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03-17-09, 11:09 AM
Wondering if anyone has had a similar problem:
I bought my road bike about a month ago and got a decent fit, but on Friday I went to the LBS's fit specialist to get some further refinements. I told him I've had problems with my left knee and when I was pedaling on the trainer, he said to drop my heel more -- that this would put pressure off my knee caps and more onto my calves. He was pretty emphatic about it, saying I should really drive my stroke down through my heel and then follow the LeMond adage about scraping mud off my shoe. He also cautioned that it may feel unusual at first, but it's the best pedal stroke for the long run.
So, okay, I tried it out on a 30-miler on Saturday, and yes, my knee hurt less, but Monday morning I woke up and found that my feet hurt -- not hot feet (as best I understand the descriptions), but more like a numb/cramped feeling along my arches, esp. the left. My best guess is that by consciously pushing through my heel so much, I was straining my foot tendons/muscles more than normal. I figure I just need to stretch and massage my arch muscles/tendons, and hopefully it will go away -- plus, I probably need to ease into the whole heel-dropping stroke rather than all at once.
But like with other strange cycling injuries, I figured I'd post it to BF and see if anyone else has experienced this and had any other advice. Thanks!
I bought my road bike about a month ago and got a decent fit, but on Friday I went to the LBS's fit specialist to get some further refinements. I told him I've had problems with my left knee and when I was pedaling on the trainer, he said to drop my heel more -- that this would put pressure off my knee caps and more onto my calves. He was pretty emphatic about it, saying I should really drive my stroke down through my heel and then follow the LeMond adage about scraping mud off my shoe. He also cautioned that it may feel unusual at first, but it's the best pedal stroke for the long run.
So, okay, I tried it out on a 30-miler on Saturday, and yes, my knee hurt less, but Monday morning I woke up and found that my feet hurt -- not hot feet (as best I understand the descriptions), but more like a numb/cramped feeling along my arches, esp. the left. My best guess is that by consciously pushing through my heel so much, I was straining my foot tendons/muscles more than normal. I figure I just need to stretch and massage my arch muscles/tendons, and hopefully it will go away -- plus, I probably need to ease into the whole heel-dropping stroke rather than all at once.
But like with other strange cycling injuries, I figured I'd post it to BF and see if anyone else has experienced this and had any other advice. Thanks!