Left leg goes numb while hiking. Anyone else ever have this?

[RaggedHunter]

So I've got this weird thing that happens when I'm hiking with a pack on. The outside of my left quad will go numb while I'm hiking. As soon as I release my waist belt the feeling comes back, I've had this issue for quite a while and have just made a habit of stopping every 30 min or so and undoing my waist belt, letting the feeling come back, then taking off again.

I have played with adjusting my pack, and talked with kifaru on the phone and it doesn't sound like it is a pack adjustment issue, and I'm not over tightening my waist belt. I'm thinking I have something going on with my anatomy that is pinching a nerve or something to that affect.

I'm curious if anyone else has ever had this happen? If so is there anything you can do to stretch or strengthen the problem area to help with this issue? Have you just learned to live with it, or was there something you were able to do to get rid of it?

Thanks!

 

[sveltri]

It used to happen to me when I was wearing my waist belt too low on my hips when hauling even minimal weight. I have been able to get the belt up higher, where I think it should be, and the numbness has gone away. Unless I just don't feel it, pun intended.

 

[taggart_lumpy]

i’ve had the same thing happen and per aron made a few adjustments that fixed the issue. per their site i’m easily a medium belt. i went down to a small belt and it fixed the issue. the front of the belt was creating a pressure point on my nerves (both legs would go numb for me) even though it felt great. another thing that helped a bit more was i had to much tension on the delta straps. even though it felt good cinched up i noticed if i put the pack on and just ever so slightly put tension on them it would help with the numbness.

 

[Mudpuddle]

I've had the same thing happen to both legs when hiking with a pack. Same as the others my waist belt was too tight trying to keep weight off of my shoulders. I readjusted and it was fine from there on. In my case I think the problem comes from the cheap backpack I use that doesn't carry the weight as well as it should.

 

[87TT]

Get some suspenders. The waist belt on my pack would push down on my pants belt and cut off the circulation in my legs.

 

[RaggedHunter]

I really appreciate all the feedback. It makes me feel better that I'm not the only one that has had this issue.

I don't wear a belt under my pack, I do have one pair of pants I do use suspenders on, but I get the numbness in my leg even without a belt so I don't think that is my issue.

I haven't played with the delta straps much, I will give that a try and see if I can notice any difference. I typically just leave them loose unless I have a heavy load on. So I'm not sure if I will see much effect from those or not, worth a shot.

 

[beachbunny]

it's happened to me , i just readjust, delta and waistbelt height and make sure my clothing has no wrinkles in them.

 

[Mr. W]

I have had that experience with a heavy pack. I had to tighten up the waist belt a little to keep it from getting g to low, Must have either been putting pressure on nerves or circulation.

 

[LJ Buck]

You have the femoral cutaneous nerve that runs over the pelvis that is being compressed. Happens as in my left side some times with very heavy weight.

 

[Kimber22]

This still happens to me. I have to go see my chiro and he adjusts my tailbone and it all goes away. But mine stays even AFTER I drop my pack. Then I know it's DR time

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

What is interesting is that it likely has nothing to do with your pack, but with your foot wear. I suspect that you may need additional arch support so that your pelvic angle can be improved and your sciatica will go away. If your feet are sticking outward as you walk (called pronating) then your pelvis is misaligned and your muscles have to work that much harder to compensate. I would work on getting your legs aligned correctly, while also working with a chiropractor.

 

[Ariettabob]

Happens to me all the time. I just caught a video by Aron explaining back/stay curvature. Turns out I had stays for a curved back but my back is unusually straight. It was causing me to overtighten the belt in order to keep it up, causing a pinch. The new stays were shipped today.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

And on another note, I felt numbness in the upper buttock area using a Kifaru. I switched to the Sitka Mountain Hauler 6200, which has a thicker belt, no more issues. While I have nothing but respect for Kifaru, their packs are not the best. They need a better belt design.

 

[Ledanek]

Right Side Dominant=Right Handed does something to my left hip, getting pinched also.
I wear a Medium on a regular pants belt.
On my MR Guidelight MT, I went Small size belt.
Total weight on my Sawtooth 45 pack, training is around 25-30lbs, walking up and down our parking structure.

Downhill is when I get the pinch on my left hip.

Placing the belt at around the belly helps at the beginning. Then it would shift down eventually, then back to the pinching.

I don't have a natural curve so I added the OV Innovation MEAN Pad. It helps fill that gap and all I have to do is loosen the loadlifter to a point, the top of the pack, sway away, ever so slightly, away from my shoulders.
The frame seems to direct, all that weight, to the top of my lower back. Resting on the curve of the lumbar spine and sacrum. The weight rest there.
OV Innovation MEAN Pad

https://imgur.com/a/81Wlsra

Not sure what's the scientific name, but, is it: cantilever?

The frame sways from my shoulder, distribute weight to my lumbar/sacrum area. The frame "lifts" the pressure off the front of the belt, less pinching is experienced, yet, the belt stills carries some of the weight, but, more to the rear of the hip.

Hope that makes sense.

Sorry, I'll try to get some crayons to science this explanation.

So, you're not the only one experiencing this. Just turned 51 y/I and mildly fit to be honest.

 

[Mike Islander]

Often caused by nerves in the spine. Back exercises year round may help. If pack adjustment doesn't fix it, that would be my guess.

 

[Ariettabob]

I thought I should check back in here. My new stays arrived. I know this is just a small sampling, but the pack feels so much better. I’ve done 2 rucks with them installed, 5.5 to 6 miles with 45lbs. My hip pain is completely gone. It feels like a whole new pack now and I’m thrilled. Just sayin...

 

[Dobermann]

Thanks @RaggedHunter for starting this thread, and to all who have replied.

I've had the same issue for years.

However, mine is also complicated by having really tight and worn down IT bands after years of cycling and running. This has led to overcompensation by the glutes, which my physio helpfully referred to as 'concrete butt'!

It's probably not helped by repeated impacts to hips from taking thousands of falls during martial arts ... so pretty effed up all round!

I'm going to play with the waist belt ideas above.

But for those who also might have IT band issues - and especially if you don't know it - I've found a simple foam roller to help. This is just a cylinder of high-density foam that you lie on and roll back and forth while allowing as much or little of your bodyweight to do the work for you of massaging the IT band on the roller.

You can achieve a similar thing for glutes with a tennis ball ... but man! Who knew tennis balls could cause so much pain?