Foot and Saddle Pain

steve23

recently i have started to notice some discomfort with my shoes and my saddle.

firstly my shoes. when im really putting the power down, like when i do intervals, i get a numb sort of pain on the outisde of my right foot. its not so bad it hurts to ride, but bad enough to cause discomfort.
on "normal" rides they are fine, with no pain at all. its just when im hammering it. any ideas why this is? i have sidi zeta shoes and look keo pedals if that matters!!!

secondly, i keep getting some discomfort on the exact same spot of my nether-regions whilst riding. i had a saddle sore a while ago, but that cleared up fine. and i do not have one now, no lumps or bumps in that area, but it just gets sore whilst on a ride!!! help!

any advice or tips are greatly appreciated. thanks!!!

Blonde

Could well be linked - afterall your legs are attached to the bike at these two points.

If any one factor involving either the saddle position/width/shape or the cleat position isn't right you can get problems. Equally it could be something like an old injury or lack of flexibility or strength in a particular muscle group which is causing it. You may even be experiencing falling arches which does hurt but can be allieviated with arch supports. If you suspect this, I'd go see a foot specialist or at least a sports physio.

A trapped nerve can lead to numbness but it is hard to know which nerve it is that's being trapped. Are your shoes too tight? Shimano shoes (and I think Sidis too) are particularly narrow and as my right foot is slightly larger than my left, I used to get a numb right foot when I wore Shimano shoes. I now use Nike's which are a better fit for me, being wide enough at the toe box, yet still slim enough to grip around the ankle and heel.

With the saddle issue - it may simply be sweat that is making your skin sore, rather than shorts chafing or saddle pressure. I get this - senstitive skin! If you don't already, you could try an extra rinse cycle on cycling kit to make sure all potentially skin irritating detergent is washed out of chamois pads -as when they get wet with sweat or rain any detergent and washing chemicals will be on your bum along with the sweat/salt and road grit! You dont say what kind of discomfort it is but another possibility is an ingrown hair which you can 'free' yourself if you can see/get to it with a sterile needle. Keeping the area clean and exfoliated (yep even there) helps stop an ingrown hair growing the wrong way again.