Pins and Needles (Read 705 times)

This may be a strange question, but the last 2 runs I have done, at around the 2.5m / 20-25min I start to get pins & needles in my left foot, my leg doesnt get P&N but feels a bit strange. I have recently bought new shoes following a gait analysis, the first few runs wearing them my legs used to ache but I figured it was to do with my feet being better supported. During my run on Saturday I thought maybe my laces were too tight, I losened them during the run and again they were looser today. Once I get back & take off my shoes the p&n goes away, my left calf is feeling a bit tight and I have done my stretches. Anyone else experienced anything like this / any ideas what may be wrong? Thanks in advance

I get this off and on. In my case I am almost certain that it's Chronic Compartment Syndrome. I have always suffered from too-tight calves and all the stretching in the world doesn't help. I can go for months without CCS symptoms, but then I will have a week or two where they flare-up. It almost always sets in about 30 minutes into a run and subsides at about 50 minutes. Very predictable. And I definitely seem to run into it more during runs of greater effort, like races and speedwork. I've had this issue with pretty much every shoe I've worn in the last year (3 NB models, 1 Asics), so I don't think it's a shoe thing. I don't lace too snuggly, either. All of my shoes are also wide widths, with the Asics being a bit snugger than any of the NBs. k

If it turns out to be CCS I believe the only permanent treatment is a nasty operation where they have to cut into the backs of your legs and slice open the fascia surrounding your muscles (which is too small and as the muscles swell with running the blood flow gets cut-off some, thus leading to the numb sensations). I also seem to recall that the only sure diagnosis involves sticking needles of some sort attached to sensors into the calves and having one run on a treadmill until symptoms set in, then the pressure inside the muscle is measured to determine if CCS is the cause of the numbness. Since CCS isn't really harmful (UNLIKE Acute Compartment Syndrome) I'm just not in any hurry to go through that. I can still run through the numbness and I don't even have it happen with every run or for more than 20-30 minutes, so I just do my best to not let it bother me, since it's not painful.

I had that same problem. I corrected it by changing the WAY I tied my shoes. The way I do it puts less pressure on the top of your foot (not pinching the nerves and veins as much). There are websites devoted to different methods of shoe tying. Experiment with some diffenent methods and see which one works the best. Good luck. CHIDavid