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Metatarsal Pain (Ball of Foot)

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Metatarsal Pain (Ball of Foot)

Old 06-19-22, 02:05 AM
  #26  
daniell
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Originally Posted by rsbob
What is happening to your feet is not normal. See a podiatrist who is a cyclist or runner and get their diagnosis and proceed from there.
I have seen an orthopedist that specialized in the foot. He said that the problem was caused by the pressure of the pedal.
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Old 06-19-22, 10:34 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by daniell
I have seen an orthopedist that specialized in the foot. He said that the problem was caused by the pressure of the pedal.
You may want to seek a second opinion. They aren’t always correct.
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Old 06-19-22, 11:07 AM
  #28  
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Cut out a section of aluminum in the shape of your Forefoot and insert it into the front of your shoe. You can shape the aluminum by beating it with a hammer if you like. It you get any releif but still have problems then consult an Orthotisist about getting a Full Sulcus Orthotic.
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Old 06-19-22, 01:42 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by zandoval
Cut out a section of aluminum in the shape of your Forefoot and insert it into the front of your shoe. You can shape the aluminum by beating it with a hammer if you like. It you get any releif but still have problems then consult an Orthotisist about getting a Full Sulcus Orthotic.
I put on an old pair of shoes today that had a very stiff sole. I must say that there was a significant improvement in perceived pedal pressure. I don't know why the Freerider shoes have such a soft sole. people seem to love them however. They always have many great reviews. Please expand upon the aluminum suggestion.
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Old 06-19-22, 03:39 PM
  #30  
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I get foot pain on the type of pedal you ride so all my flats are these.
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Old 06-19-22, 05:20 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by daniell
...Please expand upon the aluminum suggestion.
I gave the set I made to a friend of mine when I found a fair pair of stiff soled shoes. But I am going to make another set for a new set of shoes I just got. I'll post it here with pics when I do...
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Old 06-19-22, 07:42 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by daniell
I have seen an orthopedist that specialized in the foot. He said that the problem was caused by the pressure of the pedal.
If those were his exact words then..hmm. "Pressure of the pedals"..on a bike your feet are seeing less pressure than when walking. So..if walking is an issue, then maybe the pedal pressure is also an issue.

For the most part..it seems you're doing laps rather than cutting to the chase and directly addressing the issue. The problem is flexible soles allowing specific pressure on the metatarsal area. If your soles were not flexible, the force applied to the pedals would be spread over all your foot. (not too unlike walking)

Given a description as follows
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/revie...-ten-freerider

There's really no surprise you're having issues. While they may be popular with the hip hop bmx or short haul mtb crowd, they're not real biking shoes. You need to buy some real cycling shoes. Do that and report back on how things are going.
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Old 06-20-22, 12:38 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by fishboat
If those were his exact words then..hmm. "Pressure of the pedals"..on a bike your feet are seeing less pressure than when walking. So..if walking is an issue, then maybe the pedal pressure is also an issue.

For the most part..it seems you're doing laps rather than cutting to the chase and directly addressing the issue. The problem is flexible soles allowing specific pressure on the metatarsal area. If your soles were not flexible, the force applied to the pedals would be spread over all your foot. (not too unlike walking)

Given a description as follows
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/revie...-ten-freerider

There's really no surprise you're having issues. While they may be popular with the hip hop bmx or short haul mtb crowd, they're not real biking shoes. You need to buy some real cycling shoes. Do that and report back on how things are going.
Walking is not an issue.
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Old 06-20-22, 07:23 AM
  #34  
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I rode 20 miles this morning with an old pair of shoes. These had a stiff sole. I also rode yesterday. Big improvement not using the the Five Ten. I just ordered a pair of the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Canyon Cycling shoes.
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Old 06-20-22, 07:31 AM
  #35  
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If you're going to use flexible-soled shoes then you will want pedals with the largest contact area you can find. Otherwise, what GhostRider62 said 100%.
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Old 06-20-22, 07:52 AM
  #36  
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been very happy w/ my Giro Chamber cycling shoe. got them on clearance when they were phasing them out. I use them w. cleats but you don't have to. they have a nice wide toe box reducing hot spots for me. might be able to find a pre-owned pair your size. Giro makes an updated version "Chamber II" but I'm not familiar w/ it. probably very similar
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Old 06-20-22, 09:29 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by daniell
I rode 20 miles this morning with an old pair of shoes. These had a stiff sole. I also rode yesterday. Big improvement not using the the Five Ten. I just ordered a pair of the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Canyon Cycling shoes.
at a minimum the new shoes should be an improvement - and hopefully a significant improvement

I compared a pair of X-Alp Divides to a pair of 'free ride' shoes my kid used - night and day

the free ride shoes are the approx stiffness of Vans slip ons lol
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Old 06-20-22, 09:40 AM
  #38  
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Kinda of related, but after long rides with stiff soled clip in shoes...I feel pain in the arches of my feet.

