Tingling Toes

[Clarkl23]

I started working as a ski instructor at Blue Hills during Christmas vacation break. One day after working with one particular kid trying to hold his skis in a wedge while skiing backward for several runs I noticed the toes on my right foot were tingling as in pins and needles. I was thinking my boot might have been a little too tight, but after 4-5 days now while it seems slightly better it's definitely still there.

I'm thinking I pinched a nerve somehow and have been doing some hip flexor stretches recommended by another instructor who had a similar issue. I haven't seen him in the past few days to ask how quickly this resolved for him. I have feeling in the toes so this is more annoying than anything else.

Anyone else had a similar experience?

Clark

 

[snowmonster]

I'm not a boot fitter but it may be that the instep of your boots are too tight. Circulation in your toes may be getting cut off. Since you will be out on the slopes a lot this season, you may want to visit a good bootfitter.

I used to have problems with cold (and sometimes) tingling toes. The first remedy that Jeff Bokum suggested was just keeping the two lower buckles unbuckled. This keeps pressure off an artery on the instep that supplies blood to the toes. If the problem remained then he would make some modifications on the liner. Hasn't been a problem since then.

 

[billski]

Never happened to me, but I would lean towards the pinched never hypothesis. I suspect you're "standing around" a lot. On the cheap and fast, you might try to experiment with different socks. You might also pull out your liners and see if they have any inserts that are removable and fiddle with them. If that doesn't work, call up a boot fitter and ask if s/he is aware of such a problem.

There are a lot of instructors at Epicski, you might get better "occupational" advice

Would be interested in hearing about your outcome.

 

[JimG.]

Get thinner socks.

Keep your boots buckled as loosely as possible...well fitted boots do not require you to crank them down to the max. Often, cold or numb (as in pins and needles) feet are a result of boots that are too tightly buckled.

If these simplistic fixes do not work, go see your bootfitter.

You might consider getting an "edgie wedgie" and keep it in your jacket to use for those kids who have trouble maintaining the wedge. Skiing backwards and bending over like that is murder on your back which may also be a cause of nerve pinching that would have the effect you experience.

 

[Clarkl23]

Sorry folks, never realized there were replies to this. For some reason I've stopped getting notifications when there are replies or additions to a thread.

I'm convinced this is a pinched nerve. I left the original message back at the beginning of January and it's still a problem. Some days the tingling seems to encompass a slightly larger or smaller area, but it's always there now. It seems centered in the middle of the foot just below the toes and above the ball of the foot.

I'm not one to crank down my boots even when I race and use Smartwool socks, both the thin ones and the model with the padded shin area.

Fortunately it's only annoying as far as my skiing goes. I don't have a problem with cold feet so at least freezing them isn't a concern.

Clark