Often accompanied by a painful “pins and needles” sensation, a tingling or numb foot can be an uncomfortable, frustrating condition that gets in the way of your distance goals by preventing you from lacing up your running shoes as often as you’d like to. What’s more is it can develop into something permanent if you don’t pinpoint the cause and do something about it before it’s too late.
Circulated Myth
Although many people are brought up to believe a tingling or “sleeping” foot is the result of poor circulation, the truth is blood flow has nothing to do with this common phenomenon. More often than not, a tingling sensation is brought on by a compressed or “pinched” nerve, which can be the result of prolonged pressure on a specific area or repeated compression and expansion of that nerve. And you don’t have to be a podiatrist to suspect there’s a lot of compressing and expanding involved when your feet pound the pavement during your daily run.
Foot Balls
Often taking the brunt of the pavement pounding are the balls of your feet, which house the sesamoid bones. The force of your forefoot striking the ground can cause these bones to rub together, trapping and pinching the nerves of your foot between them. This condition is called sesamoiditis. Excessive pressure on the balls of your feet can also compress their joint capsules, which contain a high concentration of nerves. Appropriately, this affliction is called capsulitis. Especially vulnerable to foot trauma is the nerve that runs between your third and fourth toe, which often attempts to protect itself from damage by developing a thick outer layer of tissue. While this defense might succeed in keeping the nerve intact, it doesn’t do much in the way of giving it the flexibility to dodge the compressing factors around it. The result, which manifests as a tingling sensation, numbness or pain, is so common among runners it’s been given a proper name: Morton’s Neuroma.
A Really Good Shoe
As with most sports-related injuries, the best cure for a tingling or numb foot is prevention. In many cases, that can be achieved simply by wearing a pair of running shoes that properly fit your feet. Both Morton’s Neuroma and sesamoiditis are frequently linked to shoes that squeeze the toes together because there isn’t enough room in the forefoot area. Adding padded insoles that cushion the balls of your feet can prevent and relieve symptoms of several running-related problems. Even something as simple as lacing your shoes a little more loosely could prevent the compression of nerves that run along the tops of your feet and relieve some of the impact pressure on the bottoms. And while you probably don’t wear high heels while running, you might want to cut back on wearing them during other parts of the day as well -- they direct much of your weight to the balls of your feet.
Taking the Next Step
If upgrading your footwear doesn’t do the trick, you might have to give the nerves in your feet some time to heal before attempting to break any land speed records. Ice, cold whirlpools and foot massages can help decrease inflammation and compression of nerves. You might have to obtain specially fitted orthopedic insoles from a medical professional, or, if you’re suffering from a severe case of Morton’s Neuroma, surgery may even be necessary. Regardless of whether home treatments work, it’s always a good idea to play it safe by seeing a doctor. A tingling or numb foot can also be a symptom of one of a variety of non-running-related ailments ranging from a fractured bone to stroke.
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