# Numb toes???



## philskaren

Last couple of days riding, I've had massive toe numbness (one freezing day and one warm day) and the numbness gets so bad I do have to stop and loosen everything up and take a break. The toe numbness has progressed to full on foot pain if I ignore it and keep riding. Last year I had this, but not quite as numb.

I've searched the forums and have found suggestions for new bindings (flow), but I would really like to salvage my numb toes with the setup I have.

I ride in 32 boots with BOA laces, heat molded, one season old. Burton Lexa bindings. I do like my boots tight and my bindings tighter for more control. I feel like I can't make sharp turns or carve steep groomers if they are loose. Not sure if I should just loosen them up and learn to ride with it all a little looser or maybe if I'm having sock issues or maybe I should adjust my stance, leave the inner boot unlaced? Not sure at this point.

I'm riding "duck" which I like because I like to ride goofy and regular. Is this more likely to cause pressure/toe issues? Also, I usually wear two pairs of socks, I hate to be cold. Is this my issue?

Any tips would be much appreciated.


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## IdahoFreshies

do you know why your toes are numb (frostbite, boot tightness)? what kind of socks are you using? do you notice your feet are really wet? if its not frost bite, its because your boot is too tight. now that i think about it i think i had the same problem last year. my pinky toe on i believe my right foot would always go numb, i always thought it felt like my sock was jammed in between my toes, and it never was, but it drove me absolutely nuts. im trying to remember how i fixed it...usually i would stop, undo my boot and just take it off for a bit. i noticed when i loosened the liner lace alot it didnt go numb/asleep as fast. next time you ride try not tightening the lining lace at all, and only tighten the boot with the outside laces (boa in your case) and see if it has any effect. also try not tightening the bottom part around your ankle as much. when you have the part around the ankle tight and you bend your legs it can be very restricting on your ankle and put alot of pressure on it. im going out friday, and if it happens ill try a bunch of different solutions and let you know if any worked. i dont have the boa but i have the burton cinch strings.

oh didnt see the sock comment, get one nice pair of wool or synthetic winter socks instead of 2 pairs


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## Sick-Pow

Not usually the bindings for those symptoms, but poorly fitted boots. Stop wearing 2 pairs of socks and get fitted again for boots.


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## WasatchMan

two pairs of socks is WAY too much. get some merino wool socks.

also maybe your boots are too small? after riding your feet will swell and if they don't have any room to expand that can cause pressure and numbness. 

also don't tighten your boots and bindings so much, I know it may feel weird at first, but most beginners over tighten everything.


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## IdahoFreshies

WasatchMan said:


> also don't tighten your boots and bindings so much, I know it may feel weird at first, but most beginners over tighten everything.


or dont tighten anything at all:laugh: i was teaching my friends brother to ride, and half way down the bunny hill i noticed his bindings were clicked in only 2 clicks, and his boots were almost completely unlaced....


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## wrathfuldeity

socks...maybe use some very light liners for wicking and some light weight merino socks...keep your feet feeling dry and reduces friction/stickiness so to prevent blisters.

also perhaps you need better foot beds...i.e., your instep is getting smashed down/not supported by the foot bed...thus making toes go numb...try superfeet or sole's

since you got 32 boas...on the ride up just pop the boa knobs and loosen the binding for the chair ride...I got 32 focus boas and do this when my feet feel pinched...also I'll hike a bit and it gets things flowing again...and the lower boa is generally looser or even popped open


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## phile00

AS others suggested, get your boots fitted again. Remember, your toe should be touching the end of the boot (but not scrunched). Your heel should not lift from the back while in your boot.

You should never have numbness, and it can lead to permanent nerve damage. Your boots are arguably the most important part of your setup. Ensure that you speak with qualified people and get the perfect fit. Snowboarding with pain and numbness is absurd, and far too many people put up with it because they're too lazy to do the research and take the initiative to fix it. Custom insoles will also help.


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## legallyillegal

youre cold because youre cutting off circulation

blood is warmer than any sock


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## IdahoFreshies

right OP, so up today, first day of the season, sure enough it did it again like it did last year. after about 30-45 min strapped in my right foot (lead foot, goofy) my 2 smallest toes go numb and it really feels like my sock is jammed in between them (which it is never). It certainly is not from being cold or frost bite. btw i have last years burton motos. i tried a few things and nothing really seemed to work perfectly except for unstrapping and just standing up and flexing my toes for a bit. do you have a toe strap that wraps around your toe or goes on top of your boot? i noticed when i wrapped the strap around the tip of my toes it got numb quite a bit slower than when i had them on top. i believe the problem is that the ratchet to tighten the bindings is right over my 2 smallest toes, when i tighten them (i like the bindings pretty tight) it is compressing my toes too much and they cant move much at all so they are just getting constricted. i have not gotten these boots heat molded yet, so what im going to go do and what i would suggest you do is get them heat molded, and when your foot is in there for the 15 min while it cools move your toes around all over the place like they are having a seizure so it opens up the toe area a bit more so there is more room for your toes to wiggle and move around in your boot (which should keep them from numbing up). also possibly move your stance back so you are not putting as much pressure on your front foot (if that is the problem) or just see if you can shift your weight to take some constant pressure off of the foot that keeps going numb. hope any of that helps


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## lethies91

There shouldn't be any need for you to wear two pairs of socks. Drop one of the pairs and either ride with a pair of sock liners under your other pair of socks or if you have a pair of socks that has a comfy inside just wear one pair of socks. As said before it is probably more of a problem of circulation than being to cold. to much insulation can cause lack of circulation


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## Bones

I've had this.

