Hand Strength help?

[ncsurfer]

I have to get this fixed or I will be forced to make a difficult choice of activities.

I went for a week long motorcycle camping trip , on and off road in the mountains of western NC. When I got back I found that my hand strength, particularly in my left hand has virtually disappeared.

No pain, but I can no longer get my fingers to hold any chord. My fingers will not go where I want them, and won't hold strings down no matter how much I concentrate. My muscle memory seems to have disappeared along with the strength. Its been nearly three weeks since the trip and although my right hand has improved marginally, my left hand is still on vacation. I can squeeze my hand pretty hard and make a fist but cannot hold a piece of paper between my fingers...very odd.

I will be making a Dr appointment shortly but was wondering if anyone else has run across this. I've been riding motorcycles for years but never had this happen before. I believe it's from spending 7-9 hours a day squeezing my grips, but I've done that before with no ill effects. Its fairly new bike(1 yr old) for me with a different riding position that I considered more comfortable (I went from a cruiser to a dual sport). I got this bike to do some long distant adventure traveling but if its interfering with my guitar playing I will be devastated. I know I am getting older and do have chronic arthritis but I have been active my whole life and exercise frequently so I've been trying to hold those demons at bay. I will be modifying the bike a bit to take pressure off my hands/wrists but I am worried that whatever happened might be permanent.

Does any one have any advice to regain control of my hands? Of note, I had to edit this post several times as I type it because my fingers keep hitting different keys than I'm aiming at.

[willem]

I've red your post but can't help,,only wish you the best with it..

Willem

[RicksPick]

I dont think this will be permanant
You may have Repetitive Strain Injury or Tendinitis
Anti-inflammatories for pain relife is a good idea, but guess you know that as you have arthritis
As you are constantly using your hands it takes longer for the repair as rest is the best cure
Best see that Dr sooner rather than later

I guess the adjustments you are making to the bike are to do with the position of the levers, they can make a big difference in comfort
Guess being duel purpose, sitting and standing there will be compromises
good luck

RicksPick

[thereshopeyet]

Maybe you should give your hands a well earned rest for a week or so
until you get professional advice.

Dermot

[Hydroman52]

ncsurfer wrote:

Its been nearly three weeks since the trip.....

You need to see a doctor. I've had similar situation after intense waterskiing, but full functionality always returned after a few days. Seems to me there was a post here on TG a year or two ago dealing with this, but I can't seem to find it. Maybe someone else knows where it is and can point you to it. It had a video with some exercises (I think).

Hope all goes well.

Hydroman52