shoes for foot pain
 

I wonder if any of you have experience with metatarsalgia (hot spots in the ball of the foot). It's becoming almost unbearable to me. Do you have cycling shoes that are compatible with this problem? I would like to know what you use?

Have you tried used orthotic inserts?

I have tendinitis, it's almost gone but very stubborn and wearing anything but the right shoes makes it worse.

You should see a podiatrist. A good one. They will make orthotics specific to your condition and to fit your bike shoes. They'll help you figure out of there's anything you should do or avoid off the bike to help with them. They can be incredibly helpful for this stuff.

Specialized Footbeds helped me quite a bit. IIRC I stood on a device at the bike shop and it recommended blue.

Come to think of it, it's time to order some replacements. They are only good for a season or two.

I switched insoles. All my cycling, running and walking shoes now have ProFoot Miracle insoles. Best I've found, and I've used many including custom orthotics since I was a kid for my weird feet -- high arches, very narrow, hard to fit. Those custom orthotics were the most expensive and least comfortable. For awhile during the 1980s-'90s I mostly used Dr Scholl's gel insoles, but I've come to dislike those for running shoes -- they mess up the feel of some running shoe midsoles. Occasionally I'll use those old style gel insoles on my old leather hiking boots and western style boots, but not on my cycling or running shoes.

At only $8-$10 the ProFoot Miracles are worth a try. Usually available at Walgreens and other stores.

The foam is unlike anything I've found in standard removable insoles in my cycling, running and walking shoes -- Scott, Fizik adidas, Under Armour, etc. The ProFoot Miracle foam is very thin, very lightweight, easy to trim to fit, striking a good balance between compression and resilience. It takes a set and compresses under the points of heaviest pressure -- the forefoot -- while retaining good arch support and heel cushioning for the reasonable life of the insole -- usually 6-12 months for me.

Because my feet are so narrow, around A/B width, with very high arches, I can usually add the ProFoot insole to the existing insole. On my Scott Road Pro shoes I replaced the original Scott insole with the ProFoot Miracle. My Fizik shoes are wider and I added the ProFoot insole on top of the original insole.

With my running shoes I often trim the ProFoot Miracle insoles with scissors to clear space in the toe box, while retaining extra cushioning for the forefoot and metatarsals. When I trim the ProFoot insole I usually stick it *under* the original insole, so I don't feel any seam under my toes.

BTW, Scott includes very versatile insoles with detachable pads for metatarsals, arches, etc. And I still didn't care for that insole. I pulled it out and replaced it with the ProFoot Miracle. Once a year I'll try the original Scott insole again, with and without the metatarsal pads. After a week I always go back to the ProFoot insole. The Scott runs narrow so there isn't room for stacked insoles unless I wear ultra thin socks.

The standard Fizik insole in my Tempo shoes was very firm, thin, with inadequate arch support and no padding for the metatarsals. I use it only to take up space to fit my narrow feet better since the Fizik seems suited to D width. The ProFoot insole on top does the real work of preventing hot spots and arch pain.

Are you sure your cleats are in the best spot?

If so, I've gone to full custom shoes. Yes, they are expensive, but they are so worth it.

What I know of hotspots comes from the skiing world where snug fitting boots improve performance and the same is likely true of bike shoes. What seems to happen is that such footwear compresses the foot so that it no longer sits naturally. It may be worthwhile googling the Green Mountain Orthotics Lab which specializes in ski boot fitting. Basically, if you look at the palm of the hand, there is strong dip in the middle. Out feet also have such a dip and it is necessary to maintain it for comfort. You can buy footbeds with support in that area or most any pharmacy will have metatarsal pads that can be glued under the footbed. Or Google metatarsal pads. I have these in all shoes and boots and no longer have hotspots.

I had hot feet in the past. I use the G8 insoles now, but for me moving the cleats back made the biggest difference. Were all different though so may not work for you.

I have two pairs of the same cycling shoe. One set up SPD and one set up SPD-SL. I have zero pain when riding with SPD but quite a bit of pain after the ride with SPD-SL. I am not able to adjust the SPD-SL enough to get the contact points off the hot spot. Try different combinations or even different shoes to find a solution. But the best advice in this thread is probably to see a podiatrist, which I have not done (yet).

Just had this same issue randomly. It was bugging me for about 6weeks. Swapped all my regular and bike shoes/insoles around, no better. The I remembered I used to have a Specialized forefoot wedge in my bike shoes that was thicker on the big toe side of my foot in there. Put that back in my bike shoes, pain went away in a couple of days.

Just did my first Imperial Century on Monday and by Mile 85 ish the pain in my left foot was unbearable. Seems like If I am in the saddle for more than 4 hours my left foot starts to feel like it’s on fire right where cleat and peddle meet. Thinking about hitting up walgreens and seeing what inserts they have to offer.

