Reducing Weight on Arthritic Hands

[mjeds]

I have similar carpal tunnel issues. I have the Kinekt Suspension stem myself, and some similar grips. but I would never flip the stem.

I purchased some bullhorn style bars and have them turned upwards, zero pressure on my wrists, and I ride 300 miles a week.

takes a bit of getting used to. but everything works. I had to replaced the throttle with a thumb style that I could mount on the horizonal part of the bar, instead of a twist, as the twist style slide on and the thumb style clamp on, and you can't get the slip on around the 90° bend. I seldom use the throttle, so not a big deal to have to reach down to use it.

brake levers mount on the vertical bars and gear selector on the horizontal next to the thumb throttle.

 

[PedalUma]

Here is one I did. Before and after. I also make coaster brake eBikes for those with hand issues.

 

[penserv]

Why don't you try something to reduce the pain of arthritis? I had arthritic pain in my thumbs so bad that in the summer of 2019, I couldn't even hold a golf club and had to give up golf. Cortisone shots helped a bit, but the period of relief got less and less with each round of injections, until by January, 2020, I only had a month of relief. Out of desperation I started using CBD oil as a topical lotion. At first, I was putting it on 3 times a day with Bio-Freeze. After about 3 or 4 months, I suddenly realized that my thumbs didn't hurt very much and I was able to cut down to twice a day for CBD & Bio-freeze treatments.

By February, 2021, I was down to 1 application of CBD oil and Bio-Freeze. In between, I was able to build a DIY E-bike, with a lot of wrenching and other fun things that used to be painful and thus not possible to do. Since March, I've got over 1300 km on the bike and over 50 rounds of golf this summer alone. Things that should cause thumb pain, like down shifting the derailleur, are just a non-issue. Even a difficult task like changing a tire doesn't bother my thumbs anymore. Maybe it's just me, but I seem to use both thumbs a lot when pushing the tire over the rim on the last little bit. I've never had much success with tire levers.

Obviously, I'm a firm believer in CBD oil for arthritic pain in small joints like thumbs and hands. It allows me to ride an E-bike out to the golf course and golf pain free. The only downside is that it's too expensive to use on big joints like knees or shoulders, simply because you would use too much oil on such a large joint.

 

[indianajo]

While there is science behind the use of cortisone shots & prednesone pills, the effect is temporary. You can't use either more than about once a year without the effect wearing off. I've had some. I don't go to that surgeon anymore. I do use NSAIDs some, which I consider a miracle drug considering how useless asperin & acetaminaphen were for joint pain. Don't use them a lot, they cause stomach problems. As far huge warnings about heart attacks of NSAID, I'm a biker. My heart has been investigated pre shoulder surgery to find "nothing wrong with it". I've been using ibuprofen since it went <$10 a hundred. Thirty years?
I have seen no science studies about CBD oil. I have seen a lot of advertisments & publicity. Like maryjane, the effect may be that the user doesn't care anymore.

 

[fooferdoggie]

CBD is a tricky thing because it vary's so much and how it works on each person varies. plus it can take awhile to be effective. like charlottes web one of the most famous cbd Helps my wife with anxiety and a couple other things .we have tried a few other brands that are local and they actually can make it worse. none of them helped with pain though. but thats ingesting it. myself topical never seemed to do anything.

 

[penserv]

I never have ingested it. I simply use it as a topical. Just apply whatever is on the dropper to your skin in the affected area, typically a joint and rub it in. The Bio-freeze also helps alleviate the pain, but anything like Rub A535 or similar product would work as well. The funny thing about the CBD oil is that you don't think it's doing much until one day you realize the joint doesn't hurt the way it used to. I buy 1000 mg and 2500 mg and mix them together to make 1750 mg. That's the strength that works well for me. My thumbs are almost back to normal after 1 1/2 years. It's nice to have thumbs again. Makes putting on socks a breeze. Good for writing too. I can work on my bike without pain, except that I have to work on it.

 

[ebiker76]

CBD is a tricky thing because it vary's so much and how it works on each person varies. plus it can take awhile to be effective. like charlottes web one of the most famous cbd Helps my wife with anxiety and a couple other things .we have tried a few other brands that are local and they actually can make it worse. none of them helped with pain though. but thats ingesting it. myself topical never seemed to do anything.