Lead foot, takes a couple of hours, toes go numb and it feels like I've got a sock wrinkle (there isn't one)

What I found was that my toes strap was one click too tight and my boots were starting to mush up allowing the toe strap to collapse the toe box a bit.

I got thru the season by loosening the strap on the lift, but ultimately I bought new boots


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## moondoggy

IdahoFreshies said:


> or dont tighten anything at all:laugh: i was teaching my friends brother to ride, and half way down the bunny hill i noticed his bindings were clicked in only 2 clicks, and his boots were almost completely unlaced....


I used to over tighten alot and my feet would get cramps and numbs. Then someone told me not to over do it. Now I have it really loose. I went down a few groomed blues and blacks last year with the bindings off last year. Didn't know until I reached down to undo the bindings and found both were completely off. Lucky I didn't wipe out!


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## IdahoFreshies

Bones said:


> I've had this.
> 
> Lead foot, takes a couple of hours, toes go numb and it feels like I've got a sock wrinkle (there isn't one)
> 
> What I found was that my toes strap was one click too tight and my boots were starting to mush up allowing the toe strap to collapse the toe box a bit.
> 
> I got thru the season by loosening the strap on the lift, but ultimately I bought new boots


that is 100% spot on to what i get, and probably what OP gets...your conclusion on what was causing it was exactly the same as mine. that was happening on my old board, where i used the straps over the top of the foot. ill see if it does the same thing when i take out my new setup with new bindings that wrap around, hopefully the new bindings fix the problem because my boots are brand new


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## t21

I wear 32 boa too,though my issue was pain on my toes but not to the point of numbness,i just had them re-heat molded with a bigger toe cap.and it work.also,just wear one pair of socks,either the thin or medium merino/wool socks(smartwool)like others have mentioned.the toe cap strap also might be a bit tight.btw,what size is your boot/foot?


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## philskaren

*Tried a couple things and it worked...*

First of all, I wore one pair of nice burton socks. It was a cold cold day and I had no freezing toes, probably because I did have better circulation from fixing my tightness. 

What I found to be the best was not tightening my bindings too tight, but also putting my boots on in the car and putting my foot on the dash and lifting my top foot up a bit when I tightened the boas, this gave me more room on the top of my foot, but got the ankle nice and snug. This worked for the first half of the day. I think I'd like the dual boas so I could snug the ankle and leave the toes looser (something to keep in mind for my next boots.)

After lunch, I just tightened the boa up the regular way standing and I did have some numbness, but not too bad. So I think my tightness is coming from pressure on my top of my foot or side of the foot, maybe a nerve there was getting compressed.

I'm going to keep trying to keep a looser binding set up, but I crave tight ankles. If it keeps up, I might get my boots re-molded since they have probably changed a bit over the past year of use.

Thanks for all the advice!


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## philskaren

My boot is a 7 and I wear a 7 normally. One of my feet is a smidge smaller, but I made the toe area bigger when I heat molded them for the larger foot. Funny thing about boots is they all vary in sizes. When I tried on various brands I was a full size smaller in some than others. I think re-heat molding might be my next step. But I tested a few options and it really helped. One sock too was key.


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## lonerider

philskaren said:


> First of all, I wore one pair of nice burton socks. It was a cold cold day and I had no freezing toes, probably because I did have better circulation from fixing my tightness.
> 
> What I found to be the best was not tightening my bindings too tight, but also putting my boots on in the car and putting my foot on the dash and lifting my top foot up a bit when I tightened the boas, this gave me more room on the top of my foot, but got the ankle nice and snug. This worked for the first half of the day. I think I'd like the dual boas so I could snug the ankle and leave the toes looser (something to keep in mind for my next boots.)
> 
> After lunch, I just tightened the boa up the regular way standing and I did have some numbness, but not too bad. So I think my tightness is coming from pressure on my top of my foot or side of the foot, maybe a nerve there was getting compressed.
> 
> I'm going to keep trying to keep a looser binding set up, but I crave tight ankles. If it keeps up, I might get my boots re-molded since they have probably changed a bit over the past year of use.
> 
> Thanks for all the advice!


I found that in general if I'm over-tightening, it's because my boots are too wide or high volume. In the short term, consider adding C or J-pads into your boot liner to take up some space (so you don't have to crank down the laces/boa as much). In the long term... look for a boot with a narrower heel (maybe the Nitro brand might work for you like they have for me).


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## herzogone

I know most have suggested boot issues, but I'll add my experience with toe numbness seemed to be primarily caused by a pinched nerve, mostly from having my toe strap too tight. Switching to wearing my toe strap in "toe-cap" position was what did it for me. If you happen to be wearing your toe strap over your foot rather than over the toe, that might be worth a try. :dunno:


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## BigmountainVMD

Blood vessels supplying blood to the toes run on the top of the foot. By tightening your Boas too much, and wearing 2 pairs of socks, you were cutting off circulation. This is why whatever you did to increase the space above your foot really helped (along with only wearing only 1 pair of socks). This is why I really like the dual zone tightening of burton speed zone and the dual boa systems I've seen. You can really tighten the liner and upper laces around you ankle, and leave the laces on top of the foot loose. Hope you continue to experience numb free days!


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## AIRider

I used to have problems with my left foot getting numb, I resolved it by loosening the lining inside. Its true what they say, noobs over tighten everything…


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