For about a year I have had numbness in my toes and under the balls of my feet. It doesn’t hurt, but I can feel it. What is this?
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Sepp Mortelmans, podiatrist
A numb feeling in the toes usually indicates a disease of the nerve in the foot. The most common is that the nerve gets pinched at the level of the ball of the foot when walking. As a result, people often suffer from numbness in the toes, stabbing pain or tingling. This is referred to as Morton’s neuralgia. These complaints can usually be remedied by wearing podiatric products soles.
It is also possible that the nerve is pinched somewhere in the back and radiates to the foot.
What is also possible, but the chance of this is smaller, is that there is a disorder of the nerves themselves. There may be neuropathyThis is a condition in which the nerve endings are affected and the feeling in (usually) the feet is reduced. Sometimes people also get the same complaints.
I would recommend that you first make an appointment with your doctor. He or she can initially estimate the possible cause of your complaints and refer you to the relevant care provider.
Do you also have a question? Then ask one of our experts. Always go to your doctor with urgent questions, the experts are not the right person for that. They don’t diagnose either. You can find the other conditions here.
Sepp Mortelmans is a podiatrist. He is a specialist in the field of ultrasound and foot complaints as a result of rheumatism. You can ask him questions about foot problems in general and his field in particular.