CBD oil is also tricky because each brand varies in composition so one brand might work whereas another may not. The observations are anecdotal because clinical trials are very expensive to run and without patent projection, no company is willing to underwrite a trial.

 

[penserv]

Oh, and the CBD I use comes from a hemp plant. The stuff they make rope and t-shirts out of. You can also buy it at the health food store as Hemp Hearts, but I don't recommend that unless you want to be extremely regular.

 

[DavidRvR]

DMSO cream mixed with any other topper you like.. ITs the miracle cream for me.. it will help push in whatever you are using into the body for absorbing . try that with your local Bio freeze and or CBD.. It helps your pain pills push into the body easy also.. but only buy the cream ad not the gel as it dries to fast and doesnt work well.. you can make your own with a bit of a concentrate and distilled water at a 70 water 30 dmso mix but it has a peculiar smell.. stick with the lotion with lavender or rose..

 

[Handlebars]

Wow--I also wonder about quads instead of trikes--what would the advantages of this design be--is it more stable than a trike?

3 wheels is still considered a bike in most juridictions that I've heard about, but 4 wheels is not a bike, so different laws would apply.

 

[Handlebars]

Why don't you try something to reduce the pain of arthritis? I had arthritic pain in my thumbs so bad that in the summer of 2019, I couldn't even hold a golf club and had to give up golf. Cortisone shots helped a bit, but the period of relief got less and less with each round of injections, until by January, 2020, I only had a month of relief. Out of desperation I started using CBD oil as a topical lotion. At first, I was putting it on 3 times a day with Bio-Freeze. After about 3 or 4 months, I suddenly realized that my thumbs didn't hurt very much and I was able to cut down to twice a day for CBD & Bio-freeze treatments.

By February, 2021, I was down to 1 application of CBD oil and Bio-Freeze. In between, I was able to build a DIY E-bike, with a lot of wrenching and other fun things that used to be painful and thus not possible to do. Since March, I've got over 1300 km on the bike and over 50 rounds of golf this summer alone. Things that should cause thumb pain, like down shifting the derailleur, are just a non-issue. Even a difficult task like changing a tire doesn't bother my thumbs anymore. Maybe it's just me, but I seem to use both thumbs a lot when pushing the tire over the rim on the last little bit. I've never had much success with tire levers.

Obviously, I'm a firm believer in CBD oil for arthritic pain in small joints like thumbs and hands. It allows me to ride an E-bike out to the golf course and golf pain free. The only downside is that it's too expensive to use on big joints like knees or shoulders, simply because you would use too much oil on such a large joint.

Have you tried high % curcumin extracted from turmeric along with with black pepper? For me the pain is hugely reduced same day after taking one capsule, mobility is much improved.
The black pepper is to help the curcumin not get neutralized by the liver. I was shocked the first time I tried it and still take it. Sometimes when I have been lazy and the tennis elbow pain starts up bad, I get surprised again when it gets so much better same day after taking the curcumin and about half that much volume of black pepper in a capsule. The pepper can give you a bit of gastric burn if you don't follow it up with food and liquids.

Safety and efficacy of curcumin versus diclofenac in knee osteoarthritis: a randomized open-label parallel-arm study - PMC

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of curcumin with those of diclofenac in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA). In this randomized, open-label, parallel, active controlled clinical study, 139 patients with knee OA ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

At days 14 and 28, patients receiving curcumin showed similar improvement in severity of pain and KOOS scale when compared with diclofenac, and the difference was not statistically significant. At day 7, the patients who received curcumin experienced a significantly greater reduction in the number of episodes of flatulence compared with diclofenac (P <0.01). At day 28, a weight-lowering effect (P <0.01) and anti-ulcer effect (P <0.01) of curcumin were observed. None of the patients required H2 blockers in the curcumin group, and 19 patients required H2 blockers in the diclofenac group (0% versus 28%, respectively; P <0.01). Adverse effects were significantly less in the curcumin group (13% versus 38% in the diclofenac group; P <0.01). Patient’s and physician’s global assessment of therapy was similar in the two treatment groups.

Conclusion​

Curcumin has similar efficacy to diclofenac but demonstrated better tolerance among patients with knee OA. Curcumin can be an alternative treatment option in the patients with knee OA who are intolerant to the side effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Also a warning that "Studies have shown that turmeric can have strong anticoagulant effects, which could affect how blood-thinning drugs work in the body"