Ankle pain on the bike

Triathlon Forum
1

In the middle of a long descent ( maybe 1.5 miles long ) this past Saturday I noticed pain on the inside rear of my left ankle. I was in full tuck, descending in the manner that has you using your legs as a shock absorber rather than taking the weight all on your saddle.

It happened to be in the middle of a 3 day, 300 mile bicycle tour through the mountains of Western Maryland and PA, where I was doing many mountain climbs in addition to the unusual amount of mileage.

The ankle continued to hurt a bit throughout the final day’s ride as well, but as I took off the several days thereafter it subsided. I rode again yesterday and it started to hurt again, but did not hurt at all while running. Today it hurts a little while walking.

The pain is almost traceable on a line that defines the inside rear part of the ankle bone and goes upwards for an inch or two.

Interestingly, as I was riding yesterday I was experimenting with foot positions and found that when riding in a “toe down” position it did not hurt at all, making me wonder if I’m riding with my saddle a bit low despite it being a very strong climbing position.

Overuse injury? Sure possible - its not like I climb mountains or ride extreme distances like that very often ( never ), but aside from time off, any insight/advice to be had from anyone here?

Thx.

2

It sounds like posterior tibialis tendonitis. I’ll guess that while descending you keep your left foot back, right foot forward, and knees near the top tube. This pronates the left ankle. The posterior tibialis functions to keep the ankle from pronating, so extended descending like that can cause irritation.

It is interesting it does not bother you while running; this indicates you must be a neutral runner or supinator, as pronating while running will also cause irritation of this tendon.

Do a Google search for posterior tibialis tendonitis. See if that helps you identify the condition. If so, applying ice a few times a day will really help get the inflamation under control. To prevent this in the future you can use the LeMond wedge or Specialized shoes and additional insoles with a varus wedge.

Paul

(P.S. I am not a doctor, but I do have posterior tibialis tendonitis, and thus I have learned by experience about this condition. So this information is worth what you paid for it :slight_smile:

3

I’ve been dealing with this for the last few weeks. Thanks for the info.
Mine started hurting 5-6 days after my last race. Doesn’t add up in my head. Figured if I’d inflamed it, it would have started hurting right away. Feels OK when I’m running.