This happens to me only when I pound in a race or a time trial. Its almost as if when I get a lot of blood in my legs, there is less flow to my arms and I get the tingles. This happen to anyone else?
Riding in Maine, I’m not surprised more stuff on you doesn’t tingle!
Just kidding, we have a family summer home in Rockland and those roads up there in the summah are delightful.
Not in the aerobars, but regular road riding, my hands will get tired/tingle when really putting out lots of effort riding with groups where I’m only strong enough to sit in vs. lead. I never thought it had to do with blood flow as tingling is more nerve related. I think I hold onto the grips more tightly when working hard, and that causes the sensation. What do I know…
I used to get this same tingling. For me, it was pectoralis muscles getting too tight and pressing on the brachial plexus…easy fix was to widen the elbows…not as aero, perhaps, but, lots more comfortable. Maybe yours is a nerve-impingement problem from something you’re doing with your arms/neck when you work harder against the bars, such as: getting lower when cranking hard and bending your neck more than usual, then your symptoms may stem from somewhere higher than the brachial plexus. I’d adjust arm position first and see if that helps. Of course, on a short course, it probably doesn’t matter much…but, you don’t want to keep impinging on nerves for long if that is what’s happening.
The funny thing about it is I am a chiropractor and I deal with this sort of thing all day yet I cant figure it out on my own body. I dont feel its nerve pressure as much as blood flow impingement. Who knows for sure anyway. Thanks for the responses.
Do you hyperventilate? By that term, I mean Clinically Hyperventilate…which means a decrease in PaCO2, not just “breathing hard”. Breathing hard during exercise is appropriate, and isn’t true hyperventilation unless your CO2 drops…which can cause tingling in the extremities.
If I’d have known you were a chiropractor I wouldn’t have mentioned anything about nerves! Sure wouldn’t hurt to try elbows wider if you can’t figure out anything else.
i used to run the 400m back in high school. it would happen to me every time about 250 m into it. it would go away very quickly afterwards.
rheopaipo wrote: i used to run the 400m back in high school. it would happen to me every time about 250 m into it. it would go away very quickly afterwards.
This sounds to me to be classic hypocapnia (a more descriptive term that means Clinical Hyperventilation).
Mainetriguy, it occurs to me that you could test this sitting at your desk. Breathe deeply and rapidly just like you were working out hard…if you get the same tingles in your hands, then you have hypocapnia from hyperventilation! If not, I’ll bet it’s nerve impingement, not a blood flow dispersement abnormality.
Just did the hypocapnia test…got more dizzy than anything. The dog is looking at me like I am nuts though.
Mainetriguy wrote: …got more dizzy than anything. The dog is looking at me like I am nuts though.
Dogs are very perceptive! This will make you dizzy, the blood flow to your brain actually decreases due to the lower CO2 in your bloodstream (this hyperventilation/hypocapnic technique has been used to decrease swelling in the brain following brain injury/surgery). If it didn’t make your arms tingle, I’m thinking you’re pressing your inner upper arm against a contracted pectoralis and impinging your brachial plexus…or something along those same lines. Like I initially said, try elbows wider, it fixed my similar problem right away. Say hello to your dog for me!
It might be compressing your ulnar nerve (funny bone) or yoiu might have an atypical vessel routing that gets compressed by your bars. Try moving your arm pads, if that’s possible, or one of the gel pads, like profile design.
My only issue with it not being a nerve compression issue is the symptoms seem to be bilaterally equal. I probably am not getting this from compressing my cord via excessive and prolonged extension (if I am I am in trouble physically). What do you think about it being vascular in the sense that most of my blood is in my legs and my arms are hypoxic?
This has happened twice and it was during extreme time trial exertion where my heart rate is 168-180 (182 max) for over 10-40 minutes. By the way, it doesnt happen during running speed workouts when I am breathing just as hard.
Thanks for your thinking this through.
I don’t know. I would tend to discount the blood in the legs theory, but who knows. It doesn’t seem likely that cord compression would be likely without symptoms elsewhere, Cervical nerve comresssion, I would guess would not be symmetrical. Try contacting a sports med doc.
I get it from the elbow down to the tips of my fingers sometimes. I think it comes from putting a lot of weight on my forearms and restricting the blood flow “downstream”.