Home > Blog > Biking with Numb Toes

CyclingIf you want to get serious about biking, join the club! The Collingwood Cycling Club will help motivate you to get out on your bike and ride. With over 400 members from the Barrie-Collingwood-Wasaga Beach area, it boasts special events, ladies rides, youth mountain bike clinics, and more. You can join enthusiasts from old hands to those who are just learning to ride, and pick up helpful hints—like how to adjust your bike and what to do for biking with numb toes.

Numb toes while biking is actually a complicated problem with many possible causes. For example, if all your toes are numb, it could be from 1) shoes that are too flexible, 2) wrong size cleats, 3) cleats or saddle in wrong position, 4) pressing the pedal with your toes while your heel is raised, 5) gripping too hard with your toes, or 6) flat feet. If only your big toe is numb, bunions could be the cause, while just a couple of numb small toes could be due to hammertoes or Morton’s neuroma.

Sometimes more than your toes are affected, too. Top of foot numbness could mean your straps are too tight, while flat feet could cause you to lose feeling on your sole. Even your calves could be affected if the saddle is adjusted improperly, and exercise-induced compartment syndrome could make the front of your legs numb, a medical condition requiring a doctor visit.

So, while riding, don’t wear shoes that are too tight or too flexible, or have seams that press on your feet. Stop right away if you have shooting pains, intense tingling, or weakness in your legs or feet. They could be signs of a serious back problem. Otherwise, lift your foot off the pedal at its top point and twirl your ankles and flex your toes, or get off your bike and walk a few steps.

At Abbott Foot & Ankle Clinic, we can provide you with custom arch supports that may solve your problem. Call our Collingwood, ON office at (705) 444-9929 for an appointment, and make biking with numb toes a thing of the past.

Photo credit: wandee007 via freedigitalphotos.net