# Why did my foot go numb? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355 "2015-08-30T01:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/21 "2015-08-30T06:14:14Z")
Shoes are the last place to economize - they are severely loaded in very complex ways, and a shoe (esp. with ‘flat feet’) needs to be properly fitted. Your body is telling you to "NOT RUN!’. This boards is telling you to “NOT RUN”. When you get done researching sciatica, you can look into ‘walk vs run’ - the difference in calorie burning is, IIRC, about 20% or less. The difference in stress to hip/knee/ankle/foot is something on the order of 90%. IOW: “DON’T RUN”. I have a chronic, progressive, incurable pain-causing disease. Yes, insurance pays for the opiates I need. Want to guess my preference - cheap pain meds or pain free? For now, you have some control over your progression to continuous pain. Don’t blow it - you will not be able to get rid of it once it starts. DON’T RUN ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/22 "2015-08-30T08:04:23Z")
> [@Fat2FitMama](#): > > Well that’s you. And if you can afford that, fine. > > I’ve been dirt poor my entire life and honestly, I don’t NEED quality things. I’ve learned to make do with what I _can_ afford or do without. Because when you don’t have a lot of money to throw around on clothes and shoes (as we don’t…a lot of our stuff either comes from WalMart or the thrift store), then you make do. Here, too poor to live in an HOA (and too smart to live in one), my suggestion is to build yourself a step stair (ie a platform) to do step-ups on. Or go “alley saleing” (like garage saleing but getting for free) during recycling week to pick up a stationary bike. Back before I ever thought about getting in shape but still liked to see what we could get for free… we saw tons of bikes set out for garbage pickup… and treadmills and even very nice display cabinets. We didn’t have room for the display cabinets nor anything to put in them. Nowadays we still don’t really have the room but have tons to put in them. And tons between us (husband and I) (and my boys, not fat at all but could use the exercise cos age does catch up to you) could now use those long land-filled treadmills and exercise bikes. Sigh… if only if we had thought ahead. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/23 "2015-08-30T12:42:38Z")
> [@Fat2FitMama](#): > > If I seriously injure myself…well then, that’s what insurance is for right? God knows we pay enough for it every freaking month. I have a buddy who competes in races up to marathon length, in the wheelchair division. He does mostly upper body weight training. He goes through gloves, but I’m guessing they’re cheaper than shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Fat2FitMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@Fat2FitMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fat2FitMama)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/24 "2015-08-30T12:54:40Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Next, read this, which is almost freakishly on-point for you: > > [Can you buy a good pair of running shoes for $16?](http://www.runningshoesguru.com/2015/05/can-you-buy-a-good-pair-of-running-shoes-for-16/) - A serious runner reviews WalMart shoes and says exactly why they suck. > > (I’m a bit bemused that you’re dirt-poor and always have been, but manage to live in some kind of development with an HOA and a pool!), how about the local YMCA or public pool or whatever the equivalent is wherever you live? Because the town I live in, unless you live in the apartment complex or the trailer park, pretty much every neighborhood or subdivision has an HOA. Almost every subdivision here has a pool which is kept up through HOA dues, as well as several parks, etc. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/25 "2015-08-30T15:40:12Z")
Are you wearing Dansko shoes? If so, those are horrible for serious walking, much less running. They’re meant for people like cashiers and laboratory workers. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and skimp where you can, but not on shoes. I can’t find a pair of walking shoes for less than $130. I go through 3-4 pairs per year. Believe me, as a woman who has been _forbidden_ to run by several doctors, cheap, tight shoes were the beginning of my problem. 30 years later, I have to see a podiatrist (with $50 co-pay) several times a year, all because of cheap Kinney/Walmart shoes. Good luck. I have been there. ---
**Author:** ![Fat2FitMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@Fat2FitMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fat2FitMama)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/26 "2015-08-30T17:45:12Z")
Nope…Danskin NOW is the brand, according to the label on my shoes. These are [my shoes](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danskin-Now-Women-s-Lightweight-Running-Shoe/44411391), for the record. $130 for shoes, three or four times a year? :faint: That’s half a car payment for me. And before anybody jumps on me for my car payment…it’s not even a new car. It’s a 2010 Nissan Versa that I ended up getting after my previous car (a 2003 Chrysler Sebring that kind of fell apart, got “fixed” by the dealership and then fell apart again…yeah. I’m never buying another Chrysler ever.) went to pot. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/27 "2015-08-30T20:21:09Z")
> [@Fat2FitMama](#): > > If I seriously injure myself…well then, that’s what insurance is for right? God knows we pay enough for it every freaking month. Look. Don’t fuck around. If you have insurance, then take this issue up with your Dr. But just pushing through the pain when there’s nerve stuff going on will totally fuck you in the end. I am speaking from experience. I pushed through a lot of pain because I didn’t want to spend the money. Now, I am grateful every day that I can get out of bed and bathe myself. That pain, especially numbness, is your body telling you that something is very, very wrong. Get yourself to the Dr and get some help before you do **irreparable** damage. Numbness could very well mean that you’re putting pressure on your spinal cord or your root nerves. See your Dr. & see a chiropractor & see a physical therapist. **You’re body is sending you some serious signals.** Cut the running until after you have gotten an okay from the team of folks trying to help you. Don’t fuck around with this Don’t dally. If you’re not going to do that, let me go ahead and say [atodaso](https://www.google.com/search?q=atodaso&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAkQ_AUoA2oVChMI4OTkxtDRxwIVSIuSCh1A1QFA&biw=1395&bih=739) ---
**Author:** ![Fat2FitMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@Fat2FitMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fat2FitMama)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355/28 "2015-10-03T14:22:09Z")
Thought I’d give you guys an update. Running has been going well and other than those first few instances of my foot going numb (which I think was due to improper tying of my shoes), I’ve been doing fairly well. Except for this last week or so when I’ve been voluntarily sidelining myself because I was having an issue with my ankle. ☹ I went to the exercise bike (an incredibly ancient, noisy as hell bike that my neighbor gave me when she decided to upgrade to a newer, fancier model) so I wouldn’t be putting so much pressure on my injured ankle (which had NOTHING to do with running…it’s an old injury that flares up when the weather changes or whenever it gets cold/rainy). My weight hasn’t exactly decreased…but I don’t blame that on anything but the fact that a couple weeks ago we had a homecoming parade. Like most smallish town parades, candy was thrown from the floats–most of it being chocolate. And I can’t resist chocolate. Or anything in a gummy form. ☹ And Halloween is coming up, which is only going to make things worse because my son will want to go out trick or treating even though the little weirdo doesn’t even EAT candy (he does enjoy the dressing up and wandering around in the dark part though). I may not be the fastest runner…or the most graceful one. I am slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through a river of peanut butter. But I ain’t giving up. Just thought I’d let y’all know that. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-foot-go-numb/729355.md?page=1)