shoes and numb toes

It's your shoes. When I first started running, I was wearing a $20 pair of shoes I bought from Target. They KILLED my feet! They were numb, sharp stabbing pain, and I could barely walk.

For Christmas my husband bought me a pair of Nikes to run in. They still killed my feet, so I returned them.

Then I went to Runner's Soul. The sales associate suggested running shoes that were a size bigger. When you run, your feet can swell. You need that extra room so you don't cut off your circulation! I spent $100 on a pair of shoes, one size larger, and I have not had that problem since.

I had the same problem. I went to the New Balance store, they anayze your feet, the way you walk and fit you properly. I was wearing shoes that were too small and not wide enough. My shoes look so big but my feet love them:laugh:

I had this happen to me earlier this year: whenever I was on the elliptical, my toes went numb in a (cheaper) pair of new shoes. I went to a running shoe store and they said that the shoes I was wearing were too small and they were cutting off the circulation to my toes. I was fitted with a shoe that had better support for my feet--and they were more expensive and about a size and half larger than the shoe size I normally wear!

However, after trying them out on the elliptical, my feet still went numb! My doctor suggested that it was the angle of the machine (and not the shoe since I had plenty of room in them now) to my feet and ankles and to try the machine out without my shoes on. He thought that if it was the machine, my feet would still go numb. Sure enough, after using the elliptical for 10 minutes, my toes were numb even though I wasn't in shoes.

So...moral of the story: make sure your shoes aren't too tight. Tennis shoes should be 1-2 sizes larger than what your dress shoes or "street" shoes are. If you're using a machine and your feet go numb...find a different exercise.