Pain and numbness in fingers and wrist

[loonylady]

My husband has recently been experiencing symptoms which closely resemble carpal tunnel syndrome, except they are present in his small finger and the side of his ring finger nearest the small finger. There is tingling and pain in the two outer fingers with some pain extending up through the wrist and forearm. It is unknown whether it is related to his rowing but it seems at times that rowing aggravates it. It is very strange that the symptoms exactly fit the description of carpal tunnel except for the fingers affected. He rows about 30,000 meters a week. It started several months ago with just periodic tingling of the small finger and has progressivly gotten worse. We were just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this and if so, what was the cause?

Carol

[Afterburner]

Watch and make sure that he is not bending his wrists at the finish. Many rowers tend to do this on the erg and it can definitely lead to tendonitis and the like. He should have a flat line all the way down his forearm through his hands. They will bend to the side a bit, but make sure that up and down they are level.
Hope this helps,
Heather

[Alissa]

Watch and make sure that he is not bending his wrists at the finish. [snip] He should have a flat line all the way down his forearm through his hands. They will bend to the side a bit, but make sure that up and down they are level.

Carol, you can create a tool to help him keep the forearm/wrist straight.

Get a rubber band that is loose on his wrist, when placed above the wrist bone (the bump on the outside of the wrist), but small enough that it will keep a straw placed under it on top of the forearm, and pointing toward the fingers, from falling off. If the rubber band is too large, don't double it--since you won't want it tight--but just pinch the band together on the end and then tie a knot in it to shorten it a bit.

Then put a short drinking straw (6-8 inches is about right) under the rubber band on top of the forearm under the rubber band. The end of the straw should be about an inch past where his wrist bends up.

The band should be loose enough that he shouldn't be able to feel the band/straw at all if the wrist stays straight and aligned with the forearm. But if the wrist bends, he'll feel the end of the straw, which he can use as a reminder to keep them straight.

If you can't find a straw, consider a stiff something like a thin piece of cardboard instead of the straw...but not a pointed pencil. There is no reason to use something that could hurt him, and I've seen people accidentally "tatooed" with a pencil point. The "point" of this gadget is to increase awareness when he slips into the habbit he's trying to unlearn...

HTH,

Alissa

[grams]

I had wrist tendonitis too. My treatment was:
push harder with my legs & ease up a bit with the arm pulls
Changed out my Model D handle for a straight Model C

The thing that helped the most was to row underhanded for 5 minutes at a time here and there in the workout. I'm working on the old 'strong muscles on both sides' theory. It worked! And my biceps get a bit more of a workout.

I think it helped with the 'golf elbow' I had too. I don't use my arm straps any more.
grams

[shorttrack]

Sounds like the problem may originate from the C spine.The nerves from this area of the neck directly affect the hands and fingers and arms.
I have had this problem for years.C spine arthritis.

Have your Doctor check it out.

[bw1099]

My husband has recently been experiencing symptoms which closely resemble carpal tunnel syndrome, except they are present in his small finger and the side of his ring finger nearest the small finger. There is tingling and pain in the two outer fingers with some pain extending up through the wrist and forearm. It is unknown whether it is related to his rowing but it seems at times that rowing aggravates it. It is very strange that the symptoms exactly fit the description of carpal tunnel except for the fingers affected. He rows about 30,000 meters a week. It started several months ago with just periodic tingling of the small finger and has progressivly gotten worse. We were just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this and if so, what was the cause?

Carol

Does you husband bicycle? I had the same symptoms from cycling this spring. It persisted for a few weeks after a 150 mile ride, and slowly went away. The cause was supporting too much weight with my arms and keeping the hands in the same position all the time. I suspect the angle of the wrists had something to do with it. My wrists were angled to the side a little instead of square, but I can't remember which way.

So... in rowing the forces are completely different -pulling on the oars instead of leaning on the handlebars. But if the wrists are at a bad angle it might cause the same effect.

bw

[loonylady]

Thank you so much for all of you who took the time to respond. It was very helpful. He is definitely bending his wrists and that may be the culprit. Once he can row again, we will make the tool you described, Alissa, as a reminder to keep the wrists straight, and Grams, we'll keep your suggestions in mind as well. He does not bicycle but having the wrists at a bad angle might cause problems on either the rower or the bike.
Thanks again.
Carol

[adkmurray]

Thanks to all. Have started rowing again and while keeping my wrists straight, so far no pain. I also ordered a model C handle. I think the straight handle will help keeping things square. The first post hit it right on the head. I guess I was trying to get as much (chain) as I could by pulling it in as close as I could and bending the wrists.

[Bob S.]

Thanks to all. Have started rowing again and while keeping my wrists straight, so far no pain. I also ordered a model C handle. I think the straight handle will help keeping things square. The first post hit it right on the head. I guess I was trying to get as much (chain) as I could by pulling it in as close as I could and bending the wrists.

Pulling it in close should not be a problem — if you pull in relatively high and don't have you elbows out too far. I had a session with Xeno recently and he pointed out that I wasn't getting a long enough stroke. Part of this was at the catch, but I was also not pulling through far enough at the finish. He told me to end the stroke with my hands a little higher than I was and to make sure that I was getting the full range of the latissimus. To me, this means pulling my elbows well back, which, in turn, would help to keep my wrists straight.

The quads and glutes, the strongest muscles of the body as a whole, are the major foundation of the drive. But, of the upper body muscles involved, the lats are probably the strongest. You can see this just observing the physiques of successful rowers.

Bob S.

[bw1099]

adkmurray

Long Lake! I am insane with jealousy.