My foot falls asleep on the treadmill!

RedRider230
RedRider230 Posts: 89 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was wondering if anyone has dealt with feet falling asleep on the treadmill? My left foot keeps falling asleep at about the 25 minute mark and I can go much longer but I can barely hit 30 minutes when I have to stop due to the foot! It's frustrating that I can't keep walking when I want too.

My shoes are not too tight, they fit properly and are very good shoes. I've tried with and without my arch supports and no difference.

Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

Replies

  • mrsvandenberg
    mrsvandenberg Posts: 5
    I would worry about the circulation/blood flow - go to the Doctor.
  • missa72
    missa72 Posts: 1 Member
    I've experienced the same thing on the treadmill & the elliptical as well. Haven't really found a solution other than to alter my walking stance or just use other types of cardio machines.
  • thoshowski
    thoshowski Posts: 135 Member
    I've had that. I went to a podiatrist. He said I had plantar fasciitis. That where the muscle in your foot has been torn some. I now have to wear orthotics all the time, even when I work out. If I don't after a couple of hours, I can't stand and my legs are burning. When I am wearing them, I could stand all day! It might be worth going to a podiatrist and having it checked out.
  • pattykaye33
    pattykaye33 Posts: 177 Member
    The same thing happens to me only on the elliptical. The outside and right toes of my right foot specifically. If you find out the cause, let me know.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Go see a doctor ASAP. You should not continue to work out with it doing that. You could have poorly fitting shoes or socks, or you could have something much more serious. You could have plantar fasciitis like the user above. You could have compartment syndrome. You could have diabetes. You could have Morton's neuroma. GO SEE A DOCTOR.
  • RedRider230
    RedRider230 Posts: 89 Member
    I appreciate the concern but I don't have any of those issues...I've done some research and found it's fairly common for feet to fall asleep on treadmills and ellipticals. I was just hoping someone who may have experienced this too had found a way to get past it.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    I was wondering if anyone has dealt with feet falling asleep on the treadmill? My left foot keeps falling asleep at about the 25 minute mark and I can go much longer but I can barely hit 30 minutes when I have to stop due to the foot! It's frustrating that I can't keep walking when I want too.

    My whole body goes to sleep on a treadmill in about 10 minutes. What pace are you going, and does the same thing happen when you're out in the world?
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    GO SEE A DOCTOR.

    Wow, I'm used to seeing over-reactions on here, but that's mildly excessive.

    It's not uncommon for something like that to be lacing on the shoes, over the course of a session the shoe flexes and moves around so while it might be properly laced initially it ends up creating some pressures that lead to this. I get it occasionally when I'm out in the real world, but not normally in less than an hour, and generally only when I'm doing my slower paced run; 6mph.
  • StephIntrepid
    StephIntrepid Posts: 34 Member
    Fear-mongering hypochondriacs! I had this too for some time, and while I rarely run or go on walks due to a knee injury and likelihood of a dislocation ( I swim instead), I found that as weight came off, the foot falling asleep thing went away. Maybe a side affect of the affect weight has on your back is numbness from a pinched nerve? Hard to say. All I know is that when I lost some weight, it went away, which doesn't help your current situation, but is maybe something to look forward to? Keep it up!
  • kinkyslinky16
    kinkyslinky16 Posts: 1,469 Member
    When this happens to me, it's usually a result of how the shoes are fitting.. Most often for me, they are too tight.. so once I loosen up the laces, it is much better.
  • bleep
    bleep Posts: 68 Member
    Literally awake sleepwalking. Impressive.
  • heel_striker
    heel_striker Posts: 32 Member
    I was wondering if anyone has dealt with feet falling asleep on the treadmill? My left foot keeps falling asleep at about the 25 minute mark and I can go much longer but I can barely hit 30 minutes when I have to stop due to the foot! It's frustrating that I can't keep walking when I want too.

    My shoes are not too tight, they fit properly and are very good shoes. I've tried with and without my arch supports and no difference.

    Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

    I had this problem when I was running outside. Orthotics, bigger shoes, proper socks, and bungee cord type laces helped the most. My problem was that my feet swell a lot when I run so I had to buy runners that were bigger to accomodate that. The bungee cord laces are awesome because you can easily loosen them and they have more give to them than regular laces.
  • goldie21047
    goldie21047 Posts: 13 Member
    I don't know about the treadmill, but since someone mentioned the elliptical, I'll add that I've learned that the numbness is due to the constant pressure on the balls of your feet. I did some reading and found the recommendation to pedal backwards 2 minutes after each 10 minutes of pedalling forward. This shifts the pressure to your heels for a bit.
  • teampugador
    teampugador Posts: 49
    I used to experience that too. Turns out all I needed was a bigger shoe size. Because our feet swell when we work out it's best to go a size up :)
  • gregs_gal
    gregs_gal Posts: 18 Member
    I had this problem for a while and found that I had to relace my sneakers so they didn't crisscross my foot. Once I made that change, my feet stopped falling asleep so much. I find they still do sometimes when I'm on an elliptical or stationary bike, so I tend to use these machine less often than a treadmill.

    For lacing techniques (including the one I used - "shoe feels too tight"), go here: http://katierunsthis.com/2011/10/04/running-shoe-lacing-techniques/
  • RedRider230
    RedRider230 Posts: 89 Member
    It only happens on the treadmill, not out in the real world, lol....I'm only into my third week of daily exercise and about 30 lbs overweight. So for now the fastest I'm walking is 3.5 mph.

    I appreciate everyone's comments, thank you! I'm hoping as I lose some weight that it'll get better.

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