Foot Pain While Cycling

GreeBo

Hey,
Ive been cycling for years now (school, college, work) about a 12 mile round trip.
For the past few years I've been getting a pain in the sole of my foot when I cycle, about half-way up the sole, towards the outside.
Anyone have any idea what could be causing this?
I can kinda relieve it if I move my foot back off the pedal a bit (I have regular pedals and toe clips (the old plastic ones) and I just use a regular pair or runners).
I cant really cycle properly with my feet that far back so its only a remporary measure.
Anything I should check out to see if Im doign it incorrectly?
How exactly should the foot move during the cycle?
I hear keep your foot flat, is that relative to the ground or just dont flex it??
Cheers for any help...

Glipmac

two things

1 Dont cycle and your feet wont hurt (joke)

2 have you tried changing your shoes this could be the problem (they may not be supporting your feet properly) other than this i would consult your Doc

Glip :cool:

GreeBo

Im pretty sure its not my feet as Ive mentionned it to my Doc and Physio and there is nothing inherently wrong with my feet ( possibly a little flat footed but I have corrective insoles in for that)
I have noticed that I dont seem to get the pain if Im wearing boots (Cats for example) but I dunno if thats support or but that the bigger boot means my foot is further back...

uberwolf

long answer then firefox crashed

I'll start again.

Cycling shoes are fairly stiff, so flex may be an issue. I think I know the pain you mean. I used to get discomfort cycling in jean because I was rotating my leg subconciously to avoid getting the jeans caught.
An alternative cause of this rotation may be a compensation for the saddle height being off. Pedal pressue should be focused through the ball of your foot. So ensure your ball lines up with the centre (axle) of the pedal.

saddle height
bit detailed

Enduro

I would guess that its the shoes alright. If you don't want to use proper cycling shoes then use the stiffest shoes/boots you own. Proper cyclind shoes (and pedals) will be designed spcifically for the task, and so are less likely to cause you foot problems.

Glipmac

I know this sounds strange but have you had alot of stress lately? the reason why i ask is this maybe the cause of your problem (i know its odd but it is an idea) due to my proffesion (Reiki Practitioner) i have been tought that stress can gather in many places, somthing that i would recomend is either Reflexology (foot rub) or soaking your feet in warm water with a bit of lavender oil just to relax your muscles, as i said before stress can gather in many places but this can cause different ailments e.g back ache or tight shoulders releasing this pressure may help.

it is up to you if you wish to give it a try but as i say it is only an idea

Glip :cool:

GreeBo

I've thought about getting myself a pair of cycling shoes, and maybe getting cleats, but at least getting the shoes.
I think the problem is that I started off cycling about 5 miles a day and its gradually crept up to 12.
I know its not a lot of cycling by any means, but is it enough to cause problems if using incorrect footwear?
Wheres a good place to get the shoes?
CommutingSolutions have a pair for 70, cant remember the brand but it was a well known make...
Finally, how should they fit? Same as normal shoes? Special socks?

uberwolf

the way I've always looked at it was, I cycle with a cadence of about 92 a minute. So in 45 mins (12 miles) you'll have pedalled circa 4000 times. A bit off repeated that many times will cause you injury.

Cycling shoes are snug. Ans the socks are typically very thin.

GreeBo

Yeah thats true
Ive wondered about cadence aswell, Ive noticed that I spend most of the cycle in the saddle, and that I dont feel the pain when Im up out of the saddle (other than the leg burn!)
So I wondered am I putting too much force on my feet?
Or, like you said, I sometimes feel that while cycling Im putting too much pressure on the outside of my foot due to my knees pointing outwards while I pedal.
I have had problems with a tight ITB which tends to pull my legs outwards thought I do try to keep them straight.
Should my foot be level with the ground or just kept flat?

uberwolf

http://www.tri-ecoach.com/art13.htm

specifically figure 2. Though it's not gospel.

Your knees should be fairly much parallel with the cross bar. So that may the cause right there.

GreeBo

Cool thanks for the info.
This also stood out to me
" Most bike racers, who've come through the USCF system had to race with a gear restriction until a certain age. The reason for this is to develop a proper pedaling action, and to save young tendons and joints from the stress of over gearing."
I think I cycle in too high a gear.
Whats the correlation between speed (in mph) vs cadence on the flat for example?
I think my high gearing is due to seeing people in too low a gear and how silly they look.....

uberwolf

for a fit racer, on the flat, not tired, etc. It would be about 90 optimum. This varies between people a wee bit though.

GreeBo

but what speed would this be generating?
Im trying to see the relationship between cadence/force and speed I guess...

uberwolf

ideally there is no relationship between cadence and speed.

regardless of wind, slope, speed, etc your cadence is optimum at 90 revs per minute. Proper climbs see this cadence reduced to 80 or so.

Force as such. That rate/cadence means there is no effort being put into each turn of the pedal. Obviously you're still exerting yourself (heart, breathing), but only under race conditions would that cadence require strain (force) - I'm not explaining myself very well.

uberwolf

you should select your gearing so that you are turning the pedals as fast as it is comfortable to do. 90 is fast, and might take practice to reach/sustain.

but you're doing yourselfno favours if every pedal turn is an exertion. The number of times I've floated by people on climbs red faced and straining whilst I'm in a much smaller gear is innumerable.
This requires greater fitness, but is better for you, faster.

GreeBo

Yeah thats true.
So I shoudl adjust my gearing to try to reach a cadence of 90-ish and let me speed be what ever it is...
Interesting, Hmm looks like Im gonna need to get myself a cadence gauge!
Cheers!