My hypothesis when I had a hot spot right over my SPD cleats was that it was caused too much pressure over too little area. I went to pinned flat pedals and Five Ten shoes to get more pedal area under my feet. That solved the problem. Since I'm not racing, I don't need to be clipped onto the pedals.

My right foot is about 1 1/2 sizes larger than the left, but the left is wider. It's my left foot, the wider one, that consistently gets hotfoot. Excruciating, and once it flares up on a ride, I can only get temporary relief by unclipping and letting it hang for a moment. That causes a brief increase in pain until it subsides, then I'm good for maybe a half hour.

The good news is, during flareups i forget about my back pain.

As I posted in a thread before, I recommend that you look for LAKE shoes, specifically the CX241 (if it is for road cycling). This reference fits the shape of your foot.

I got tired of numb feet after several different different shoes, insoles, systems, and fittings. Tried five ten flat bike shoes with pinned pedals. Most issues went away. Found a really comfortable pair of pedals and all the numbness issues went away.

https://www.amazon.com/DMR-Vault-Ped...dp/B07G3GN9B7/
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/..._AC_SX679_.jpg

https://www.adidas.com/us/five-ten-f...es/FW2836.html
https://assets.adidas.com/images/h_8...1_standard.jpg

This is the situation I find myself in now. Didn't have any foot pain at all, ever, unitl I did back to back 100 mile rides on successive days approx a month ago. Left foot starts to hurt at around 40-45 miles now. I've ordered the Specialized blue footbeds. Hope to have them by Friday. I too will look at Walgreens to see if they have the ProFoot Miracle insoles or something similar.

Any other suggestions for foot pain? Mine is in the ball of the foot, mostly on the left foot. Right foot pain not as bad.

never had foot pain before - so you were doing something correct

back-to-back centuries is a lot of riding - and pain will probably find you in some shape or form

were you wearing thinner or thicker socks ? - are your shoes too snug / tight ?

shoes / insoles worn ?

shoes / soles worn - and soles are now more pliable ?

back when I put on a lot of miles I used shoes with carbon fiber soles that had little / no 'give' and I never had foot problems

but I never did back-to-back centuries

So, for me, the problem was the shoes. My wife bought me shoes that were too big. Due to supply chain issues when she bought them, I didn’t have any options locally to switch them with so I just wore them. I had actually completely forgotten that they were big, until I bought my new bike. They were getting me fitted on the bike and I brought up my feet sometimes would hurt. Bought the correct size shoes with insoles and I now don’t have any issues.

Cleats set further back for endurance riding.
Make sure your shoes are wide enough in the forefoot area. If they are a little tight across this area it can manifest itself as pain in the ball of your foot (ask me how I know?)

Was warm weather, so thin ultra light weight SmartWool socks. Shoes are proper fitting carbon soled Sidis in their third season. That said the thin factory insole doesn't appear overly flattened & worn out, though it might be. Prior to the back to back centuries I mentioned my second longest ride was 63 miles & I don't recall any foot pain then which was only 2.5 months before. Regarding cleat placement, I'm using mountain bike shoes on Crank Bros Eggbeater pedals, so I don't have much in the way of adjustability, but it's never been a problem until now. (I realize that setup might not be best for a century) I intend to try insoles first as a cheap fix, but I also have some new Sidi carbon road shoes & SPD SL pedals on hand & will switch to that if necessary. I've actually inteneded to swap to road shoes & SPD SLs for a few months, but haven't made the time & don't look fwd to another learning curve. Plan to continue to use Egg Beaters on my gravel bikes.

I do ... or did.

This presumes at the start that you have or will ditch the typically lousy insoles that come with cycling shoes. Invest in good ones.

1. Go see a podiatrist. Likely they will tell you that you need metatarsal support (metatarsal arch - google it). On insoles that provide metatarsal support you will often see a "bump" in front of the main arch. You can buy SOLE insoles that are heat moldable. Don't follow their directions, get a heat gun and put on leather gloves to protect your hands and mold them yourself to the shape you want with the metatarsal support where you want it. I do this now with all my shoes.

2. Be wary of cycling shoes that are too narrow. The can push your metatarsals together and impinge on the nerves that run between them. This is what causes the hot spot. The metatarsal arch collapsing will also do the same thing.

3. Big change for me was increasing my cadence and decrease the pressure on my foot in every stroke of the pedal. This was - by far - more instrumental in getting ride of the hot spot pain. If your cadence is lower than 80, you should try this first or at least in parallel with the other solutions.

All this ^
Especially point number 2

Have you tried rolling it with a golf ball to see if it helps?

Cleats hurt my feet, I use five ten mtb shoes with flat pedals and being able to change positions helps a lot. I might be losing some efficiency in a sprint but comfort is king

Adding some arch support got rid of the problem for me.