Foot Pain

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I am 60 and a born again roadbike rider! I have finally gotten up to 50 miles and want to go further but I have developed a problem. It first started at 30 miles...my toes don't become numb the become EXTREMELY painful and I can barely pedal. After going to larger socks and adjusting my cleats a little (SPD) I now can do 50 miles before the toe pain begins. I am sure that the shoe is the correct fit. My budget doesn't allow me to "experiment" with all kinds of cleats or shoes...wondering if this has happened to anyone else? What worked for you? Has anyone cycled in sandals?

Thanks
nan

I'm afraid I cycle in sneakers. I would play with my pedaling technique though -- are you putting a lot of pressure in one direction? When I focused on guiding that pedal and trying to be perpendicular to ... oh, whatever being perpendicular to on the circle would make for direct and efficient power to the crank :-)) ... it meant I was "balancing" pushing one way with pullijng in the other one better.

I used to get that when I was wearing normal shoes to cycle. My shoes apparently weren't rigid enough and thus I was getting the numbness. I now use clipless and they are amazing. I don't get the numbness I used to. It is a bit of an investment, but it's worth it if you're going to be riding those long rides.

Originally posted by Seecyd
I used to get that when I was wearing normal shoes to cycle. My shoes apparently weren't rigid enough and thus I was getting the numbness. I now use clipless and they are amazing. I don't get the numbness I used to. It is a bit of an investment, but it's worth it if you're going to be riding those long rides.

Last week I finally went to a podiatrist regarding my foot pain. After xrays, examining my clip shoes, my feet, etc. the current Dr type diagnosis is that I have something similar to carpal tunnal syndome of the wrists...only in my ankles. The repetative motion of pedaling causes my feet to swell, cutting off the circulation to my toes. We are going to try to correct the situation with some orthotics..for both feet. My right foot is worse, but it does occur with the left too. She eliminated problems with the shoes because it also occurs when I do considerable hiking too.

thanks for the input....it helps me sort out everything and hopefully I will be able to find a "cure"....

nan

Originally posted by minnie43
Last week I finally went to a podiatrist regarding my foot pain. After xrays, examining my clip shoes, my feet, etc. the current Dr type diagnosis is that I have something similar to carpal tunnal syndome of the wrists...only in my ankles. The repetative motion of pedaling causes my feet to swell, cutting off the circulation to my toes. We are going to try to correct the situation with some orthotics..for both feet. My right foot is worse, but it does occur with the left too. She eliminated problems with the shoes because it also occurs when I do considerable hiking too.

thanks for the input....it helps me sort out everything and hopefully I will be able to find a "cure"....

nan

It's good that you found out what was wrong before it got worse.

Minnie (or Nan?) - thank you so much for posting that! I am new to this board, and I have the same problem you do - pins and needles in one of my feet, and sometimes my foot cramps up so badly that I have to stop, take off my shoe, and stretch it out. Adjusting the location of my cleats helped a bit, but it still happens from time to time.

Worse than that, I almost can no longer ski or snowboard because of the same problem. I even got custom insoles, but still. The last time I snowboarded, I was miserable - couldn't go more than a few hundred yards without having to take off my boots -- on the mountain. It was awful!

I'm not sure whether orthodics will help me since I already got the custom insoles in my ski boots with no results, but it's worth a shot!

Thanks,
Lee Ann

Originally posted by minnie43
I am 60 and a born again roadbike rider! I have finally gotten up to 50 miles and want to go further but I have developed a problem. It first started at 30 miles...my toes don't become numb the become EXTREMELY painful and I can barely pedal. After going to larger socks and adjusting my cleats a little (SPD) I now can do 50 miles before the toe pain begins. I am sure that the shoe is the correct fit. My budget doesn't allow me to "experiment" with all kinds of cleats or shoes...wondering if this has happened to anyone else? What worked for you? Has anyone cycled in sandals?

Thanks
nan

Hi there - I am experiencing similar foot pain and went to a podiatrist (who ended up also being a cyclist) last week. The diagnosis was Morton's Neuroma, which is similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in that the space for the nerves between the 3rd and 4th metatarsals (the toe bones that are part of your foot) becomes so cramped from scar tissue that the nerves become very irritated. It happens often with women because they wear heels with a tight toe box.

Currently I am fooling with my shoes (the normal therapy is a cortisone shot, but I would rather figure out what is causing it at this point then get the shot after I have changed the problem). I have a pair of Specialized shoes with a special "metatarsal button" that we think may have actually caused the problem. I had to go to a slightly larger shoe since the next size down was too small, so the Dr thinks that the "button" may be in the wrong place. However, I switched to my old mountain bike shoes (which are really only about 8 months old) for my ride to work today, and I have never felt as much pain in my foot. It felt like someone was sticking a poker through my foot.

So, I had my husband bring my Specialized shoes and the SPDs, and I'll make my mind up on the way home. I'm wondering if it was the old shoe.

My doctor also recommended that I take out the insole and replace it with something with more cushion. Haven't tried that yet though. I hope it goes away soon, it's driving me crazy because it is also preventing me from running, or even walking for long distances (my dog is getting lazy now).

I found some good information at the Mayo Foundation site:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=DS00468

Good Luck!

I have Morton's Neuroma, too, but that's not associated with my foot cramps. I know how painful it is, though - I feel for ya. I'd hate to be riding when the nerve gets pinched. It's bad enough when walking down the street. I used to get the cortisone shots once a year, but I honestly don't think they made much of a difference.

I think I need new feet :(

I found changing to a looser shoe (one metric size up) really helped to diminish foot pain.