numb big toe after roller skating

Question
Hi! My 7 year old son recently discovered roller skating and
has been asking me to take him. I used to roller skate every day
as a little girl, but now at 32 I'm overweight and it's been at
least 20 years since I've roller skated. Last Friday I took my son
roller skating and skated for 2 hours staight. It was so much fun,
and it took all of 2 seconds to remember how to skate. The
skates were comfortable until the last 30 minutes or so. After I
took the skates off, though, the tip of my big toe on my right
foot was numb, and is still a little numb today - Monday
morning. Is this at all normal, or should I have gotten larger
skates? My son wants me to take him skating again this Friday
and I want to, but not at the risk of causing any permanent
damage. Would putting lambs wool at the tip of the boot help?
Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi,
  I'm glad you both has a great time skating..it really is a great sport for the whole family.   As far as your toe being numb?   I'm only guessing when I say it could be for a couple of reasons.

Did you wear your own skates or rentals?   
If they were your own skates that you haven't worn for a long time they could be a little to small and the leather may be dried out which could put pressure on your toe.

If they were rentals, sometimes as you skate the tongue works it's way down to the toe area and causes pressure.  This may be where the numbness came from.  I hightly doubt that it's a permanent thing.  But then again, I'm not a doctor...I'm just guessing.

It could have been from a couple different things or a combination of things.  Such as....

1. The tongue slipping down.

2. The laces tied a little to tight at the toe area.

3. There could have been a rough spot inside the boot near your toe that was rubbing the whole time and you didn't notice it until your feet started getting tired towards the end.

4. Being that you haven't skated in 20 years I would imagine there was some tension and gripping of the toes which could cause numbness.  You probably wouldn't notice it at the time because you were focusing on keeping your balance instead?

5) Perhaps the boot was a little to small.  Although this you probably would have noticed right away.  The boot should fit like a glove but not so you have to crunch your toes up at all.

Most rental skates run pretty true to your shoe size.  

You asked if lambs wool would help?  It depends on how much room you have in your skate.  You don't want to make it any tighter.  Perhaps try a bandade.  It's a little thinner and should help prevent it.

When you skate again, feel inside the boot to make sure there isn't anything rough up in the toe area.  And every so often, check to make sure the tongue hasn't slipped down any from it's original position.

Good luck and have fun.  Hopefully that was a one time only experience for you.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contat me again.

Pat