MotoGP racing does not only require high concentration, but also physically strong. Not infrequently there are racers who complain that they experience an arm pump during a race until their performance is affected.
Many end up have to undergo medication to remove the arm pump. However, the healing process is not short-lived and can also have an impact on performance. Medically, this condition is called Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome.
According to the Mayo Clinic, an arm pump is a muscle and nerve condition caused by exercise that results in pain, swelling, and sometimes defects in the affected arm muscles. Arm pump occurs as a consequence of the arm muscles swelling up due to activity and becoming too tight. Muscles are neatly wrapped in tissue called fascia. This section is not very flexible.
The muscles are exercising too much blood pumping, but can not flow properly. With muscles expanding, but faced with a solid barrier, the arm pump becomes the equivalent of a bandage being wrapped too tightly, cutting off blood flow to and from the muscle, and making the nerves tingle and not responding properly.
As a result, the arm becomes swollen due to the sprain and makes it hard. At the same time, the hands also experience tingling and begin to feel numb, combined with the pain. The arm pump usually appears at the end of a race and will break the rider’s concentration when it occurs.
“When you start having trouble with the arm pump, you never have a minor problem. When you get it, you get it bad. From the moment you leave the pit, you think ‘when will that happen?'” Says Sam Lowes.
According to Sam, the arm pump will disturb the synchronization of the brain with the hands. “It’s chaotic, because when you are very focused on the race and you feel it too, it makes the race feel very long. You struggle all the time, sacrificing the riding moments. It is difficult to lead the race in that condition,” added Sam Lowes.
That’s why most riders happily take extreme measures to solve the arm pump problem. The procedure involves a fasciotomy, a surgery that requires general anesthesia that opens the arm, cuts a gap in the fascia, and then sutures it back. The cost that must be paid is also not cheap. Undergoing the procedure at the hospital of choice for MotoGP riders, such as the Barcelona Universitari Quiron Dexeus Hospital, costs around 8,000 euros.
There are also more extreme measures if the fasciotomy fails to work, which brings all kinds of additional complications. If relieving pressure with a gap in the fascia doesn’t work, the next step is to remove the entire layer, an invasive procedure that opens up more problems for the rider. This operation disrupted Cal Crutchlow’s performance throughout MotoGP 2020.
There is one way to anticipate the occurrence of an arm pump, namely through hard work and training. Motocross riders are said to have had the least arm pump problems. The bumpy tracks and intense races make motocross riders better able to overcome physical problems than riders who only train on asphalt tracks.
