Marcher's Digitalgia Paresthetica Among Recruits

Abstract

In a prospective study of 30 male Israeli military recruits a 47% incidence of digitalgia paresthetica was found. The mean time of onset of symptoms was in the fourth week of training. The numbness was bilateral in 11 of 14 of the cases and the mean number of toes involved was 4.5. The first toe was the most commonly involved (11 of 14 patients). No correlation between shoe type (either 3/4 running shoes or standard military boots) was found. At 9-month follow-up, 7 of 9 affected recruits reviewed were asymptomatic. This finding suggests that marcher's digitalgia paresthetica is a neuropraxia. In this study, it developed during the early phases of march training when recruits are adapting to marching with heavy pack and rifle.