Help! I can't feel my foot!
April 26, 2007 1:50 PM Subscribe
Numb foot. I'm going to see the doctor about this next week, but wanted to get an idea of what people think this might be, and Google hasn't been so terribly helpful: I've been going all-but-completely numb in my left foot during the course of my four-to-six mile runs. It wears off when I get home, but sloooowwwwwly, and it's freaking me the fuck out. What's up?
Me: 38, boy, nonsmoker, social drinker, newly carnivorous for the first time in sixteen years, skinny frame, formerly SOFQ-fit but latterly fighting a gut. And yes, I made sure my shoes weren't too tight. : . )
Me: 38, boy, nonsmoker, social drinker, newly carnivorous for the first time in sixteen years, skinny frame, formerly SOFQ-fit but latterly fighting a gut. And yes, I made sure my shoes weren't too tight. : . )
Sciatica normally radiates from the butt down the sciatic nerve to the foot. However it can affect just the foot in mild cases. It does sound like a distinct possibility. The causes might be '
(1) a compressed nerve root due to a herniated or bulging disc -- you are exactly the right profile for this.
(2) a tight piriformis compressing the sciatic nerve
it could also be both (1) AND (2), since (1) can cause the Piriformis to tighten and spasm, causing (2).
Stretching the piriformis and McKenzie exercises for your back are probably good preventitive measures and may help.
posted by unSane at 2:09 PM on April 26, 2007
(1) a compressed nerve root due to a herniated or bulging disc -- you are exactly the right profile for this.
(2) a tight piriformis compressing the sciatic nerve
it could also be both (1) AND (2), since (1) can cause the Piriformis to tighten and spasm, causing (2).
Stretching the piriformis and McKenzie exercises for your back are probably good preventitive measures and may help.
posted by unSane at 2:09 PM on April 26, 2007
I don't know the answer, but I get this on the elliptical at the gym, only in my right foot, after about 10 mins of working out. it sucks.
posted by np312 at 3:33 PM on April 26, 2007
posted by np312 at 3:33 PM on April 26, 2007
i don't remember the name (it might just be something generic, like neuropathy) but basically it's a numbness that women get from wearing high-heeled shoes. stress is put on the ball of the foot, which compresses the nerve. it wears off afterwards once everything settles back to where it's supposed to be.
posted by thinkingwoman at 3:49 PM on April 26, 2007
posted by thinkingwoman at 3:49 PM on April 26, 2007
A natural remedy diabetics use for neuropathy is a cream with cayenne pepper in it. It doesn't smell as bad as you would think and it really does the trick to awaken those nerves. Certainly, it just treats the symptom though and no substitution to seeing an actual doctor.
posted by munchingzombie at 4:21 PM on April 26, 2007
posted by munchingzombie at 4:21 PM on April 26, 2007
Age of shoes? Stretch/hydrate? Foot perfused? Any difference from right foot? History of nerve problems? History of diabetes? Associated pain? Limitations to range of motion before or during the numbness? Sounds like some kind of peripheral neuropathy, hopefully caused by trauma due to repetitive motion. Have you tried running barefoot, on grass?
From the Runner's World message board:
"My sports physio cannot pin-point the problem, but seems to think it may be something to do with the sheath/band at the bottom of my right ankle that covers the point where the tendon and muscle meet (I think I have got this right!). Apparently, this sheath protects the tendon and can sometimes become damaged. She says when you run (especially longer mileage) and increased blood pumps through your muscles, they expand causing the sheath to expand also. If this is damaged it may not expand and thus can compress the muscle and nerves, thus causing the numbness. By holding some part of my ankle/foot during one session, she was able to reproduce the numbness in my foot. She also said tight calves may be a factor as well.
When she works on the area around the tendon, it is extremeley painful but seems to be doing the trick (however, I also decreased my mileage at the same time which might be a factor). I was told after every run to stretch and ice this area of my ankle. She also said, to turn the water to cold when showering and run on my legs for as long as can be beared, which will help reduce any inflamation."
posted by chudder at 5:00 PM on April 26, 2007
From the Runner's World message board:
"My sports physio cannot pin-point the problem, but seems to think it may be something to do with the sheath/band at the bottom of my right ankle that covers the point where the tendon and muscle meet (I think I have got this right!). Apparently, this sheath protects the tendon and can sometimes become damaged. She says when you run (especially longer mileage) and increased blood pumps through your muscles, they expand causing the sheath to expand also. If this is damaged it may not expand and thus can compress the muscle and nerves, thus causing the numbness. By holding some part of my ankle/foot during one session, she was able to reproduce the numbness in my foot. She also said tight calves may be a factor as well.
When she works on the area around the tendon, it is extremeley painful but seems to be doing the trick (however, I also decreased my mileage at the same time which might be a factor). I was told after every run to stretch and ice this area of my ankle. She also said, to turn the water to cold when showering and run on my legs for as long as can be beared, which will help reduce any inflamation."
posted by chudder at 5:00 PM on April 26, 2007
munchingzombie, are you talking about capsaicin?
posted by selfmedicating at 5:01 PM on April 26, 2007
posted by selfmedicating at 5:01 PM on April 26, 2007
I get something similar on the exercise bike. I have disc bulging in L3-L5, and nerve pressure which causes sciatica, a bit.
