Foot pain while cycling

GreeBo

Hey All, I have been cycling to school/college/work for about 18 years at this stage.
In the last 6 or 7 years I have started to get realy bad pains in my feet while cycling.
I can get them after 5 minutes or 30 minutes, its not consistent.
Its pretty annoying as I almost have to stop pedalling and "massage" my feet before I can continue.

Its a bit like a cramp really, all along the outside of both feet.
I have bought SDS gear but it has made no difference.
I try cycling in different ways;
lower gear, higher cadence
Higher gear, lower cadence
moving my feet around on the cleats
all to no avail

At this stage Im begining to think that maybe my cranks are too close to the frame and I am putting too much weight on a certain part of my foor (or something)

Anyone ever had any problems like this?
Anyone got any solutions or theories?

Yours about to endure another 45mins of pain on the way home...:(
GreeBo.

Morgan

If this has been bothering you for that length of time I suggest you visit a sports physiotherapist to have your position on the bike checked out. I'd recommend Mark Sexton in Stoneybatter. He's helped a number of cyclists with various problems.

Mark Sexton
Manor Physiotherapy and Acupuncture Clinic,
6 Manor St., Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
6710222

aodhu

Are you stretching before cycling? If not this could be a cause.

GreeBo

No, not really
Though how do I stretch the sole of my foot?
Thats the only place I get the pain.
Today I experimented with moving my foot further away from the crank, it seemed to have some effect, though its hard to cycle with cleats when they are not connected...

milod

GreeBo wrote:

No, not really
Though how do I stretch the sole of my foot?
Thats the only place I get the pain.
Today I experimented with moving my foot further away from the crank, it seemed to have some effect, though its hard to cycle with cleats when they are not connected...

I used to have problems with numbness when using cleats - physio told me it's because you only ever use a single point of pressure as the cleat doesn't allow your foot to move about. I went over to using plain sawtooth ridged pedals which were a bit crap on the upstroke and then settled on stirrup pedals that allow you to naturally 'squirm' and bend your foot about. That seemed to sort the problem...

aodhu

maybe you need to try different shoes and or cleats?
maybe shoes with Orthotics soles in? I know people use these for running but not sure if they'd have any effect on cycling?
I'm just throwing out some idea's althogh Morgan pointed out the two I'd do first:

Morgan wrote:

I visit a sports physiotherapist to have your position on the bike checked out.

blorg

I'd go with the sports physiotherapist or try different shoes. If you are using cycling shoes, they _do_ tend to have quite stiff soles (which are needed really!) But you said you had the problem before getting the clipless pedals?

GreeBo

Yeah I had it before I moved to cleats/shoes
to be honest thats why I moved to them but its had no effect

Interestingly it didnt seem to happen in all shoes before I moved to the cleats.
It happened mainly in runners, thats why I thought a stiffer sole would help.
I dont remember having any problems using boots, but it occurs to me now that maybe the problem is the width of the shoes I cycle in.
I looked up some reviews on my current shoes and they all mention that they are quite narrow.
The boots I used to cycle in (when it was wet) were pretty broad.
That might explain why I am getting the pain in the outside of my foot.

Can anyone recommend a good shop to buy some new shoes and also a good type to buy?
I dont want to spend an arm and a leg.
Ive looked on www.chainreactioncycles.com
My current ones are shimano (SPD)

thanks!

blorg

Definately sounds like it is the particular shoes. If you are having an issue like this probably best to buy new shoes in a shop rather than the internet, so you can try them on. I also find my cycling shoes (Specialized Sonoma) quite narrow and much prefer my Shimano sandals; they are still usable at the moment although I don't know for how long as we go into winter. Might be worth a try to see if it fixes the problem entirely, you can get them for around €50 on the internet (think I paid €75-85 here) and they are great for 9+ months of the year, your feet don't get hot and sticky like with shoes.

GreeBo

over the weekend I fiddled around with my cleats a bit.
I have moved them back a bit in the shoe and it seemed to be better this morning, not painless but certainly not as painful.

I did notice that if I pedal on my toes that the pain goes away, but Im not sure if this is just because I am changing position or if thats actually where I should be pedalling.

All the theory says that the middle of the pedal should be under the ball of your foot, now I dont know about the rest of you guys, but the ball of my foot is a few inches long...

blorg

There should be a "point" more or less to the ball of your foot, e.g. bend your toes back and look at your foot, the axle of the pedal should be under the bit that is sticking out the most.

I still think your problem may be in the width of the shoes.

lalorm

Hi
I have a similar problem.
I used to cycle a lot years ago, and used toe clips with cycling shoes and didn't have a problem with pain. Recently, I've started cycling again and I have a new bike with Look Keo pedals and a new pair of shoes. I also have an exercise bike in the house for week nights.
Anyway, with the exercise bike, I've no problems and no pain in the feet. But on the road bike with the new shoes, I get pain in the right handside of the right foot. I've been thinking about what it could be, and I feel it's not the shoes, but the pedals. I feel when I'm cycling, that I'm trying to keep my foot away from the crank as though I might hit it and the pain is caused by me twisting my foot slightly to avoid hiting the crank.
My old pedals are wider and would have given me more support and so no pain.
What do you think?

Cheers
Mike

daymobrew

lalorm wrote:

I feel when I'm cycling, that I'm trying to keep my foot away from the crank as though I might hit it and the pain is caused by me twisting my foot slightly to avoid hiting the crank.

Maybe you can move the cleats so as to position your foot further away from the crank. Or, if it is just your heel that hits the crank, rotate the clears a bit.
Of course, if the shoes never hit the crank and you just think that they might, tell yourself that and try to stop twisting your foot.

Also, if you bought the pedals from a shop, it should be worth asking them for help.