Numbness While Running: But Not When I Stop

I've been a runner for about 8 years and the last two years I've been experiencing a variety of different pains. My latest one is that while I'm running my right foot is a little numb. The numbness does not continue after my run. I've also noticed it a little bit when I'm on the elliptical as well. I also experience a pain when I go up and down stairs in both of my knees.

Answer by Dom: Hi there, thanks for your question. After eight years of running, a numb right foot that clears up the moment you stop is usually a fit or nerve-irritation problem, not a sign you are doing something badly wrong. The elliptical detail is the best clue you've given me, and your sore knees on the stairs need their own plan. Here is how I'd tackle it:

1. Test your shoes, laces and socks
2. Read the elliptical clue
3. Know when numbness means see a doctor
4. Look after both knees on the stairs
5. Your plan for the next fortnight

Test your shoes, laces and socks

Numbness in the foot is usually down to pressure or poor blood flow. Your shoes may be a bit tight, which is the first thing I'd check. You probably take your shoes off when you stop, which looks like it removes your problem! So start with the simplest fix: loosen your laces and see if that helps.

Be specific about it. Feet swell as a run goes on, so a shoe that feels fine at minute one can be squeezing by minute thirty. Loosen the laces across the midfoot, where the top of the foot is bony. If one spot still feels pressed, try "window" lacing: skip a single eyelet cross-over at that point so the lace passes over it rather than pushing down. Check the thumb's width of space beyond your longest toe, too.

Then look at the socks. A thick pair in a snug shoe is a classic cause — swap to a thinner pair, or the other way round if your shoe is roomy and your foot slides. An old insole that has flattened out can change how the shoe presses on you as well. If you own a second pair, run in those for a week.

For more on why this happens — and when it is worth a closer look — see pins and needles while running.

Read the elliptical clue

You told me it happens a little on the elliptical too. That matters, because there is far less pounding on an elliptical, yet your foot is still strapped into a shoe in a fixed position. So it points to two suspects: shoe fit, or a nerve being irritated somewhere between your lower back and your foot.

A nerve can be squeezed or tugged at the lower back, deep in the buttock (where the sciatic nerve, the long nerve down the back of the leg, runs) or at the foot itself. Sustained repetitive movement tends to bring it on after a set time, then it settles when you stop. I can't tell you which it is from here, and I'm not going to guess.

What you can do is gather evidence. For two weeks, note the minute the numbness starts on each run and each elliptical session. Note which part of the foot goes numb — toes, outer edge or the whole foot. If it starts at the same minute whatever the shoe, sock or lacing, fit is less likely and I'd want a professional to look at your back and hips.

Know when numbness means see a doctor

I'm a running coach, not a doctor, so here it is plainly. See your doctor or a physio if any of these apply:

Numbness that is spreading up the leg or arriving sooner each run. Numbness that lasts after you stop, or comes back at rest. Any weakness, such as your foot slapping the ground or catching on a kerb. Both feet affected. Back pain alongside it.

New numbness around the groin or saddle area, or any change to your bladder or bowels, is urgent. Don't wait for the next run to see what happens — get seen that day.

Nothing on that list fits you right now, but you did mention a "variety of different pains" over two years. That is a pattern worth mentioning to a professional, even if each niggle is small.

Look after both knees on the stairs

Knee pain can have many different causes. Depending on whether your knee is hurting on the inside, outside, top or bottom of the knee you are looking at different issues. I am currently suffering from a bit of Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITB). It's not too bad, it only hurts sometimes when I run uphill or walk up the stairs immediately after a hilly run.

So I am trying to stay away from hills for a bit! Without knowing any more, I would say that ITB could be the issue. Check out the link above. It will give you some more info, including ideas for treatment and prevention.

Because yours hurts in both knees, I'd treat it as a load problem first rather than chase a diagnosis. Cut hills and long downhills for now. Take stairs one step at a time, leading with your stronger leg going up and the weaker coming down, and don't charge them. Add two simple strength moves three times a week: step-ups onto a low step (2 sets of 10 each leg) and glute bridges (2 sets of 15). Use a 48-hour rule of thumb — if the knees are still sore two days after a run, your next run should be shorter and flatter.

If the pain is still there after two to three weeks of that, book a physio. Sooner if a knee swells, locks or gives way.

Your plan for the next fortnight

Keep it boring, sensible and written down. Run your usual easy pace and mileage — no build-up, no extra hills. Change one foot variable at a time: laces first, socks second, shoes or insoles third, each for three or four runs. Log the minute numbness starts, which part of the foot, and whether the knees ached on the stairs next day.

At the end of two weeks you will have an answer or at least a useful note for your doctor. If looser laces fix it, brilliant. If it still arrives at the same minute, take your log to a professional.

Hope this helps, and well done for noticing the pattern between running and the elliptical — that is exactly the sort of detail that solves these puzzles.

Kind regards,
Dom

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