Then again, I also have achilles tendonitis. A couple of data points, anyway.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:19 PM on April 26, 2007
Then again, I also have achilles tendonitis. A couple of data points, anyway.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:19 PM on April 26, 2007
Best answer: As others have suggested, it sounds like some form of neuropathy, and it would probably take a trip to an orthopedist to narrow it down from there. I'm an ex-runner with crappy equipment- aka feet that are not up for the job- and among the retinue of doctors I've seen as the troube has escalated there's a basic consensus that minor structural defects, particularly vis a vis how your body holds and distributes your weight as you walk and run, start to have play out in your various appendanges after a few decades. There are any number of pressure points and slightly-askew weight distributions that could create and aggravate the kind of activity-specific numbness you're describing.
The fact that this is happening only on one side suggests that there's some sort of asymetry in your body that's the point of departure for the numbness. My left toes used to go completely numb when I ran my 4-6 miles due to a combination of carrying a disproportionate amount of weight on my left side from scoliosis, being massively double-jointed, and having more or less completely flat feet, so you could be talking about something that begins anywhere from your back to your hip on down. You may have a very slight spinal curvature, or a pelvis that's not quite straight up and down, and over your 38 years it may have played out in this particular way in your body. Depending on what the problem actually is, there are many things that can be done to make your feet play along- I have heavy-duty, custom-made orthotics (you get them from the same guy who makes prosthetic limbs) to help offset the fact that I'm not quite the same on both sides. One thing I did hear over and over again was that running was the hardest thing I could do to my body, and in the end it may be most effective not to put your nerves and ligaments into this particular configuration. I switched to road cycling and never looked back.
You're in NY, right? My CA orthopedist has a referral at the Hospital for Special Surgery- email is in my profile if you'd like me to track down the name.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 8:36 PM on April 26, 2007
The fact that this is happening only on one side suggests that there's some sort of asymetry in your body that's the point of departure for the numbness. My left toes used to go completely numb when I ran my 4-6 miles due to a combination of carrying a disproportionate amount of weight on my left side from scoliosis, being massively double-jointed, and having more or less completely flat feet, so you could be talking about something that begins anywhere from your back to your hip on down. You may have a very slight spinal curvature, or a pelvis that's not quite straight up and down, and over your 38 years it may have played out in this particular way in your body. Depending on what the problem actually is, there are many things that can be done to make your feet play along- I have heavy-duty, custom-made orthotics (you get them from the same guy who makes prosthetic limbs) to help offset the fact that I'm not quite the same on both sides. One thing I did hear over and over again was that running was the hardest thing I could do to my body, and in the end it may be most effective not to put your nerves and ligaments into this particular configuration. I switched to road cycling and never looked back.
You're in NY, right? My CA orthopedist has a referral at the Hospital for Special Surgery- email is in my profile if you'd like me to track down the name.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 8:36 PM on April 26, 2007
Response by poster: Thank you thank you all! I'm still, obviously, going to go to the doctor, but at least now I won't be all freaked out in the intervening few days, convinced that some mutant ALS-type syndrome looms in my future.
foxy_hedgehog, the lightbulb went off when you said the word "asymmetry," which is indeed the case. I was told years ago that I have a minor degree of scoliosis, far too late to do anything about it but accomodate myself to long-term progressive degeneration. It's been a non-issue ever since, or so I thought.
What I'm inferring from everyone's comments, in light of this, is that my recent weight gain (I ate all the burgers I hadn't in sixteen years in the space of six months) probably accelerated the degeneration, causing some structure to bear down on and pinch a nerve. This is the theory I'll bring to the doctor, anyway.
I feel seriously relieved, though, like I say, and I want to thank you all again for your input.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:54 AM on April 27, 2007
foxy_hedgehog, the lightbulb went off when you said the word "asymmetry," which is indeed the case. I was told years ago that I have a minor degree of scoliosis, far too late to do anything about it but accomodate myself to long-term progressive degeneration. It's been a non-issue ever since, or so I thought.
What I'm inferring from everyone's comments, in light of this, is that my recent weight gain (I ate all the burgers I hadn't in sixteen years in the space of six months) probably accelerated the degeneration, causing some structure to bear down on and pinch a nerve. This is the theory I'll bring to the doctor, anyway.
I feel seriously relieved, though, like I say, and I want to thank you all again for your input.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:54 AM on April 27, 2007
There's more that I might be able to offer here in the way of advice, having contended with my own form of this particular structual configuration (back and feet not playing nicely together) for a while now, but I think the thread is officially dead. Just get in touch if you want further potenitally helpful hints and tips.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 11:44 AM on April 27, 2007
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 11:44 AM on April 27, 2007
There's a tarsul tunnel syndrome much like carpal tunnel, but for the foot. It could just be something (muscle, scab, shoelace) is compressing a nerve that goes to your foot.
posted by callmejay at 2:21 PM on April 27, 2007
posted by callmejay at 2:21 PM on April 27, 2007
selfmedicating: I was trying to think of the name of it, but you got it.
posted by munchingzombie at 2:29 PM on April 29, 2007
posted by munchingzombie at 2:29 PM on April 29, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:01 PM on April 26, 2007