Toes
One cause of toe numbness while working out may be the shoes you are wearing. If you are banging the tips of your toes against the toe of your shoe every time you bounce, hop or take a step, your toe is taking a battering and may become numb as a result.
Contributing Factors
A condition that can cause toe numbness in your foot is called Morton's neuroma, according to podiatrist Marc Mitnick. This condition is a growth of nerve tissue that occurs in the nerve in your foot. Generally, the affected nerve is the one between your third and fourth toes. This can cause sharp pain in the ball of your foot in addition to toe numbness.
What Occurs
If you are suffering from neuroma, this means that there is a thickening of the nerve tissue in a part of your body. In the case case of Morton's neuroma, it has occurred in your foot or toe. The nerves that run around or between the metatarsal bones in the foot can become inflamed or compressed, which results in swelling of the connective tissues that surround the nerves. Rhis causes pain, according to Dr. Sam Schimelpfenig of the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine.
What Causes Neuroma
Morton's neuroma can be caused by extreme impact. You may need orthotics to insert into your shoes. An orthotic is an apparatus or appliance that is used to support and improve function of the body's movable parts.
Other Factors
If you are wearing narrow shoes or you have toe dorsiflexion that occurs with downhill or uphill running, you can experience toe numbness, according to Dr. Schimelpfenig.
Dorsiflexion is a movement that decreases the angle between the leg and the foot so that the toes are brought closer to the shin. With neuromas or dorsiflexion, you may experience burning or tingling or a pain that radiates to the toe and it is relieved only by resting or removing your shoe.
Neuropathy
If you are repetitively pounding or slapping your foot against the ground, this can cause temporary nerve irritation and numbness will result. This is called foot strike neuropathy.
Do Your Shoes Fit?
Buck Tilton, Medicine Man of Backpacker.com, reports that numb toes are a problem backpackers frequently encounter. He recommends that you make sure that your boots fit properly. In addition, poor circulation may be causing toe numbness when you are walking or working out.
Considerations
If your toes are being shoved against the end of your shoe or boot, this can cause numbness. The end of your shoe is called the toe box and it should provide ample space and protection for your toes.
Tags: your foot, your shoe, cause numbness, Morton neuroma, your toes, according Schimelpfenig