Foot pain? Arch pain??

[OakLeaf]

I'm not 100% clear on where your pain is, but at the risk of stating the obvious, are your shoes too tight (either in size, or in how tight you're fastening them)? If not, would tongue pads or thicker socks help?

[tongue_tied]

I thought it could be my shoes were too tight, initially. The pain seemed localized to the left side of the tongue area of the shoe if that makes any sense. Right where it seems to hit my ankle bone on the inside of my foot. The pain then moved to the top of my foot and up my shin a little bit. I was wearing wool socks (thinner wool socks) that day because it was chilly. I loosened up the BOA closure when I started to feel the pain, but that either didn't help or I had done enough damage already to where the loosening didn't help. In my hypochondriac phase, I thought it was the beginning of plantar fasciitis, but I don't seem to have most of the symptoms listed (no stabbing pain when walking or first thing in the morning when you get out of bed, no tingling, etc.). I'm wondering if the cleat position is off - I've had problems adjusting to these shoes, and I'm wondering if I need to move the cleat rearward. Maybe I'm using a part of my foot that I shouldn't be using and I've caused some sort of tendon strain?

[OakLeaf]

Since no one else has replied ... I'm still having trouble understanding where the pain is. On the one hand it sounds like it's on the dorsal side of your foot (in contact with the straps and/or tongue of your shoe), but then you say arch and plantar fasciitis, which are on the plantar (sole) side.

Sometimes when I'm having a problem it really helps me to look at an anatomy chart and see exactly what anatomical structures are bothering me. There are a lot of them free online. Here are some.

[ny biker]

Well I thought I had replied to this but I'm not seeing it.

Do you wear the same shoes for spinning that you wear while riding your bike?

Also, are they new shoes?

[tongue_tied]

My spin and road shoes are not the same. My spin shoes are quite old (and well used) and my road shoes are just a few months old. The pain didn't start until this Sunday's century ride. Think it's something to do with my spin shoes?

[GLC1968]

It sounds similar to a pain I get in both feet (but more on the right) after biking for extended periods. This only started happening when I started doing more things (including running) barefoot or in barefoot type shoes. My podiatrist thinks it's because my bike shoes are more structured, stiffer and with less room for toe splay when I press down on the pedals. Because it's not really a weight-bearing sport, it takes quite a while for the pain to surface. Pain is alleviated almost immediately upon removal of my shoes and walking around in sock feet allowing my toes to splay out naturally. In my case (and maybe yours), tendons are getting squished and eventually, they start to complain.

I would bet that if you went a few days without cycling, the pain would be gone for the next ride and probably won't resurface until you do another longer ride. That's how it works for me. (I also wore specialized carbon road shoes). Unfortunately, I don't really have a solution for you. My podiatrist wanted to cut my road shoes but before I got that far with him, I got injured and had surgery so it's a whole new game for me now.

I hope you figure it out soon!

[tongue_tied]

It sounds similar to a pain I get in both feet (but more on the right) after biking for extended periods. This only started happening when I started doing more things (including running) barefoot or in barefoot type shoes. My podiatrist thinks it's because my bike shoes are more structured, stiffer and with less room for toe splay when I press down on the pedals. Because it's not really a weight-bearing sport, it takes quite a while for the pain to surface. Pain is alleviated almost immediately upon removal of my shoes and walking around in sock feet allowing my toes to splay out naturally. In my case (and maybe yours), tendons are getting squished and eventually, they start to complain.

I would bet that if you went a few days without cycling, the pain would be gone for the next ride and probably won't resurface until you do another longer ride. That's how it works for me. (I also wore specialized carbon road shoes). Unfortunately, I don't really have a solution for you. My podiatrist wanted to cut my road shoes but before I got that far with him, I got injured and had surgery so it's a whole new game for me now.

I hope you figure it out soon!

Did you switch road shoes? I'm sure I'm not helping matters by going from a fairly neutral running shoe, one day a week, to spin shoes, which a much more flexible sole that I wear 2-4 times a week, and on top of that, cycling shoes with an uber stiff sole which I wear 5-6 times a week.