, I began noticing some tingling in the finger tips on my right hand. After the sixth day, my right hand was totally numb from the middle, ring and pinky fingers almost to my wrist. This lasted for about half a day. I was trying to be careful about not gripping the paddle too tightly, although I did have a couple of fairly long, windy crossings. What was I doing wrong and what should I do differently next time? Marcia, I can not speak with the authority of John March.. However, the situation may not be so dire as John paints it, although I agree seeing a physician is wise. Finger/hand numbness is a common paddler's complaint. I experienced similar problems beginning my second season, when I went from a 240 cm Werner San Juan paddle to a 250 San Juan. (These blades have huge surface area.) I did it because I regularly paddled alongside an animal and I wanted more bite so I could keep up with the dude. However, hand/finger numbness and elbow pain began to occur during/after paddling sessions and I had to quit for a couple months. I got a 220 cm Lightning paddle with blade area about the size of Werner's Camano, adjusted my paddling style to avoid putting any stress on the wrist when it is bent, and have been OK the 10-12 years since. Except when I lapse back into "death grip" form on the shaft, my numbness is gone. It demands concentration to avoid stressing the wrists, but after a while, it becomes a matter of muscle/reflex memory and I don't have to think about it. A couple of suggestions: 1. Get a good observer to paddle alongside you to watch carefully and analyze your stroke. 2. Get someone to videotape your stroke, and use successive video tape sessions to correct any problems you detect. Matt Broze may be able to provide some insight on this also. I suspect you can fix the mechanics of your stroke so the wrist problems will go away, but it is still a good idea to consult a physician, anyway. The issues John raised are serious, and may not apply to you, but wrists are tricky. Hope this helps. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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