Anyone else's toes/feet go numb when working out?

annettehoyt

I have been working out for about 6 months now. Tried several different pairs of tennis shoes, finally landed on a nice asic trail/all purpose shoe with a medium arch, and I got them a half size bigger than I normally wear, to allow comfort when running and working out. Doesn't matter what shoe I wear or what size, after about 10 minutes on the elliptical and a little longer on a treadmill, my feet go numb, starting with my toes and working its way up to my ankles. It gets so sharp and painful that I have to get off and speed walk to keep my heart rate up but until I get the feeling back in my feet, and then I have to do that every 7 minutes. It is annoying and painful and makes me not want to work out. It doesn't happen when I do Jillian Michaels or other workouts. Just running on the treadmill or elliptical. I tried adjusting the angle, doesn't help. Anyone else every heard of or have this problem? I have asked around and no one else has heard of it or has anything to offer to help. I am getting discouraged.

martymum

bump cos my feet do this on the elliptical, given up on the treadmill cos the pain spreads up to my ip on the right hand side.

I now take my trainers off and use the elliptical barefoot which has helped and I do 30 mins and 5 mins cool down mxx

Lance_K

Bump for later. I have the same problem.

katiesmama06

Bump as well. 20 minutes in and I have pins and needles, similar to the feeling of my foot falling asleep.

snakesandladders2

I used to get this. Turns out my trainers were too tight! Maybe try tying the laces in different ways. Sounds dumb, but makes a big difference.

toadiejones

This used to happen to me all the time (especially on the elliptical). All I can say is that it went away during my c25k training. I assumed the gradual progression of the program helped my body adjust to whatever was going on.

grievero

Hi~

I'm an acupuncturist and an exercise physiologist. One of the problems with foot gear and running/elliptical is the rubbing motion on the nerves that run through the top of your feet and the compression on the bottom. I used to have this same feeling happen when I would wear my ski boots. One fix can be to try when you lace your shoes to keep them loosely laced at the high point of your arch and then tighten them to normal where you tie them. That's the most common area of rubbing. If it continues, you may want to consider one of the five fingers style of athletic shoe that fits more snuggly to your feet and is designed to mimic barefoot exercise. It would reduce the rub across the nerves.

The problem won't occur during an exercise video because the action through your feet is constantly changing.

I hope this helps!
Robyn

jamesblood13

It can be to do with bad circulation in your legs. When showering, alternate between really hot and really cold on your legs. Do this after every gym session. It should help. it definately worked when I was on my feet all day working as a waiter.

emmamcblain

I used to have this. You either need to purchase better fitting shoes, or make do with it until it doesn't happen. I used to go 10 minutes on the elliptical and have to get off because it was that irritating, but now I can go an hour at a time and it doesn't bother me. That was mainly due to the fact I was borrowing my mum's trainers because I lost my own, and she is a size too small for me. Also, maybe the way you're using the machines is a little funny, so you could try adjusting your footing, though there isn't much variation for that. Hope this helps! x

bcmehl

I don't have those feelings in my feet, but I do get them in my leg, especially when I am walking long distances. I don't have the problem with my shoes being too tight and I have lost 47 lbs so far, so I am not sure as to why it is happening. Anyone else having this problem too?

brandimacleod

Funny! The girl on the elliptical next to me the other night over heard me tell my friend about that. She said she researched it and also saw a podiatrist, and she needed arch support inserts. This is apparently very common with the elliptical because the foot beds you stand on are so flat. So is a treadmill. Outdoor running you have variations so it doesnt happen then. She said look it up on WebMD. See a foot doctor, or just try a bunch of arch inserts. I am going to do some reading up this weekend.

JeninBelgium

I have always had this on the elliptical and only the elliptical no matter what shoes (and I even tried it barefoot) I think it is something about the movement on the elliptical - what I do is occasionally lift my feet (usually it is more my right than left but I have a chronic left leg problem so I probably put more of my body weight on my right without realizing it) and I find that periodic switching to backwards elliptical ( rotating my legs back, not standing facing backwards :-) ) helps a lot

almonds1

:bigsmile: Maybe you find cardio boring like me and your body just wants to sleep ? I had that issue also.. but my shoes were not tight at all...

coliema

I had this problem as well, I just found out that I was tying my shoes too tightly! :embarassed:

bionicdiver

I used to have this issue, but figured out that if I start to feel it coming on, start wiggling your toes. It will get the circulation moving again in your lower extremeties. I have only ever had this problem on machines like ellipticals where your feet (toes) are relatively stationary.

