Ask. Dr. Green
Avery: After a few weeks off of running consistently, I ended up with numbness/tingling in my feet while running. I assume it’s related to form/foot placement?
Dr. Green: Numbness and tingling in your foot and ankle can come from several things. If there was no change in your footwear, the surface you were running on, and no drastic change in your running mechanics from an injury, then the likelihood the problem is initiated in your feet is unlikely.
Disuse atrophy [muscle wasting caused by reduced use of muscles] can start as soon as 24-48 hours after you stop working out. If you had stopped running and/or exercising during the 3 weeks, the strength you had in your core and lower extremities would have declined. Running is a continuous, single-leg activity causing forces to increase throughout your legs and into your back. At your ankles, the force is 150% your body weight and in your back, it’s 500-800% body weight. All of the nerves in your legs are derived from your low back/lumbar spine. During the first 15 minutes of running has the highest amount of compression on your spine which increases the pressure on your nerves. Too much pressure results in numbness or tingling in parts of your legs, more often in your calves or feet.
This is a generalization assessment based on minimal information from your question. My suggestion would be to ease back into running frequency and distance while incorporating lower extremity and core strengthening. If the numbness dissipates once you’re done running and continues to decrease as you continue with your strengthening program, then you’re on the right track. If symptoms worsen or do not resolve within a week, see medical advice from an orthopedist or physical therapist for a comprehensive evaluation.
Dr. Green specializes in sports and orthopedic physical therapy, with an emphasis on manual techniques. She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), credentialed to dry needle (Cert DN), Credentialed Clinical Instructor through the APTA, Certified Sports and Orthopedic Manual Therapist and finishing up her sports and orthopedic fellowship with the Institute of Athlete Regeneration. She completed her first half marathon in 2015 and has run 5 total. Her favorite one was Brooklyn! Her next race was the 2020 Brooklyn Half marathon and her dream race is the Great Wall of China Half Marathon.