Numb Toe!

SpongeCake

For the past two weeks or so, the upper and outer patch of skin on the big toe of my left foot has had a noticeably lower sensitivity than normal. If I brush my toe against the floor or some other object it feels dull, as if it's been anesthetised or numbed with ice or some-such.

I'm relatively confident this isn't a symptom of some horrible disease as it's come on pretty quickly, hasn't gotten any worse and I'm otherwise perfectly healthy. The toe itself seems fine - I can move it as normal and there's no problem with walking or running, I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight as to what may have caused this and how long it's likely to bug me for before sorting itself out.

Pulvaan

Have you recently gotten new shoes or have changed the way you walked? That could be it - somethings pinching the nerves in your foot.

Some arch problems I think can also manifest in numbness in the toes.

Wootloops

This actually happened to me a few months back. After several months of wondering why my big toe felt numb, it finally occured to me that it was the new shoes I was wearing plus the many hours of being on my feet/walking around in the suckers.

It'll pass, but you should either get new shoes or give your feet a rest to expedite the process.

SpongeCake

I do have some new shoes... I had considered the possibility that they were the cause, but I can't see a single reason why they would be - they fit perfectly, there's no obvious problem with them. Which raises the question of if it is the shoes, what should I look for in new ones? I mean, what am I doing wrong in shoe picking here and how can I choose a new pair if "perfect" is apparently actually "crippling"?

Pulvaan

sometimes when there's too much or too little arch support or some pressure at the small of the foot, it can cause numbness - happened to me with a pair of running shoes.

One way to tell is to switch back to your old shoes for a couple of days and see if the numbness goes away.

SpongeCake

Now that I sit down and think about it, I've spent a weekend not wearing those shoes and (though I may be imagining this) my toe is feeling more sensitive then numb. Looks like I need some new shoes.

Cheers for the help guys.