Dead legs?

[Emzylou104]

How serious is it that I'm doing week 4 and have developed a dead leg/foot midway through. My foot actually scraped the ground at one point due to it feeling numb. I guess my legs were just carrying it along. It was fine as soon as I had cooled down again??? Any ideas or self help suggestions would be appreciated. Also can I request to see a proffessional such as a physio through gp for support or are they private?

[AllieG Graduate]

Ooh, something is amiss... Silly question but do your shoes fit properly, or have you laced them up too tightly? I've had numb toes before from ill-fitting shoes. Have you ever had any back problems like sciatica?

I think you can go to the GP and ask for a referral to a physio but it could take months. I splashed out on an hour with a sports injury physio; it cost about £60 I think. But to be honest it's the price of a pair of trainers and I got a proper gait check (not a sales pitch one). I got loads of advice about how to improve my running style and I've gone from suffering with horrendous shinsplints and not being able to run at all, to graduating and doing Parkruns every week and knocking 4 minutes off my PB. I'd really recommend saving up and splashing the cash if you can, especially if you're of a mind to take this running lark further than C25K!

[JuliaM72 Graduate]

As AllieG said check that your trainers aren't laced up too tightly. It's surprising how much difference it makes. I've been suffering with numb feet and lower legs but left the laces loose today and double knotted and had no trouble whatsoever. I think its just that I've been doing my laces too tightly. I would try it first and if it doesn't cure it check with your GP. Also some advice that was imparted to me by other members is make sure you are doing plenty of leg stretches even on days you don't run and pre run and keep hydrated before a run as well. All things that have helped me get through. Good luck Emzylou

[AncientMum Graduate]

Numb feet sounds horrible. The only time I've had anything remotely like that was when I tied my shoes too tight. Personally, I'd try one run with looseR laces and, if that doesn't sort out the problem, I'd go speak to the GP. Good luck

[Emzylou104 Graduate]

Ok, I will definately loosen my laces and see if it's better. Failing that I will try gp to see if I can get Support. Thank you for your suggestions. I'm a complete novice. I do a couple of stretches but I haven't researched what stretches to do still. The strength and flex seems a bit long winded. I will post back when I know the loose laces results.

[Emzylou104 Graduate]

Loosened my laces and done week 4 run 2. I think there was an improvement in the numb foot. The sensation I had today was that my calves felt really hard and heavy but I was able to keep going. I occasionally felt that my foot was beginning to go numb but I think it was the calves.