GreeBo

Well that was an interesting cycle home yesterday!
Seemed to keep at a much higher average speed than usual and relatively little foot pain which is great.
I see what you mean about the fitness, Im usually tired when I get home but its usually more like I was doing leg weights, now its a fitness tired if you get me.
I was doing 90-ish for most of the way I think, dont think I hit my top gear once for a change, usually Im in it all the way home....
Thx for the help.

uberwolf

so I've finally justified my installation as a mod. \o/

glad to hear it works (seems to anyway).

Now you've to get fit a whole other way!!

GreeBo

uberwolf wrote:

Now you've to get fit a whole other way!!

Yeah, great :eek:
So just what am I supposed to do with these massive thighs Ive grown over the last 10 years????

uberwolf

when you're able to combine cadence with strength you can turn pro

GP

Not sure if you sorted your feet out but my 10c worth is that the pain is definitely form the soft soles of the runners which is also compunded if you tighteng the straps a lot.

You never mentioned what bike you ride but if you're using the bike to work and back then a good option might be mountain bike shoes (look like runners / hiking boots) and mountain bike SPD. The reason for this is that the soles are flatter than a racing shoe so you can easily walk on them.

With regards to socks, check out the cycling socks in the shop and try and stick to the same type.

With regards to cadence be aware that you can strain a muscle by overduing the cadence thing by going too quicjkly too too soon but it's definitely great training and helps you to recover quickly. It also of course requires a smooth pedaling action which in turn creates a more constant source of power and therefore a faster ride time.

One gets a better idea by imagining yourself pushing a heavy gear and having to change to a lighter one while going up a hill as opposed to spinning a lightish gear and doing the same. Much less of a stop start action and the transission in the latter is much smoother and quicker.

As you get fitter and more used to spinnig at higer res. then you will naturally be able to sping heavier gears at higerh revs too. Cycling as a sport is low impact but I shudder everytime I see someone on the road cranking the huge gears into the wind or up a hill when it's not necesary.

Anyway, sounds like you got the advice you needed but thought my comments might help!

cheeers
GP

GreeBo

Hey cheers for the reply
I'm riding a front suspension (Giant) mountain bike at the moment.
I dont really tighten the straps much, but I do think that unless I really , really concentrate my foot is not flat.
Should my foot be flat all the time? As in no curve in the sole?
I think I tend to cycle the same way I run, on the balls of my feet...probably due to cycling in running shoes :rolleyes:
As for the smooth pedaling, i've been trying to keep it smooth, pushing forward as well as down at the 1-3 o clock stage, and trying to lift my foot from the 6 o clock position, but I find this makes me bounce a bit. What am I doing wrong, or am I in too low a gear or somwthing?
Thanks again.

jkehoe101

Generally the ball of the foot should be over the axel of the pedal. I would thoguh suggest getting proper cycling shoe asap.

Usually one tends to bounce a bit when learning to spin more. Maybe try and slow the pedalling down slightly untill you feel that you have to focus too much on your pedalling technique. This will happen quicker than you think. Eventually you will naturally pedal correctly and then you can speed up.

The bouncing is usually the product of you focusing on the push and pull instead of trying to blend the two together and therefore still slightly out of sync and causes the bounce.

Even though the technique you mention is correct, there should not be a "gap" between the 2, if this makes sense.

I used to tend to ride one gear too heavy untill one year I forced myself to spin more. I can now spin at 1450-150 quite comfourtably if need be (not that it is anymore!) without bounsing in the saddle.

Hope this helps
GP.

P.s. Get correct shoes! You will be amazed at the difference.

GP

oops..looks like this PC was logged in to boards.ie as someone else (using internet cafe PC) above post was by me and not jkehoe101.

Apologies for confusion (and jkehoe101 for "using" your name!)
GP

GreeBo

ok, so where in dublin is a good place to get these shoes?
Will I need to get pedals aswell?
Southside/City centre if possible...
Commuting Solutions?
Hollingsworth?
How much should I be looking to pay?

The Bollox

I get a cramp in my right foot if I curl my toes too far for a few seconds, I first found out about 7 years ago when I did Karate and we went into the meditation position, it was painfull for my toes to curl up, and I got the pain shooting up my sole, mostly around the instep but as soon as I flexed my toes back the pain would go, and it was too painfull to bend my toes the other way while kneeling like that, it was a serious annoyance

GreeBo

hmm and did you ever find a solution?
the pain I feel is cramping aswell, probably due to my feet not being flat on the pedal (and load baring) for 30+mins

The Bollox

no, I thought for ages it was because I broke something in my foot, I never did anything about it, I don't truse those cracked saw-bones as far as I could throw them! my solution is just not to curl up my toes for more than a second or two, I don't think I ever got a pain while cycling, but in saying that I haven't cycled a bike in years

uberwolf

GreeBo wrote:

ok, so where in dublin is a good place to get these shoes?
Will I need to get pedals aswell?
Southside/City centre if possible...
Commuting Solutions?
Hollingsworth?
How much should I be looking to pay?

hollingsworth - templeogue, cycle inn - tallaght, cycleways & cyclelogical - north centre (parnell & happenny bridge respectively)

max benefit would be with pedals, in fact that'd be my recco

something like this would be ideal IMO - cage exists so you can wear ordinary shoes for a short spin. Not that expensive either. You'll see a sequence of those sort of pedals there. XC shoes will allow you walk around as well, somehting road race shoes cann't do.

Budget - not excessive. You'll get away with budget products IMO because you'll not be stressing them offroad. The shoes will be more expensive than the pedals