Hope this helps!

mabug01

I get this, too. I bought new arch supports and played around with different levels and paces on the elliptical machine. I finally found an elevation (7) and a slower pace that slows down the numbing so it doesn't begin for about 20 minutes. That's the best I'v e been able to do. I just keep picking up and flexing my feet for the last 20 minutes.

Contrarian

As others have said, try not tying your shoes as tightly. Your feet swell when you work out.

katherinemm31

I once started a thread on this problem, which occurs when I use the eliptical or treadmill. I've tried taking my shoes off, loosening the laces, changing sneakers, wearing slippers, lifting my feet...no change. I think I have bad circulation in my legs because my feet get really cold a lot and they swell even though I get lots of water in. Sometimes I can't warm them up at all. I try not to sit in one place for long periods of time. I figure I'm just getting old.

aptipton

Glad to find this thread as I've been having this issue for 2 months. It is only one foot--my left and it feels like I'm standing on burning coals about 20 to 30 minutes into the elipitcal or similar machine. I bought new shoes, special ftted shoes to boot, loosened the laces and try different socks. It's funny but certain socks make it worse. I need to try the arch support as I think that may be my issue.

idauria

I've been having the same issue. My big toe on my my right foot in particular goes numb after being on the elliptical for a while. I will try loosening my laces and see if that helps.

melanieparker13

bump

HelenBuffy

I have this problem on the elliptical also. I noticed that if I made a real effort to wiggle my toes every couple minutes and switch to going in reverse on the machine and moving my weight to my heels every 5 mintues for 2 minutes or so, this helps too.

v70t5m

A pinched spinal nerve in the lumbar region will produce a similar result. The numbness/tingling tends to grow the longer you push yourself on your machine/exercise of choice.

If you find the discomfort spreading in size with time, you may need to see the doctor. If this discomfort is present in everyday life, you definitely need to see the doctor.

crunchymommy

This is a very helpful thread! I have had this problem to an extent for quite a while. The first time I experienced it was several years ago, backpacking in professionally fitted backpacking-style hiking boots. I thought it was odd that the "best" footwear I owned gave me trouble with my toes. I think now it may have been a combination of my being overweight, carrying a backpack (but it would do it even if I was hiking without the backpack) and maybe lacing them too tightly.

I occasionally experience it in my running shoes, but I do find that loosening the laces usually helps somewhat.

Tonight I was surprised to discover it happening worse than ever when I decided to just do some random aerobics to get moving because there's black ice outside (no runnning outdoors) and the gym is closed (so no treadmill). I put Just Dance in the Wii for fun and had to stop after about 13 minutes because the toes on my right foot hurt so much! So I was surprised to find when I googled this problem that a lot of people were recommending barefoot running or Five Fingers shoes to fix the numb toes problem. Apparently that isn't the solution for me.

I think I'll talk to my chiropractor about it, since someone mentioned a nerve being pinched in the lower back, and try some arch supports. My running shoes are for overpronators like myself, but maybe there's more I could do. Thanks for the input! I'll try to remember to come back here and share how these things worked.

kcallas88

i had this problem too...just tied my shoe strings too tight. I also keep going through it and it goes away over time.

trhops

I get this when I am on the elliptical! No issues on treadmill, just the elliptical!

KenosFeoh

This used to happen to me when I did step aerobics. I don't do step aerobics anymore.

jasonheyd

Posted this a while back on a similar thread...

You might try changing the way you're lacing your sneakers too. Sometimes the numbness is just from pressure as your foot swells from the exercise. That happened to me when I got a new pair of running shoes... 30 minutes into a run, my feet would start to go numb.

Here's what I do now, and I've had no issues since making the change:

http://www.altrazerodrop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaticContentView?langId=-1&storeId=15151&catalogId=18952&pageTitle=Alternate+Lacing&pageName=AlternateLacing

olores

Yep! I find that when I'm biking that my toes start numbing. If I bike for lomger than 30 mins it gets worse so I break up my times/exercise and that seems to help. Yes, the eliptical reacts the same. I just thought I was just getting older...lol!

sportybrewerschick

my heels do!

CoraGregoryCPA

Yes, when I'm on the eliptical! The more often I workout on the eliptical the worse it gets, so I try not to use the eliptical that often to avoid it. I've researched it before and I can't remember what the reason was..