# Arthritis in feet. Need shoe recommendations



## mikeridesabike (Feb 16, 2009)

I have come down with a case of arthritis mostly in my left foot. When it flares up, my foot swells up so bad that the mere thought of wearing bike shoes hurts. I have been off the bike for a week now due to this. Any suggestions as to shoes that I might try that would either allow me to keep riding when it flares up or be more comfortable during regular periods so as to prevent flare-ups? Something wide and not too stiff would be great.

I used to have some PI X-Alp Enduro IIIs and they were great. Not too tight or stiff. But I wore them out and PI seems to have discontinued this model.

Thanks!


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## Metamorphic (Apr 29, 2011)

Make sure its actually arthritis. Lots of overlap between the arthritis and gout symptoms.


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## bakerjw (Oct 8, 2014)

I ride 3 different styles a lot. Road, some mountain and a lot of bikepacking. I have issues in my right foot on occasion associated with arthritis.
My bikepacking bike has flats on it. I was on it for 12 hours a couple of weeks ago in varied terrain. I like the flats as it is easier to find good fitting regular shoes that cycling shoes.
You might want to try flats for a bit. Pedals are easy enough to swap.
For my long ride a couple of weeks ago, I was in the saddle for 12, 10 and 11 hours on 3 successive days without any foot problems. I was wearing a Merrill hiking shoe (1/2 size big) with extra socks.


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## mikeridesabike (Feb 16, 2009)

Thanks guys. The doc thought this might be gout, but did a uric acid test and it came back normal, so it is just good old fashioned arthritis. It has been happening off and on for about 3 years now, but this latest bout has been worse than usual. The flat pedals idea sounds like a good one. That would actually take me full circle back to when I started riding in 1986. We used to use those bear claw pedals with hiking boots. We had to wear shin guards for when the pedal spun around and smacked you in the shin.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Arthritis in which joint(s)?


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## intheways (Apr 19, 2004)

There are various custom shoe makers. Another good option is fiveten shoes and specialized 2FOs. They both fit my wide feet well. 

I don't have arthritis, but just like shoes that let my feet work right. Catalyst pedals also promote normal foot use.


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## mikeridesabike (Feb 16, 2009)

Nat said:


> Arthritis in which joint(s)?


Mostly in the big toe joint.


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## Oh My Sack! (Aug 21, 2006)

Not second guessing here, but as someone mentioned above, has gout been ruled out? I know 3 people with severe flare up periodically like yours and they're all gout related in the exact same spot. 

Never been there, hope I never do, but is a flexible shoe the answer? I have PI X-Project shoes with very comfortable uppers but built on a stiff carbon sole which offers a very stable platform for pedaling. I just envision your foot deforming with every pedal stroke in a soft soled shoe and wonder if that would just exacerbate your issue?


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## Maizie88 (Apr 29, 2014)

Not saying it's not arthritis, but commonly pain under the ball of the foot below the big toe is 'metatarsalgia'. Is it just the big toe? or do you feel it anywhere else on the foot?


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## bakerjw (Oct 8, 2014)

Myself, it is often pain in the cuboid bone area.

Although I did have a flare up of plantar faciitis once. I couldn't walk for about 3 days it hurt so darn bad.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

mikeridesabike said:


> Mostly in the big toe joint.


That sounds like hallux rigidus. Most people get at least partial relief from a stiffer shoe rather than a more flexible one, and there is medical/surgical treatment available if you're inclined.

https://www.foothealthfacts.org/conditions/hallux-rigidus


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## dave785 (Apr 30, 2016)

speaking as someone with arthritis, i'm not sure that you have arthritis.

remember that arthritis is a diagnosis by exclusion. If they rule out everything else, then boom, you have arthritis. 

Not a lot is known about it. And speaking as someone who is a connoisseur of rheumatologists, I don't have a lot of faith in them. It took over a decade for a doctor to correctly diagnose which type of arthritis I have (reiter's), and it was a doctor that was a client.. i wasn't even his patient. 

I say all this to say that you should focus on ruling out everything else first. the fact that yours is asymmetrical means it probably isn't typical rheumatoid arthritis. It could just be an old fashioned stress fracture (happened to the ball of my foot next to my big toe - sesamoiditis), it could be 

you probably had some bloodwork done. If your rheumatism factor came back normal then i'd make sure you also see a podiatrist. Rheumatologists really just treat the symptoms, not the cause.

That being said, if it's arthritis, get on a biologic ASAP. Humira changed my life.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

dave785 said:


> speaking as someone with arthritis, i'm not sure that you have arthritis.
> 
> remember that arthritis is a diagnosis by exclusion. If they rule out everything else, then boom, you have arthritis.
> 
> ...


Rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed by exclusion, but osteoarthritis is easy to diagnose. X-rays and physical exam can find osteoarthritis easily. Hallux rigidus is quite easy to call.


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## dave785 (Apr 30, 2016)

mikeridesabike said:


> Mostly in the big toe joint.


My sesamoid is all messed up and so what I did is get a SOLE heat-molded shoe sole, heat molded it, and then cut out the hard part around where my injury is. I then used some gorilla fabric tape to replace the cut out part with a very very soft gel insert. So my sole is hard and custom molded everywhere except where my injury is, where it's soft (and less thick / lower in the footbed). This has the effect of offloading all of the weight and pressure from my injured area and I can still ride.

Here's a pic - you can see how it offloads the weight from the affected joint. I basically copied what my doctor did for my $400 "custom" orthotics for my work shoes, and then improved upon it. What you can't see are that i put a ring of gel padding around that affected area, and then nothing in the very middle. this helps with offloading pressure as the foot moves around in the shoe.

The affected area is where the outreached hand on the runner is if you can't tell from the pic.











Nat said:


> Rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed by exclusion, but osteoarthritis is easy to diagnose. X-rays and physical exam can find osteoarthritis easily. Hallux rigidus is quite easy to call.


i agree it sounds like hallux too. But i disagree with osteoarthritis being easy to diagnose. maybe now it is, but i was misdiagnosed with it for a while. That was 15 years ago though, and maybe that experience has made me bitter.


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