can you get injuries from elliptical trainers?

January 9, 2010 5:35 PM

A recent conversation advised (possibly anecdotal) info that elliptical trainers can create foot numbness (it happens to me too) and lead to hip problems. This is the first time I have heard of the potential for 'hip problems' - does anyone else know anything about it? Is it a myth? I am a nearly 40 mum keen to get back on my trainer...
posted by IdleRepose to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

I don't know about any of that but they all seem to make me lean forward leading to low back pain. Who the hell designed these things, the chiropractor's marketing association?
posted by caddis at 5:43 PM on January 9, 2010

Not numbness, but I do sometimes get pain in my arches when I overdo it on an elliptical (admittedly, I don't "do" it enough to overdo it more than every leap year or so, and that may have something to do with it.) Mrs. Deadmessenger, on the other hand, tells me that she gets some toe numbness if she wears shoes that don't have a very flexible sole.
posted by deadmessenger at 6:13 PM on January 9, 2010

I have never heard this but I have found that it really helps if I vary my fitness routine...meanwhile, when I was having foot pain both spinning and ellipticals hurt but I could walk the treadmill just fine.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:15 PM on January 9, 2010

! The same thing happens to me on the elliptical machine. I always thought I was just doing it wrong. Now I don't feel so bad about preferring the bikes.
posted by Unred at 6:54 PM on January 9, 2010

My gym has a new elliptical machine that does not do this, I think it's called a balance runner or something like that. it's very cool.
posted by fshgrl at 7:40 PM on January 9, 2010

Mrs. Doohickie has an elliptical and used it for several years with no problems, and she has plenty of lower-joint-history to aggravate.

She eventually got tired of it and just switched over to Wii Fit which she enjoys far more than she ever liked the elliptical.
posted by Doohickie at 8:04 PM on January 9, 2010

I used to sell fitness equipment and I always kind of enjoyed playing with the machines and seeing how they felt, even if I really can't stand using the things in an actual workout. What I noticed after sampling a couple dozen ellipticals at work (and a few more at the gym I work out at) is that even from the same manufacturer often times the gait/stride/foot-path is different from one model to the next.

Some machines felt very natural, others felt pretty freaking horrible!

I had the luxury of getting to pick from a wide variety of machines, someone using an elliptical at a gym may only have one or two models to pick from. I would think that if one were to spend any appreciable amount of time on a machine that made them move in an unnatural way there'd be a good chance of developing some sort of joint injury.

It's a concept that's been seen before, such as with Smith machine squats. The bar moves in a straight line in the machine, the body typically doesn't. Hello back and knee injury.
posted by fore at 8:14 PM on January 9, 2010

I think it depends on the elliptical, and your particular body. I like the standard but the "arc" kind hurts my hips.
posted by radioamy at 8:25 PM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Any repetitive action (or impact behavior) can cause injury. Swimming, stairclimbing and yes, even elliptical trainers. The idea is that since there's no actually foot strike, and the gait is circular, that there's minimal impact.

Overdo it? Start it too fast? Sure, you could get hurt. Take it gradually and listen to your body.
posted by filmgeek at 9:19 PM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

My toes go numb on the elliptical but that's because my shoes compress their controlling nerve when I move in that manner; it's right on top of the foot. I find that if I lift my heels on each motion that they don't go numb as much.
posted by bookdragoness at 1:09 AM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I used to work out on an elliptical trainer more than ten hours per week when I was trying to lose weight. These were Precor professional/gym machines, circa 2001. I found that using running shoes led to some foot numbness, so I switched over to cross training shoes, which helped. Also, there is a period of adjustment-- I say don't worry about it unless the discomfort persists beyond a ten days or two weeks. It's similar to riding a bicycle again after a long break: At first your butt hurts a lot, but pretty soon your butt gets used to the seat again. However, if the problem is still there after a couple of weeks, I'd look into either new shoes or a different workout.

