Footwear and fall safety when chemo has left your feet numb

This page is for people with numb or tingling feet from chemotherapy. It covers choosing shoes, making your home safer, and checking your feet.

Walking relies on constant feedback from the soles of your feet. Chemotherapy that damages sensory nerves takes some of that feedback away, and NCI describes the result as tingling, numbness or a pins-and-needles feeling in the feet and hands that may spread to the legs and arms.

Damage to motor nerves adds a second layer. NCI lists weak muscles and loss of balance among its effects. Put those together and even an ordinary hallway needs extra care.

Shoes are doing two jobs now: keeping you upright, and standing in for sensation you no longer have.

The recommendation is short. Wear sturdy shoes with soft soles.

Sturdy is the key word. A shoe that holds the foot in place gives you a stable base when your own sense of where your foot is has become unreliable. A loose slip-on that you have to grip with your toes does the opposite.

NCI adds a second instruction that surprises most people: wear shoes both inside and outside. Numb feet may not feel a splinter, a dropped tack or a hot radiator. Wearing shoes indoors protects against these.

Two of NCI's suggestions are about the house rather than the person.

• Move rugs out of your path so you will not trip on them
• Put rails on the walls and in the bathroom

Loose rugs are a common hazard, and they are worse when you cannot feel the edge under your foot. Rolling them up during treatment is a small price compared with a fall.

Bathrooms need extra care because they have hard surfaces, water, and moments when you move from sitting to standing.

NCI advises getting up slowly after sitting or lying down, especially if you feel dizzy.

Make this a habit, not just something for the days you feel wobbly. Sit on the edge of the bed for a moment. Stand with a hand on something solid. Then walk.

Dizziness can come from autonomic nerve damage, which NCI describes as affecting body functions you do not control. It can also come from many other things during treatment. Either way, getting up slowly helps.

Set aside a moment each day to look at your arms, legs and feet for cuts or scratches, as NCI advises.

Good light helps. If bending is hard, ask someone to look at the soles of your feet for you.

What you are looking for is anything you did not know about: a small cut, a blister, a red pressure mark from a shoe, a splinter. Caught early, these are minor. On a numb foot, they can go unnoticed for a long time.

NCI notes that management can involve more than precautions. Pain medicine is mentioned, as are integrative approaches including acupuncture, massage, physical therapy and yoga.

Ask your team about physical therapy if balance is the main problem.

NCI is clear that timing matters: getting these problems diagnosed and treated early is the best way to control them, prevent further damage and reduce pain.

People often wait, thinking numbness is just part of treatment and not worth mentioning. Tell your team when it starts, and tell them if it spreads or gets worse between appointments. It can change decisions about your care.