Heel Pain In Cyclers

Cyclists do not commonly experience heel pain, but if they do have it, it is mainly because of over straining while pedaling. During a typical two hour cycling ride, a cyclist will be to make 83 crank revolutions per minute and that’s a total of 10,000 cranks revolution in two hours. This puts a considerable amount of stress to the calf muscles and feet while pushing against the pedal, especially when going uphill. 

The most common type of heel pain a cyclist can encounter is a strain to the Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body. It attaches behind the calcaneus or heel bone and attaches to the calf muscles above. The pain commonly occurs at the attachment of the Achilles tendon to the heel bone. Commonly referred to Achilles tendinitis, this is the inflammation behind the heel causing pain, swelling, tenderness and heat when the touched.

Another common cause of heel pain among cyclers involves the plantar fascia. This fascia runs underneath the foot and also attaches at the bottom portion of the heel bone to the balls of the foot. It is responsible for the arch of the foot and is very important for its biomechanics. This too is a strong tendon and is constantly under stress when walking and running. This is a particularly common among runners but it too can occur among cyclist.

The reason why cyclers experience heel pain is due to erroneous training, failing to do stretching exercises before bicycling, wrong positioning, poor equipment, random peddling and improper footwear.  Error in training is a result of apply too much intensity too soon. Stretching is an important pre training measure in preventing injury. Foot positioning while pedaling is important, so as not to strain any muscles or tendons. Using worn out shoes do not provide much support and cushioning, and can irritating the plantar fascia.

Treatment primarily involves identify the specific foot problem. Visiting a podiatrist is best for these situations and they can also assist and give advice in of the do’s and donts of proper foot care whether in training or not.