Derail: I prefer elliptical machines with a heart-rate monitor built into the handles. They are much easier. May not be an option for you.
posted by seasparrow at 5:18 AM on January 10, 2010

Best answer: I've been using the elliptical trainers at the gym for about 2 and a half years. My normal usage is 4 times a week for 45 minutes followed by some other activity (usually recumbent bike or weights or rowing machine.) I do have foot numbness from time to time, but it is definitely my shoes-- some of my shoes are more comfortable than others. I have about 5 pairs all in different stages of being broken in and they get more comfortable with age but less supportive.

No hip problems or lower back problems.

My normal work out however is to cycle through the different angles so that my leg and butt muscles get worked in different ways. I use the "Interval training" and start with angle settings at 2 and 10 and tension at 7, work backwards for 5 minutes, forwards for 5 minutes.

Change the workout angles to 4 and 12: backwards 5 min, forwards 5 min.

Change the angles to 6 and 14: backwards 5 min, forwards 5 min.

Change angle of workout to 7 and finish by going forwards as fast and at the highest tension I can manage. Then cool down for 5 minutes by going backwards at 6.

The beauty of this is you only have to do "5 more minutes" of any one particular thing except for the big finish by which time I am pumped enough to not to care.

I also take yoga classes to retain flexibility and I make sure to get a good stretch when I am finished working out on days when I don't take yoga.

So the short answer is NO, I don't have any hip problems.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:59 AM on January 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'd never heard about hip problems (although the idea of unnatural movement seems like a reasonable explanation), but I do occassionally get numb feet on the elliptical.

I was having a similar problem on a tredmill and thought it was my shoes. I went to a running specialty store to ask about that and they said a common problem is tying shoes too tightly. That didn't solve my problem, so when I went back they suggested I run outside when I can because it is a less repetitive motion since feet move a bit more to avoid obstacles or make turns. The woman at the store said that the same lack of movement also can cause numbness on an elliptical. Now, when I use an elliptical, I try to remember to wiggle my toes a bit or shift my feet to prevent that numbness. That pretty much takes care of it. As for the numbness I had on the tredmill, it followed me outside, but it's since gone away as I've gotten in better shape, so I concluded there was some muscle that I was pushing too hard and I should have eased into the workouts better.
posted by Terriniski at 8:14 AM on January 10, 2010

I get the numb feet on the elliptical, but never had any hip problems. My solution is circuit training with the other machines. Since my feet go numb at about the 15 minute mark, I do 15 minutes each on the elliptical, then stationary bike, then treadmill, and then another circuit on as many as I have time for. Keeps my heart rate up, I don't get bored, and feet don't hurt.
posted by raisingsand at 11:04 AM on January 10, 2010

I am pretty closely supervised by my orthopedic surgeon and a spine guy. They say the things that filmgeek says - adding the caveat that running and certain types of all-the-weight-on-one-foot exercises are banned, but everything else is encouaged.

I've been using elliptical trainers off and on for years. As long as your form is correct and you do other forms of exercice, it's fine.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 11:22 AM on January 10, 2010

I had foot numbness on my elliptical, too - a short- term fix was to lift my foot slightly at the "top" (back position) of each cycle. Longer-term fix was new sneakers 0.5 size larger. The shoes I had been wearing had been the right size before pregnancy, but apparently no more.
posted by dreamphone at 2:27 AM on January 11, 2010

Response by poster: Thank you everyone - I found it hard to choose a best answer as they have all contributed positively to my knowledge on this subject. I will get back onto the trainer with a proper planned regime, technique as well as footwear.
posted by IdleRepose at 1:51 AM on February 9, 2010

In the intervening time I discussed this issue with a personal trainer. He said that he generally recommends that his clients spend no more than about ten to fifteen minutes at a time on any one machine and that he cycles them through several machines such as the elliptical, treadmill, bike, etc. to get an extended workout. He is also of the opinion that getting more muscles involved at different times provides a better workout and allows you to train harder to fatigue. At some gyms this might not be practical though as there are not enough empty machines and the idea is to get off of one machine and instantly onto another without a cool down period.
posted by caddis at 3:55 AM on February 9, 2010