While regular exercise may be beneficial in the long run, sometimes the immediate after-effects of a good workout can leave a fitness buff praying there’s truth to the phrase, “No pain, no gain.” In fact, such temporary discomforts as sore muscles, physical exhaustion and a higher-than-normal body temperature are more than just expected by most people; they’re seen as indicators of a thorough workout. However, if your routine is followed by a seemingly more serious consequence like a numb foot, your satisfaction of a job well done could easily turn into concern. While it’s always a good idea to see a doctor to make sure a numb foot isn’t a symptom of a more serious medical issue, chances are your sleeping foot can be awakened by giving it a little extra attention and making a few tweaks to your exercise regimen.
Uncomfortably Numb
When a body part becomes numb, it’s usually the result of a compressed, or “pinched,” nerve that leads to that area. It can happen when a nerve is compressed for an extended time, which is why your legs “fall asleep” when you sit with your legs crossed or your hand gets filled with “pins and needles” if you fall asleep with it in an odd position. It can also happen when a nerve is repeatedly compressed and released. Especially vulnerable to this phenomenon are the balls of your feet, which contain your sesamoid bones and a number of nerves that lead to the foot’s joint capsules.
Feet of Burden
Although the balls of your feet take more of a beating than most other parts of your body, activities such as walking and running are at least somewhat forgiving because your heels and outer edges of your feet take some of the burden of your weight. The activities that comprise your exercise routine, however, might not be so kind. Aerobics classes, elliptical trainers, stationary bicycles, stair steppers and leg press machines are just a few of the culprits known to cause numbness in one or both of your feet. The repetitive action of pushing down on the balls of your feet can force your sesamoid bones together, catching and pinching nerves between them. The same action can also compress each foot’s joint capsules, which contain a high concentration of nerves.
Needles and Pins
Because the discomfort goes away after a while, numbness in the foot might seem to be more of an annoyance than a serious medical issue. But left untreated, it could end up being both. Over time, a layer of tissue will develop around a chronically irritated nerve. This thick coating can lead to sharp pain, a strong “needles and pins” sensation, burning or sustained numbness. The most commonly affected nerve is between your third and fourth toe, placing the discomfort’s epicenter near the center of your foot every time you step down on it. Called Morton’s neuroma, this condition usually requires surgery.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
The good news is if you take care of the problem early on, odds are you’ll be able to steer clear of the surgeon’s scalpel. Instead of working out on an incline, keep the elliptical trainer flat so your weight will be more evenly supported by your feet. When riding the stationary bike, position your feet a bit more forward on the pedals to take some of the pressure off the fronts of your feet. And perhaps more importantly, make sure you’re wearing properly fitted shoes. Nerve compression is much more common in people whose shoes are too tight in the front, squeezing their toes together. Placing a cushioned insole in each of your shoes can absorb a lot of the impact that would otherwise be taken by the balls of your feet. You might even want to spend a few extra dollars and get a pair of total contact orthotics, which are designed to transfer pressure equally across the bottoms of your feet. And don’t overdo it when tightening your laces — doing so could compress the nerves that run along the tops of your feet while causing the bottoms to absorb more impact pressure.
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