Any suggestions?
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Old 06-20-22, 09:53 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by prj71
Kinda of related, but after long rides with stiff soled clip in shoes...I feel pain in the arches of my feet.

Any suggestions?
Stiff (hard formed plastic arch) insoles, not the foam-arch insoles
Cycling shoe manufacturers (Specialized..others) make them to fit cycling shoes. Also regular shoe insoles in mtn/touring cycling shoes work well.

I've used all of these(prices have gone up..). The walkcomfy are my current go to. For the Spenco's, make sure it's the "Max" version.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
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Old 06-28-22, 08:55 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by daniell
I rode 20 miles this morning with an old pair of shoes. These had a stiff sole. I also rode yesterday. Big improvement not using the the Five Ten. I just ordered a pair of the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Canyon Cycling shoes.

recently checked out a pair of Sixsixone Filter flat shoes

the sole is stiff - little bit of flex up front but remainder of the sole is very stiff

the toe box size is reasonable - but shoe feels a tad snug ; the thick / generously padded tongue probably contributes to this feeling
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Old 07-26-22, 03:58 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by daniell
I rode 20 miles this morning with an old pair of shoes. These had a stiff sole. I also rode yesterday. Big improvement not using the the Five Ten. I just ordered a pair of the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Canyon Cycling shoes.
Hey, can you give us an update on how these are working out for you?
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Old 07-26-22, 10:01 PM
  #42  
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I had pretty significant "metatarsalgia" - literally pain in the metatarsal bone. In my case it was specifically the most proximal (closest in) joint of only the second toe on my left foot. The pain felt like there was a pebble in my shoe. It has been in the background for many years, but this year it was becoming worse, causing me to limp, even get fairly lame.

I went to see a podiatrist and he assessed it immediately: "does it feel like there's a pebble in your shoe?" Easy for him to assess and he gave me a VERY simple modification to my insoles which after just a couple of weeks has resolved the problem almost completely. The idea, as I understand it, is to modify the way the foot lands to have the big toe take more pressure and relieve the pressure in the painful toe.

After using this pad for just a few weeks, it now only gives a tiny bit of irritation, hardly "pain", and only when I'm walking barefoot. The photo shows the original insole modification he made in his office (white felt) and one of the many DIY's I've done. Since then, I've modified the insole on every single pair of shoes - casual, dress, athletic, hiking, biking, crocs, clogs and sandals. I've used cut outs from a felt insole I had on hand, approximating the thickness of the material he used. I've also used old cushy insoles I had laying around - see the sandal example. The sandal also shows how I'm dealing with shoes that don't have insoles, like clogs, crocs, etc.

Anyway, this is very simple - all it takes is some sort of thick soft felt or a sacrificed cushy insole cut to shape and applied with double sided tape.

RE: cycling. this guy is a pretty avid cyclist and told me to put the inserts in my cycling shoes which I've done. He also recommended moving my cleats as far back as possible to keep pressure off the ball of the foot. I haven't had a need to do that since cycling has had only a minor irritation for me, and now, with the insert, none.

He also advised me to not walk bare or stocking foot around the house. Since i usually wear crocs or clogs in the house, not a problem for me.

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Old 07-28-22, 11:04 AM
  #43  
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Since your doctor recommended metatarsal pads, have you tried them? Mine are working wonders. They are fixing a pain point and callus located where the green M&M is:



Metatarsal pads and placement

These ones I got have really good stickum, and have held up well, for a month now.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019MAQSTA

I don't know why the illustration shows them stuck to a foot. I suppose you could...
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Old 08-01-22, 02:41 PM
  #44  
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There is a 90% chance your problem is caused by your cycling shoes being too narrow. Cycling shoes always seem to be on the narrow side. Get a pair that is clamed to be wide. Worked for me.
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Old 08-03-22, 07:51 AM
  #45  
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My metatarsal pain is all gone for one principal reason. I have not been able to cycle because of severe knee pain. It is probably a meniscus problem. Five years ago I had the other knee operated on. I cannot complain however. That knee saved my life. After the knee surgery, I told the nurse that I did not feel well. The next day I had quadruple bypass surgery.
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Old 08-07-22, 09:00 AM
  #46  
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I had the exact same after a ride where I pushed the ball of my foot onto my pedals too hard. This was on a road bike with stiff shoes though. For my MTB rides, I have Specialized Trail Traction shoes, which have stiff soles and are very comfortable.

Since I am running as well, my physio blamed the running though and gave me some foot and toe exercises to strengthen my foot. I was told to stop running up steep hills (which stretches the big toe a lot). Combined with replacing old running shoes more often, putting the cleats as far back as possible on my bike shoes (road and MTB), and focusing on dividing the pressure over the entire width of my foot, it gradually went away (over the course of a year in my case).

I looked into cleat shims a bit to alter the pressure divide, but never actually tried them.

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