Wrist Pain from Riding

I bought my ST1300 last fall and back then I started getting wrist pain after riding probably less than 200 miles total (several short rides) This spring I have road more and I have some pain but not as bad as in the fall. The pain it's on my clutch hand and I assume it's from leaning forward and putting my weight on my wrists. After riding the pain continues. Has anyone else experienced this? Suggested solutions?

Yep. I got relief by getting risers and remembering to use a lighter grip when riding.

John

There are a few things you can try:

1. Don't grip the bars just hold them lightly
2. Don't over use the clutch (i.e. take her out of gear at red lights)
3. Check your gloves aren't pressing on your wrist (or pressing your jacket onto your wrist)
4. Posture - your arms should be relaxed.
5. Bar risers

If you get numb hands check your gloves aren't too tight.

I hope that helps

MinnFallST said:

I assume it's from leaning forward and putting my weight on my wris

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Don't do that
Seriously use your core strength and knees to support yourself in a more upright position.
If that doesn't do it then I'd spend the money on bar risers which iirc also move the grips back as well as up.

BMW grips and loosing the death grip helps with numbness. For me gloves that are just a LITTLE to short in the fingers causes numbness as well.

I drop my elbows and allow them to hang loosely, this keeps me from putting weight on my wrists. I keeping telling myself this to keep relaxed.

mcthorogood said:

I drop my elbows and allow them to hang loosely

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+1 .....

st1300r said:

Seriously use your core strength and knees to support yourself in a more upright position.

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I can't +1 this enough. Good posture is important to riding comfortably on this bike.

Here's an exercise that'll help:

• Don whatever gear you usually ride on except gloves.
• Put the bike on the centerstand.
• Get on.
• Put the balls of your feet on the pegs.
• Sit bolt upright.
• Extend both arms straight and put both hands onto the grips like you would when riding.
• Lean forward a few degrees, bending your elbows until you reach the point where you can comfortably hover your fingers just above the grips.
• Remember that position. That's where you want to be when riding.

You can expect to be a bit sore while you tone up the muscles needed to do this. Once you do, you'll be able to ride all day in that position. You'll probably find that your control over the bike improves, too.

--Mark

This is great advice - I have some lingering 'finger joint' specific pain after the 1600 mile ride. Its my first long ride so I may simply be getting 'warmed-up' but it could also be due to my tight gloves (though they never felt tight in the short runs I've done previously)

I also realize I may have been holding the bars tighter than necessary ! TO add to the OP's questions, are there any "recovery" processes that you'd generally perform after a long ride, specifically to address the pain? Thank you all. Hope this is not considered a thread hijack !

Regards,
Vishnu

As has been previously mentioned, use your stomach (core) muscles to keep the weight off the bars. Weight on the bars equates to steering input which you don't need unless you're turning. The bike will go straight on it's own but putting pressure on the bars will fight the bikes natural tendency. Then you will be adding more input on the opposite side to counter. Think about riding a bicycle without hands. Light pressure is the best. It will take time to build the abdominal muscles. If you can't get forward enough for a more upright position for your arm length then bar risers will probably be the solution.

Give it some time and practice before you start investing in more parts.

st1300r said:

Don't do that
For me gloves that are just a LITTLE to short in the fingers causes numbness as well.

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I'm beginning to think that's the issue with me too. XLs fit but get resistance when I close my hand. Sheesh, I hate to buy another pair of gloves but it might help.
Thanks for voicing that info cuz I was JUST thinking about it this weekend but was like, "nah, it can't be that..."
I'll try some XXL.

thepaleobiker said:

TO add to the OP's questions, are there any "recovery" processes that you'd generally perform after a long ride, specifically to address the pain?

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I think most on here have a beer.....theraputic in more ways than one.....also ibuprofen before you ride.....age dependant of course.......ff

I've had some bouts of carpal tunnel and that makes riding with the correct wrist placement important. You mentioned wrist pain, not finger numbness so you are probably not experiencing what I did. I found that a cramp buster/wrist rest worked wonders for me, and I have seen at least one other biker with these on both grips. The plastic rest forces me to keep my wrist straight - this might be a very inexpensive aid for you, too.

If you have tendinitis, that will be painful too.


ST1100Rider on Tapatalk Pro

I get wrist pains too; however, it's carpal tunnel related. Right wrist from griping the throttle. Throttle lock and cramp buster are my only relief; seriously need cruise control.

I just put 4000 miles on in a week.
The saviour was the AudioVox cruise control.
Also have a heli riser II and 2 crampbusters.
No pain whatsoever. The last long ride without the above was a pain in the wrist.

Lot's of good advice on here and I definitely concur with keeping the weight off wrists.

One thing that might help you out is to scoot up closer to the bars on the seat so you don't have to lean into them. Sit closer to the tank and then you can sit more upright and keep the weight on your butt and off your wrists. I used to be guilty of that. I used to scoot back in the seat and then lean into the bars like a sport bike until I realized how much weight I was supporting with my hands.

I have bar risers on my NT700V, had the same ones on my ST1100.... only 1" but it makes a difference... I do have to occasionally remind myself to bend my arms.. I drop my elbows and pull them together in a stretching exercise when riding....

I bought a Go-Cruise from the US just before going away for a six day outing....

http://www.2wheelride.com/GoCruise_throttle control2.html

This made a huge difference and I found it far better than previous other makes, apart from the NEP on the ST1100.

Unfortunately the NEP doesn't fit the NT so.....

It was around GB?15 less to buy it direct from the US, including postage, than buying the exact same thing in the UK, postage free..... go figure.

I injured my left arm some years ago and was diagnosed as having de quervains tenosynovitis... had a shot... fixed it.... but man that was painful.

http://www.medicinenet.com/de_quervains_tenosynovitis/article.htm#what_are_symptoms_of_de_quervains_tenosynovitis

I buy my gloves for a loose fit also, allowing for some give when broken in... best size is one up from my normal in some makes... so I generally buy XXL... this makes a difference also.

So, on my NT I now have, grip puppies, bar risers and a Go-Cruise..... seems to work well for me.... YEMV.

After some thought did a bit of "dynamics engineering".

Through trial and error replaced saddle until I found "the one" for me - followed that process with bar risers.

Wrist pain long gone - and never looked back.

Looooong rides pain free - and full of pleasure and rewards.

Best of luck in your reorganization and patience to restructure.


Thank you,
-Elliot

Helirisers Crampbuster and thicker grips did it for me.

Thank you for all the helpful comments. After writing the post I paid more attention to how I was riding. I don't think I am putting my weight on my arms as much as I had thought. I think the problem probably is from the clutch; I'm just using muscles I don't normally use. I am going to make sure my arms and posture are good, and put the bike in neutral at stops. I'll see how that goes and get more drastic if it doesn't alleviate the pain. Thanks again for the advice.