Foot and ankle pain - stiff carbon shoes to blame?

primalcarl

In the last few weeks I've been experiencing a couple of problems with my feet despite absolutely no change in bike setup or equipment.

Firstly the underneath/outside of my ankle has been very tender. On my other foot I've been experiencing pain under the ball of my foot, almost like it's getting bruised.

Could my carbon-soled Northwave shoes be to blame? I'm also wondering people's thoughts on replacement insoles to provide extra cushioning?

foggymike

Could be cleat positioning? If your fit is ok (feet to shoes and cleats to shoes) then extra padding should not be needed.

navrig2

May not be additional cushioning/padding which is needed but a shaped orthotic to hold your foot in a different position or at a different angle.

Probably best you see a physio or a podiatrist.

antonyfromoz

Could you have changed your pedal action due to soreness elsewhere? I sometimes get a pain along the outside of my feet and I have realised that it is usually when i am pushing downwards with my toes rather than concentrating on having a smooth pedal stroke. The other thing that sometimes makes my feet hurt is if I am angling my foot differently than usual ie heel further out than normal, which can happen if my knee is sore.

robbohenn

I think pain on ball of your foot might be called "hot foot". I had this as soon as I started using cleats with Mtb shoes. It felt like pins and needles and as if my balls (foot ones) were swollen. It has slowly got better and I would pull up on pedal stroke to keep pressure off, which seemed to make a bit of difference. Last week I put a longer stem on (for another reason) and on Sunday did about 70 miles. When I got back I didn't have any pain. Never thought about it till now. Maybe the different riding position made the difference.