Pain, tingling and numbness in toes?
How you tie you laces may be the problem!
If only all our problems were so easy to fix…
We all do it; sit down, slip our socks on (apart from the bare-foot runner among us) and proceed to firmly and decisively tighten and tie our laces.
Great! And away you go, but unfortunately this little ritual is often done wrong – with all the best intentions I know! But wrong none the less.
Tightening up the top few rings of our shoes as firmly as we can – ensuring stability, a firm fit and feel-good-factor right? When in reality you are strangling your foot’s blood vessels and nerves, causing paresthesia (Tingling and numbness) in your foot and more commonly, your toes.
The human foot is an incredibly complex piece of machinery with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles and many ligaments all combining to move you around all day, taking thousands of steps and acting like a natural spring.
But it too much compression is placed on the foot – The is a lot of places for your little nerves to get trapped, pinched and compressed.
Definitely not something we want on our runs!
So whats the easy fix?
A lot of seasoned runners will know this and do this already but believe me they are far out numbered by those that don’t.
Answer: Tighten your laces from the toe-up. Ensuring that the last two rungs are no more than 80% of the max tension.
This gives your feet breathing space, which makes for much happier feet and a much happier runner!
Win, win!
Give it a go, alter than ritual and be forever better off.
Note: In mostcases, foot and toe numbness and mild pain are due to improper equipment or technique, so relatively easy to fix when the offending problem is sorted out. BUT if it continues after the problems are fixed – it is time to consult a professional and check that there is no underlying pathology.
Thanks for reading and striving to improve yourself! Get out there and put it into practice 🙂
If you have any running related questions – head on over and ask the team at The Running Forum, a great community, that is always happy to help – and as always you can comment below.
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