Why do my toes get numb after 15-20 min of cardio?

This started happening about 5 months ago. Nothing different than normal, same amount of cardio, same type of cardio...

Tue. May 23, 1:00pm

Maybe you are tying your shoes too tight? Loosening mine a bit would do the trick on cardio machines, like the stair climber or elliptical.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 1:39 PM

me too!

That used to happen to me all the time! It felt like I had little strings tied around my toes. I adjusted how I tied my shoes - they were actually too loose near my toes and too tight near the top - and the problem went away.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 2:07 PM

Crazy!! I keep telling my husband that happens to me, but only on the eliptical and stair climber. I am thinking about getting some different shoes. It is so uncomfortable when it happens. It is like a cross between my feet falling a sleep and them hurting a little.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 2:53 PM

if your toes feel numb frequently during exercise, you will eventuallly lose a toenail! it happened to me twice. you aren't getting enough blood flow to your toes. maybe shoes are too tight, socks are too thick , or you need to unclench your feet between each step...

Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 3:53 PM

I have tried tightening my shoes at the toe area and loosening them, neither makes a difference....only happens on elliptical and arc trainer.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 6:32 PM

yeah this happens to me too-but only when i'm on the elliptical machine . . .nothing else . . .and only if i'm on for 45 mins or more!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 11:23 PM

The key is to place your shoes on your feet and before lacing you knock the foot back into the heel (bounce your heel against the inside of the heel of the shoe) and then lace up the shoe. This seats the heel and lacing after doing this holds the foot in the shoe without slipping forward as much. Wearing socks that are too thick can also contribute as the foot slips forward in the sock placing additional pressue on the toes and temporary shock to the nerve which results in the numbness. Hope this helps!

Wednesday, May 24, 2006, 12:50 AM

try lacing your shoes backwards, with the tie at the toe instead of the top.

Thursday, May 25, 2006, 2:02 PM

I get the same thing when I bike ride for a long time. I wear bike shoes with one buckle, so the laces aren't the problem.

Thursday, May 25, 2006, 2:15 PM

I used to get this too, only on the elleptical trainer. In a variety of footwear, so it wasn't the shoes. My trainer suggested that even few minutes I work backwards on the machine (if your machine does that) or that I spend a few seconds every minute focusing on pushing through my heels, rather than my toes. It worked for me!

Sunday, May 28, 2006, 4:43 AM

I had this too for a while, will happen if your new to the machine, feet need to get use to the new motion or poor body alignment over the feet. Loosening shoes & wearing thinner socks will help w/the blood flow somewhat. But you need to make sure you are not leaning forward while working out on these machines. If your weight is forward over the ball of your foot & toes then there isn't enough of a release on your feet for the blood to flow. Try making sure your NOT keeping your heels off the plate the whole time. Use more of a heel to toe motion, like walking. This will allow a more even blood flow in the feet.

Monday, May 29, 2006, 6:13 PM

Me too

This happens to me too. i even went out and bought a pair of $100 cross trainer sneakers and it's worse with those.

Monday, July 28, 2008, 10:41 PM

numbness in toes

I asked a emergency tech who teaches in my school the same question and she told me to change the tennis shoes I was wearing to another pair. Some are walking shoes, some are running shoes, etc., and the running shoes, mine are New Balance, did the trick. I never have an issue when I wear them, no matter how long I am doing the elliptical.

Monday, July 28, 2008, 11:47 PM

I get this doing the balance games on the wii fit - bare foot! so it might not be the shoes but some strain of your posture on nerve activity in the foot. I find that if I take a little break and wiggle my feet, it goes away. if your shoes are so tight that they are constricing blood flow to an area (like your toes....), I would think that that part would turn blue from lack of blood. if not blue but just numb, its probably just some kind of pressure on the nerves. like when your foot goes to sleep when you are sitting the wrong way. irritating, but I hardly think dangerous.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008, 12:15 AM

I know my foot slides toward the front of my shoe and gets squashed when I've been on the elliptical for a while. I have to adjust because I've gotten numb toes too. I'm thinking of getting a smaller shoe size or maybe arch supports to keep my foot in place.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008, 3:51 AM

I have two pairs of work out shoes. Wierd part is that I get the numbness from one of those pair only--- SO, I don't wear them anymore! Kind of tells me what the issue is!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008, 9:46 AM

I get this sometimes too! It doesn't seem to matter how I tie any of my shoes at the beginning, I just have to adjust my laces once the numbness starts! It's now part of my routine ... work out for a few minutes, then adjust the laces, back to working out and it goes away.

It kinda scared me, I'm glad to know I'm not alone!!! :)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008, 7:08 PM

Numb toes when walking

This happens to me but not on the Elliptical - only when I want to go for walks. I just bought a pair of those sketchers tone up shoes. I also think my socks have a lot to do with it because I have no problem in fllip flops or heels.

Saturday, October 16, 2010, 10:12 AM

You're lacing your shoes up too tight! Give yourself some breathing room. They don't have to keep your feet stiff. There should be lots and lots of wiggle room.

Sunday, October 17, 2010, 12:23 PM

I have this issue too, when I use the elliptical, and I do that in flip-flops! Drive sme nuts and I usually have to stop when it happens and go walk around for a couple minutes...

Monday, October 18, 2010, 4:32 PM

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