I get unbelievable pain on ball of my feet after 3 hours+ riding. After five or so podiatrist visits, too many cycling shoes to mention & dozens of inserts I’m getting a little frustarted!
Anyone had this & overcome it?
The best I’ve got to date is Specialized Body Geometry shoe & supplied insert. Feet are fairly narrow, high arched & boney. Any feedback be appreciated.
If the pain is on the ball of your foot between your third and fourth toes, it’s possible that you are suffering from Morton’s Neuroma. Here’s a link to a brief article about it on the Runner’s World site. http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,1-78-79-422,00.html
Litherland
Thanks… Its a close diagnosis but I think my problem is a very pointy bone - a lot of the cycling force is taken by a very small area. It’s not really an issue running. The latest custom inserts had a ‘metatarsal support pad’ but they didn’t cut it either. It’s as if I need to take the point loading away - all the podiatrists reckon they can sort it but none have nailed it yet.
‘Le Wedge’ has been suggested by a friend http://www.bikepark.co.uk/lewedge.htm - anyone used this for similar purpose?
Jonesy,
I used to SUFFER from something very similar. Pain that felt like the bone under the ball of my foot was swollen and very painfull…for me, it turns out that I had some back alignment issues and flexibility issues. I went to a triathlete/chiropractor a few times and I really focus on stretching my hammies, IT and back. No problems since, however a few weeks ago I got onto an old favorite workout machine (a versaclimber) and after that workout, the pain was back for a few days until I stretched everything out. Just my experience. I was also evaluated for a neuroma, but that wasn’t it.
Any other questions, shoot me an email or just re-post. Good luck.
I’ve got the same skinny, highed arched, pointy feet you describe, and have struggled with exactly the same pain, which is spectacular. The pain itself is always in the ball of the foot although it is usually preceeded by numbness in the toes, in fact my two toes closest to the big toe are numb most of the time now. You didn’t mention your pedal setup; for me, the bigger platforms are better. I use Looks, and they distribute the load across more foot surface area than do the smaller ones. It also seems to help if I wear the thinnest possible socks and loosen the strap nearest the toe of the shoe as the ride progresses and my feet swell. But I haven’t got rid of it, just tamed it down a bit. And mine does get worse on long runs too. I’d be interested if you find that adjustment works for you as described by another poster. With high arches we have to be diligent about stretching calves; I wonder if tight soleus or gastrocs cause some ripple effect. I’ve been told that it won’t go away completely until I get off the bike, but here in the Bay Area we can ride all winter, so I don’t see getting off the bike anytime soon. I wish you luck, and please let me know if you find a solution!
I have had the same problem. Only during cycling though. It is fine the first 2.5-3 hours then the pain begins to set in. I have some massively high arches. I have not tried different pedals yet, but plan to go with something that has a big cleat/pedal platform to disperse the weight.
I rode 140km last Saturday without any problems. Then the last 20km my teammate and I set a hard tempo and the pain just got so bad I had to almost stop and get off.
I am buying a P2K sometime in the next month or so, so suggestions on what to get for that setup would be nice. Pedals, shoes, or just more stretching.
I will try doing more stretching each morning and see how it affects my ride on this Saturday.
An old thread but thought I’d let you know I cracked it… buy felt padding & stick it on your insoles in such a way to off load the pressure on the ball of foot. I nailed it through trial & error - ended up using 14mm of felt on right foot (the worst one) & 7mm on left. The are of felt is different on eacjh again I whittled it down using trial and error.
I found it also helps comfort to chamfer the edges rather than have abrupt edges.
Def worked and as a reward I got a Hawaii slot at Lanzarote this year!
More detail please on this felting–are you just providing some extra cushioning? I get terrific pain under the left big toe, also after about 4-5 hours cycling, and after fighting all ten toe numbness the whole ride Iwiggling hels the latter).
My 2 cent possible fix…
Get a CUSTOM insole
Have your your saddle height/tilt analyzed
Get an analysis of your pedal stroke (toe down/heel down/knee roll/etc)
Before and after this process…find your output baseline on some wattage device at your disposal, then check it after the changes.
The foot saving felt… I’m in UK and buy 7mm thick slabs of felt padding from Boots The Chemist, just stick it onto my footbeds. It’s pretty much the stuff chiropodists use.
My problem was at the ball of my foot so I created a raised area of felt immediately adjacent to the problem area - essentially it’s all about moving the pressure off the problem area onto a bigger area next to it. It’s a simple fix but as I said takes a lot of trial and error, your prob is different so will need a different felt thickness, size & position. I tended to be conservative with amount of felt at first and added to it until the pain didn’t appear. Just have a bash & tweak it.
It would be better to have a range of felt thicknesses but I’ve only found this Boots 7mm. Asked at a chiropodist & she could order in all sorts of thicknesses but it’s expensive.
Have had 6 (yes 6) custom beds made & none worked - this DIY method did & cost about £10, must of spent £500 on customs / “experts” advice.
Sounds like the same problem I have (same on-set time, same description of pain, same potential for agony resulting in getting off the bike), though mine is behind my 2nd/3rd toes. I’m working the Morton Neuroma angle at the moment, though I just received that diagnosis two weeks ago. The thing about the neuroma is that it is basically scar tissue built up around the nerve. If you want a definitive diagnosis, the neuroma is absolutely verifiable with an ultrasound. Having that done should at least give you some certainty about what you’ve got, which is the first step to fixing it.
Glad to hear it Jonesy, sounds like it took a lot of patience. I’v been doing similar experimentation with felt padding in my cycle and run shoes and mostly have the problem licked as well. I’ll look for you in Kona - I’ll be there with my hub who got a lottery slot.
Fabric stores sell felt in various sizes, but probably too thin for your of application.
I think my “bottom of the big toe pain” may be due to the repetitive pressure on the ball of the foot, so I am going to try your fix, or something similar. I found some “ball of foot” pads–silicone, I think–that do what you are talking about–disperse the pressure from the BOF to surrounding area.
Any chance your “bottom of the big toe” pain is from arthritic sesamoids? If so, padding under the ball of the foot below other 4 toes, leaving a sort of well that your aching sesamoids can settle into, has been a big help.
Any chance your “bottom of the big toe” pain is from arthritic sesamoids?
Christ, I hope not! Yuk.
I don’t even know what they are. I don’t even WANT to know what they are. But regardless of what they are, it seems like pain from them would show up quicker than 4-5 hours into a ride!
Do you spin or mash?
-Robert
Well, honestly, my goal is spin, but as the hours go by and muscular endurance fades, this turns into mash.
I start out mashing and end up spinning. 
Are you sure you didn’t mean “mush”?
-Robert
Good news on something new to try. I just ordered some custom footbeds and will see how those work out during the spring time. I do not to any rides over 2.5 hours during the off season, so there is no pain
I noticed I get the pain on the local weeknight group rides. Very windy conditions and very fast (local pros show up). It only takes 50 minutes of that to create the pain there. I spin during the ride, usually staying up over 100RPM to be able to keep up with the quick accelerations.
Jonesy, when you had your pain, did it feel better if you would unclip and push the side of the ball of your foot against the pedal? I can do that and ‘relieve’ some pain that way. Otherwise unless I stop riding the pain stays.
…or spush.