When Anchorage racer Ryan Sottosanti punches the throttle of this Polaris Switchback snowmachine Sunday morning on Big Lake to begin the 2,000-mile Iron Dog, he'll feel the acceleration of his powerful 600cc machine and something he hadn't experienced for a while.
Comfort. Pain-free riding.
Sottosanti, of Wasilla, has been dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome in his left wrist for the past five or six years. What at first felt like his hand falling asleep became increasingly painful, both when riding and working as a plumber and pipefitter at Last Frontier Mechanical.
"There was lots of pain and tingling after my hand fell asleep," he said. "It got to the point where it was almost unbearable."
Driving a snowmachine that can travel upwards of 70 mph across bumpy terrain for hours on end may not have been the ideal sport for the 37-year-old, but Sottosanti was already hooked. He has finished in the top-10 in the last four Iron Dogs, with a best of third place.
Sottosanti, who is partnering with Shane Barber of Willow, wasn't sure what he could do. "I work year-round and don't have any time off. And I wasn't keen on surgery. So I kept putting it off."
Until the pain became too great this spring.
Last fall, Sottsanti first consulted with Dr. Leslie Dean, an orthopedic surgeon and wrist specialist at the Anchorage Fracture & Orthopedic Clinic, who recommended steroid injections. Most times, she said, patients whose work involves a lot of vibration, such as jackhammer operators, can be prone to carpal tunnel issue.
"Where their hands are bent into their forearms there can be problems. Heavy-duty riding can be an issue too," she said.
To relieve building pressure, a ligament in the wrist is slit to take pressure off the nerve.
The procedure didn't take long, and Sottsanti recovered rapidly. In five weeks, the pain was gone.
Now he wears a padded glove, but he doesn't need to baby his wrist. "There are no guarantees, I know," he said. "Anything can happen. But I feel extremely fortunate to be able to do this race."
Sottsanti is determined to improve on his third-place finish in 2012, when he teamed with Andrew Zwink of Wasilla to finish about two hours behind champions Marc McKenna and Dusty VanMeter.
Sottosanti and Barber were seventh last year, and Sottosanti said he's thrilled to be riding a Polaris Switchback AXYS Pro-S 600.
"It's a phenomenal sled with a new chassis this year that's leaps and bounds better," he said.
Polaris machines have won four of the last six Iron Dogs, including last year's, when Wasilla racers Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad won their second title in six years.